How Long Will Beef Last in a Deep Freezer

A freezer can be a lifesaver. Yous but toss in pieces of fresh meat or leftovers, come back later some days or even weeks, and you'll still find them fresh and intact. While nigh of us already know how useful freezers are, we might be wondering just how long they tin keep frozen meat preserved.

According to the U.Southward. Department of Agriculture, any piece of meat can last indefinitely when it is consistently stored at 0°F (-18°C) or lower in the freezer. At this temperature, microbial contamination or growth is prevented, and the enzyme activeness that causes food spoilage is slowed down.

However, depending on its blazon, freezing meat for too long may affect its quality. Read on to learn what happens to the meat that's kept in the freezer for as well long and notice out how to tell when frozen meat has gone bad.

Can Meat Rot in The Freezer?

The simple respond to this question is no. Meat tin only rot when left exterior the freezer. As long as it is stored in the freezer, the action of microbes and enzymes that crusade nutrient spoilage is prevented.

However, it is of import to note that rotting is a gradual process. When a piece of meat is not frozen at the recommended temperature of -18°C (0°F), it can start losing its quality. Lengthy freezer storage, especially nether fluctuating temperatures, tin can as well cause a piece of meat to lose its colour, texture, and quality.

While meat stored in the freezer for too long probably won't make you ill, it may lose its nutritional value or give an acrid taste or aroma. For this reason, it is best to eat frozen meat within its recommended storage fourth dimension to ensure maximum quality.

Recommended Meat Freezer Storage Times

Freezers may have the capacity to store food for thousands of years, only information technology'southward probably not the best idea to leave food in at that place for that long (unless you prefer meat that tastes like shoe leather).

In society to maintain food quality and ensure you lot're not storing meat in the freezer longer than you should, it's of import to follow the recommendations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the USDA for meat freezing time limits. Of grade, only make sure you recall we are talking about fresh meat and not the stuff in the can.

Make sure you lot are using the proper storage containers or freezer-safe bags to shop your meat.

Fresh Poultry

Co-ordinate to the USDA freezer storage chart, fresh whole chickens and turkeys can be stored in the freezer for upwardly to a year. Chicken and turkey parts such as breasts, thighs, and wings can be frozen for a maximum of 9 months. Giblets should non spend more than 3 to 4 months in your freezer, and the same goes for footing chicken.

Fresh Meat (Beefiness, Veal, Pork, and Lamb)

The FDA recommends keeping roasts in the freezer for non more than than 4 to 12 months. Steaks can terminal betwixt six to 12 months, only chops should be taken out of the freezer afterward 4 to 6 months. Offal or diverseness meats such as brains, hearts, livers, and kidneys should non exceed 3 to four months in the freezer.

Cooked Meat and Leftovers

For maximum quality, fried craven has a limit of four months. Cooked poultry dishes should exist consumed between 4 to 6 months. Craven nuggets and patties have a maximum storage time of 3 months.

Cooked or meat leftovers from beef, veal, lamb, and pork should non spend more than than ii to 3 months. Candy meat such every bit ham, hot dogs, and lunch meats last shorter at one to two months. Anything by these limits won't be so tasty.

How Can You lot Tell If Frozen Meat Is Bad?

Every bit mentioned earlier, for meat to retain its quality and nutrients, it must be stored at a consequent temperature of 0°F (-18°C) or lower (bank check with a proficient thermometer), and must non exceed its recommended storage fourth dimension. So, meat can go bad if these freezing conditions are not met. Hither's how to tell whether that piece of meat you lot're planning for dinner is ameliorate off tossed into the garbage.

Alter in Color

If the meat that was once fresh and crisp-looking, is now looking shriveled or discolored, it may have been exposed to air and lost some of its moisture. For example, red-colored steak can turn gray or dark-brown. This condition is known every bit freezer burn and does non hateful the meat is dangerous to eat, but information technology volition turn out dry and won't taste neat after cooking. This applies to vegetables as well.

Sign of Spills from Meat

If you find a pool of meat juice at the bottom of your freezer, so the meat is probably not worth cooking. A pool of meat juice could indicate in that location was a temperature fluctuation or the freezer warmed up. It could besides be that the juice dripped out of the meat before it froze. The best thing to practice is to throw abroad the meat and properly clean upwardly the mess.

Rancid or Strange Scent

Your nose is peradventure the quickest way to know if a slice of meat is bad. The smell of raw meat isn't necessarily great, to be honest. But if you remove a piece of meat from the freezer and it gives off a strong or rancid odour, then information technology'due south best to only dispose of information technology.

Slimy or Viscid Texture

If the meat has a slimy or sticky surface, information technology's a sign that it is bad and should non be eaten. This kind of meat will have a shiny surface and feel slippery if y'all run your fingers over information technology. At this stage, information technology volition just take a few days before mold starts forming on it. If you find your frozen meat in this state, just wrap in a plastic bag and throw information technology away.

Deep Freezer Or Regular Freezer: Which is Better?

The difference between a deep freezer and a regular freezer is the corporeality of fourth dimension they have to get to 0°F (-xviii°C) temperature. Regular freezers usually subtract food temperature at a slower rate, commonly up to 24 hours to go to -18°C. In deep freezers, nutrient is exposed to temperatures -30°C (-22°F) to -50°C (-58°F), quickly cooling until it reaches -18°C.

Deep freezers use more energy than regular freezers but are considered to preserve nutrient better. That said, both freezers will do a skilful job of keeping your food fresh, and choosing one will depend on your household requirements.

More Meat Freezing Tips

Sometimes, figuring out if a piece of meat has gone bad in the freezer can be deceptively hard. You may find smell, texture, or even taste to be inaccurate. Hither are some tips you tin can use to further ensure nutrient safety:

Characterization every frozen food in your freezer and write down their expiration dates.
Adapt the items in your freezer by category for quick and easy identification.
Don't interrupt ability in the freezer and avoid unnecessary opening of the freezer door.
Wrap meat in airtight packaging such as a plastic wrap or plastic wrap if you program to freeze it for more than two months.

Determination

Freezers tin store meat for several years as long as they are frozen at a consistent temperature of 0°F (-18°C) or lower. Make certain you lot employ a good thermometer to cheque from time to time. Even so, this doesn't mean that the quality of the meat can't be afflicted. When a slice of meat is stored for too long or more its recommended storage fourth dimension, it loses its quality and becomes unappealing.

To ensure food quality and prophylactic, remember to:

Store meat only within the storage times recommended by the FDA
Look for signs of bad and rotten meat
Label the meat and other items in your freezer
Keep the freezing temperature consistent at -eighteen°C or lower

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