Freezing meat

bigtimecharlie

We have been buying meat from a butcher in a shopping center, using some of the meat (steak) immediately and putting the rest of it in the freezer. When the meat is required, we remove meat from freezer, leave it on a plate in the plate press rather than out on the counter or in the fridge. Too often, when we go to cook the meat, it smells revolting.

However, one particular day (a Saturday) we bought meat as usual in the afternoon ( packaged in the paper with a heat seal), meat in the car for about 2 hours (got sidetracked). When we opened the paper package that evening, the meat smelled rotten, had plenty of green patches.

This can't be right, can it? I have checked the seal on the freezer door ( fridge/freezer about 2 years old), nothing amiss. I also have tried defrosting in the fridge but it takes too long ( generally take meat out of freezer in the morning to be used that evening when we come home from work).

What do other people do when freezing/defrosting meat? Any defrosting idea's, not keen on using the defrosting option on the mickywave.

I'm trying to get my money back from butcher, so still perusing my rights.

Mr. Presentable

Fridge freezers are not really suitable for freezing food in. They are for storing frozen food. Not quite the same thing.

Meat needs to be frozen very quickly.

watna

I buy my meat in the butchers in a big lot and freeze it and I've never had any problems. We do have a stand alone freezer and it's pretty strong though. I either defrost meat in the microwave or I take it out the night before and leave it in the fridge. It's always defrosted by the time I go to cook dinner and it's never been bad (or green ... that's weird!). I wouldn't like to leave it out of the fridge for more than an hour or two, even while it's defrosting though. Does this only happen with meat from this butcher or with meat from other places (other butcher or supermarket)?

bigtimecharlie

I won't be going back to the butcher so will have to source another butcher and see what his meat is like. I generally have had no problems with anything that we have stored in the freezer and once defrosted, everything has been fine. Just this butchers meat (a small family chain).

bonkey

bigtimecharlie wrote:

However, one particular day (a Saturday) we bought meat as usual in the afternoon ( packaged in the paper with a heat seal), meat in the car for about 2 hours (got sidetracked). When we opened the paper package that evening, the meat smelled rotten, had plenty of green patches.

Well, thats definitely not a problem with your freezer

I have checked the seal on the freezer door ( fridge/freezer about 2 years old), nothing amiss. I also have tried defrosting in the fridge but it takes too long ( generally take meat out of freezer in the morning to be used that evening when we come home from work).

Strange...unless you have your fridge set to being barely above 0, then this should be plenty of time for most quantities. But anyway....

At the risk of asking the obvious...have you tried the same approach with meat from a different butcher? If it has the same problem, then its less likely to be the butcher who's to blame here. If it doesn't have the same problem....

What do other people do when freezing/defrosting meat?

Defrost in the fridge.

not keen on using the defrosting option on the mickywave.

Might I inquire as to why not? Again, it could be worth trying out, if only to
see if it gets rid of your problem.

I'm trying to get my money back from butcher, so still perusing my rights.

You should clearly establish that they are your rights before persuing them. It sounds to me like you've not yet done that.

The only thing that springs to mind here is that the meat you're being sold has previously been (non-industrially) frozen, and that you're refreezing it....although again, the "2 hours in the car" incident is obviously not included there.

I do know that well-hung beef can often be discoloured to the point where a lot of people get turned off - given that they think "redder = better quality". You can also have a bit of a whiff off well-hung beef, and that leaving it for 2 hours in a car could turn it if we're talking a scorcher of a day and the conditions are just wrong.

But my first advice would be to try meat from a different source, and treat it in the same way.

Mr Magnolia

bonkey wrote:

At the risk of asking the obvious...have you tried the same approach with meat from a different butcher? If it has the same problem, then its less likely to be the butcher who's to blame here. If it doesn't have the same problem....

The only thing that springs to mind here is that the meat you're being sold has previously been (non-industrially) frozen, and that you're refreezing it....although again, the "2 hours in the car" incident is obviously not included there.

Agree with this. Your butcher is selling poor quality meat by the sound of it, go elsewhere, re-freezing meat is very dangerous, you should be advised when buying meat that it has already been frozen should this be the case

The domestic freezer is fine for storing meat, it shouldn't really be frozen for much longer than 3 months though. Check out the inside of your freezer for a chart with guidelines on how long meat can be stored.

Saruman

And do not leave meat to defrost out of the fridge if you can help it. I have never had your problem but then again i rarely buy beef and when i do its for my wife. I only eat white meat. If i remember i take it out the night before, or that morning and leave in the fridge to defrost.

As for the car incident, i think your steak started to slow cook.