Conservation of ground beef

Conservation of ground beef - Selective Focus Photography of Zebra

We planned to eat hamburgers tonight, so I bought 1.5 Kg of fresh ground beef at my store, at 3 PM.
But then, we decided to postpone that to tomorrow night.

Ground beef can be kept for at most 24 hours in a fridge right ? It is not vacuum sealed, the butcher packed it in front of me.

So what should I do ? (it is 5:30 PM now)

  • Leave in the fridge and cook the meat before 3 PM tomorrow (and reheat at dinner time)
  • Freeze the meat as-is (in the store-sealed package)
  • Prepare the patties and freeze them now
  • Other ?

I don't have a microwave, I would defrost it in the fridge (I heard room temperature isn't appropriate, especially for ground meat in which micro-organisms develop quickly).

If I choose to freeze the meat as-is, I guess I would have to defrost it at least a bit to form patties. But if I freeze the patties, can I pan-fry them right away ?

Freezing should be safe, even though a friend of mine once tried to cook ground meat he had put in the freezer a few days before (right after buying it, he said) ; and it seemed not to be good anymore (rotten or something) ; so I'm not sure.

Thanks in advance, I'd rather not poison everyone tomorrow :)

EDIT : The hamburgers were fine — I lowered a bit my fridge temperature overnight, just to be sure, and cooked it well before serving.

food-safetyfreezingground-beef


Best Answer

Per the FDA, you can hold the ground beef, refrigerated, for one to two days.

Assuming you have:

  • Bought the meat from a reputable source (you seem to have if you watched them wrap it)
  • Have kept it well refrigerated since buying it, and will do so until cooking it

I would just cook and eat it as normal at dinner time tomorrow, since it has been refrigerated the entire time. 24 hours is not a magic number. 26 or 28 hours is not that different.

Now, several days extra time before cooking would be a big difference compared to several hours.



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Is ground beef good after 3 days in fridge?

Storing meatUncured, raw meat generally lasts safely for around three days in the refrigerator. If you plan to keep uncooked meat longer, freezing it is your best bet. Seal the meat in an airtight package before freezing. Then, it can usually be frozen for at least several months.

How long can you keep ground beef?

It is safe to store ground beef in the refrigerator for 1\u20132 days, and eat leftovers within 4 days. A person can store ground beef in the freezer for up to 4 months. When cooking ground beef, the minimum internal temperature as measured with a food thermometer is 160\xb0F (71\xb0C).

Is ground beef good 4 days after sell by date?

Generally, you can expect to be able to use ground beef one to three days after the "sell by" date depending on how it has been handled. Quality begins to decline on the Sell by date, so you should try to use the meat as soon as you can. Don't use foods that show signs of spoilage such as mold, off-odor, slimy texture.

How long is ground beef good in the fridge after sell by date?

Is meat still good 3 days after sell by date? Make use of or freeze meat items with a \u2033Sell-By\u2033 date that are purchased within 3 to 5 days of the date on the package. It is best to prepare or freeze fresh chicken or turkey within 1 to 2 days of purchasing it, as well as ground beef and ground poultry.


Buy Meat NOW And Preserve It With NO REFRIGERATION | Prepping | Canning Ground Beef



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