Cryo packed meat shelf life?

[Rio_Grande]

I have this reacurring problem. I buy pork butts when i find them on sale. I get the time to make sausage and pull them from the freezer, after the 2 days it takes to thaw the meat, I don't have time to cut, grind, stuff and seal the sausage so the meat sits in the fridge. I have tossed a few butts out not because they smelled or looked bad but because i was concerned they MAY not be ok to process.

So educate me what is the rule of thumb for these things. How long will they keep without going bad?

Fridge is around 38deg and the meat was tossed into the freezer the day it was purchased. Any Ideas would be appriciated..


Jeff

[ronp]

Cryovac can always smell. It is the gasses that make the smell. Just rinse and let air out and usually they are fine. And also with beef the colors change when exposed to the air.

Good luck.

[Richtee]

I have this reacurring problem. I buy pork butts when i find them on sale. I get the time to make sausage and pull them from the freezer, after the 2 days it takes to thaw the meat, I don't have time to cut, grind, stuff and seal the sausage so the meat sits in the fridge.

Here's something I found...
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...63/ai_16507248

POULTRY & RED MEAT

Centrally processed poultry has taken over most supermarkets and increasingly uses modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP) because it can add two to four days to shelf life, according to Frank Kitchel, director of marketing at Evalco, Lisle, Ill., a supplier of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), a resin often used as the barrier layer in baler box liners.

For red meat, barrier films and vacuum packaging or MAP permit retail cutting operations to be centralized, minimize handling at store level and extend shelf life. MAP for beef, pork, lamb and veal typically involves a barrier package and gas flushing with a roughly 80% oxygen/20% carbon dioxide mixture. This maintains an appealing red color and extends shelf life to 7-10 days.

Even longer shelf life, 21+ days, is possible with vacuum packaging, which removes almost all air from high-barrier packages before sealing.

[bbally]

It really depends on the packing house and method the cyro was sealed under.

If you can tell me the packing house on the package I can tell you what the shelf life would be.

Because there are some many different cyro methods there is no one answer.

[Rio_Grande]

One is tyson the other is kroger brand if that helps.

Thanks for the replys

[Rio_Grande]

Bump for Bbally

[Smokin Bill]

Even longer shelf life, 21+ days, is possible with vacuum packaging, which removes almost all air from high-barrier packages before sealing.

I've heard you can expect 30 days from cryo pak; especially with something like butts which has no air at all in the package.

I find it hard to believe someone can tell you how long meat in cryo will last if you tell them the meat packer, especially the part about "so many different cyro methods"; what without air and without even more air???

I would suggest, as I do, buy the butts, refrigerate and find the time before you would want to freeze them. With no information to back it, I would be more concerned with taking butts out of a freezer and holding them long; just a feeling though. Also consider your source; do they have a quick turnover? I buy wholesale and know the volume is huge so I'm buying rather fresh inventory.

[bbally]

Rio several different packing houses do it for them.. Have a picture of the packaging by any chance?

[Richtee]

Rio several different packing houses do it for them.. Have a picture of the packaging by any chance?

Well, what's the baseline, Bob? I guess assuming the "worst"- the 20 day mark mentioned in the article I found?

[bbally]

Well, what's the baseline, Bob? I guess assuming the "worst"- the 20 day mark mentioned in the article I found?

Actually they have three packages with no gas... would be 7 to 9 days max. That is why I need a pic of the packaging.

[Richtee]

Ahhh the gases used inhibit bacteria, and some don't use them? Hmm wonder why? Seems like they would ALL want to. Prolly the Almighty $....

[Rio_Grande]

I will see, no pix but one was bought in a case from Sams and the other from kroger, I will see what I can find on the outside

[davidmcg]

Are we talking shelf like with it stored in the fridge or a freezer? I thought cryo'd and stored in a freezer it would be 6-9 months.

[Smokin Bill]

Are we talking shelf like with it stored in the fridge or a freezer? I thought cryo'd and stored in a freezer it would be 6-9 months.

That wouldn't surprise me a bit since it's processed under extremely sterile conditions and vacuum packed devoid of any air.

And to correct my previous 30 day statement, that came from a chef and the statement was related to a frozen turkey thawing in a refrigerator; under those conditions a month is doable counting the thaw time and the sterile packaging.

[davidmcg]

I think I got ya now, is this right. If frozen in a cryo and your thawing in the fridge the max is 30 days shelf, is that right? Thawed meat in my fridge rarely survives a day before it gets smoked, fried, roasted or baked.