Food safety question - Costco vacuum sealed NY Steak Prime

Volfo

Bought a slab of NY Prime steaks from Costco in the big vacuum seal bag.  Pack date 8/18, sell by date 8/25.  Brought home on 8/19 and put in fridge.  Meant to cut and vacuum seal individual steaks around 8/25, but got busy and was thinking the sell by date was 8/29 (which it was not).  On 8/29, opened the package - may be a faint smell to the meat but nothing obnoxious.  No discoloration.  Should these be safe to eat?   Does it matter if I "overcook" them a bit or cook them to appropriate temperature but much longer, such as in a sous vide?   Or does the cooking not kill the kind of bacteria that can grow if it is too old?  

Langner91

I'd eat it.  In fact, I'd eat it next week.  Nothing magic about those dates.  Enjoy!

The cryo-vac bag wasn't bloated, right?

Volfo

it was not bloated at all.  Would you cook it more well done if you were concerned, or would that not effect the "staleness" concern?

Langner91

No.  I'd salt and pepper it and sear it like normal.  

It really is fine.  

Volfo

thanks!  peace of mind

fishlessman

you just barely entered the wet aging process

lousubcap

Beef does do better with age.  I was thinking the wet aging process as I read the thread.  Have a packer that will get the cook treatment Sep 4th-around 33 days into wet aging.  Many go longer. 

As above- you are fine.  Enjoy the banquet. 

Volfo

so I have heard of wet aging but always wondered exactly what it is.  Is it as simple as just leaving the beef in the cryovac or individually vacuum sealing it and leaving it in the fridge for a long time?  is it better to open the cryovac and salt or season it or just let it be?

Photo Egg

Volfo said:

so I have heard of wet aging but always wondered exactly what it is.  Is it as simple as just leaving the beef in the cryovac or individually vacuum sealing it and leaving it in the fridge for a long time?  is it better to open the cryovac and salt or season it or just let it be?

If wet aging, leave it in the factory cryovac package. You defiantly don't want to steak it or salt it before you continue the wet age.

lkapigian

Just FYI, don’t panic if when you do open it and it has a “ funky” smell, that to is normal … so long as it’s not “ off gassing “ ( bloated package) it’s fine … personally, I’d probably be ok with the bloat , it’s just a fermented brisket at that point 

Canugghead

lkapigian said:

Just FYI, don’t panic if when you do open it and it has a “ funky” smell, that to is normal … so long as it’s not “ off gassing “ ( bloated package) it’s fine … personally, I’d probably be ok with the bloat , it’s just a fermented brisket at that point 

I should've asked when one of my sous vide Char Siu bags bloated?

Canugghead

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/could-scrapping-best-before-dates-reduce-food-waste-committee-says-government-should-look-at-impacts-1.6464370