Meat for dinner--buy that day? Freeze?

[Anonymous]

I read the thread re: keeping thawed chicken in the fridge for 24 hours or less, and was honestly surprised. I generally use a week as a guideline for when I have to eat vs pitch (and obviously also use the feel/smell test). I recently had tuna steaks that had been thawing in the fridge for 8 days (purchased frozen at Costco), scallops that had been thawing for a week (also frozen Costco), Salmon that I bought fresh at Bloom and kept for 5-6 days, and more times than I can count I have had chicken that has been either fresh or thawed in the fridge for up to a week.

I have never had any problems before however now I am both concerned and befuddled. Do you take meat from the freezer in the morning for dinner that night? Go to the grocery store every other day? I apologize if I sound as if I am being sarcastic or daft but I couldn't imagine the extra time that would go into my meal planning/preparation if I had to continually restock the meat products in my home.

[Anonymous]

Why do you thaw your stuff for so long instead of just throwing it in the freezer when you bring it home, especially if it's already frozen. Generally, when I buy meat from Costco, I separate it into freezer bags the day it comes home and freeze those. If it's frozen seafood, I put that in the freezer immediately. I usually take food out of the freezer a day or two before I plan to use it. I don't wait until the morning of because it won't thaw in time for dinner and I hate using the microwave to thaw food. I wouldn't eat something that's been "thawing" in my fridge for a week.

[Anonymous]

Scallops for a week? Tuna for 8 days? My bet is that you have gotten so used to the smell of things being a bit off that you no longer notice. I usually go by the rule of 24 hours for fish and up to three days for meat or poultry.

If you are buying these things frozen, why in the world are you defrosting them so early?

[Anonymous]

OP here--I bring it home from Costco or Giant and put it in the freezer if it is something that I bought with the intention of doing that. But then I will take a few things out of the freezer at the time but they dont always end up getting eaten the exact day that I intend for them to. We go out to dinner or order out or DH does something different.

[Anonymous]

17:08 again. As pp said, thawing in the microwave is annoying. But, I often put a well-wrapped not-quite thawed meat in tepid water for about 15-20 minutes until it thaws, that way it thaws faster without the nastiness of the microwave cooking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here--I bring it home from Costco or Giant and put it in the freezer if it is something that I bought with the intention of doing that. But then I will take a few things out of the freezer at the time but they dont always end up getting eaten the exact day that I intend for them to. We go out to dinner or order out or DH does something different.

Plan better, thaw using water, or don't take out for so many days at once. You are serving rotten food, whether you notice it or not.

[Anonymous]

np here. Can someone illuminate me as to why microwave-thawed meat is "nasty" ? sub-optimal, I understand what you're saying.

But "nasty" ? I typically associate that word with 'spoiled' or 'rotten' or 'tastes like complete shit.' So clearly I'm missing something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:np here. Can someone illuminate me as to why microwave-thawed meat is "nasty" ? sub-optimal, I understand what you're saying.

But "nasty" ? I typically associate that word with 'spoiled' or 'rotten' or 'tastes like complete shit.' So clearly I'm missing something.

Unless done exactly properly, it actually cooks portions of the meat, which produces a bad texture. There are ways to avoid nastiness, but it requires a very low power level and constant adjustment (not just using the defrost button).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:np here. Can someone illuminate me as to why microwave-thawed meat is "nasty" ? sub-optimal, I understand what you're saying.

But "nasty" ? I typically associate that word with 'spoiled' or 'rotten' or 'tastes like complete shit.' So clearly I'm missing something.

I am 17:06. I don't think it's nasty. I just hate having to check and re-check while it's thawing to make sure it doesn't get cooked. And then sometimes, I accidentally cook it and I really hate when that happens.

I also use the water-thawing method, but the safe way is use to cold tap water that's on constant drip so the water keeps moving.

[Anonymous]

I tend to go to the store almost everyday. Only exception is with beef. I tend to buy beef the day before and wrap it in the parchment paper and let it age in the fridge a little. Helps with the flavor and cooks more evenly.

[Anonymous]

I usually shop on Sat or Sunday. I will use meat up to a week later, but typically it gets eaten earlier than that. I'll often plan to make the chicken/steak earlier in the week. Later in the week will do something like ravioli/frozen pizza, go out to dinner, or pull something from the freezer. Salmon for example is typically bought frozen so it's is pulled out that morning. I also usually have chicken in the freezer.

I shop once a week.