Stupid question: Meat, how long in fridge?

[ellencho]

I just wanted to add a little something about aging meat in your fridge. I aged two hunks of meat this month. One 7lb boneless rib roast. The other was a 10 lb bone on rib roast. They both aged for a week. The boneless roast really had a funky-ish aroma going on, whereas the bone in barely had any smell. The 10lb-er was far superior to the 7 lb-er. With the bonless roast I had to shave off a considerable amount of dried up meat. With the bone-in roast it was a negligable amount of shaving.

The boneless had an ok taste but was a bit on the tough side. I didn't manage to shave off all of the outer dried meat so I wasn't able to develop that great of an outer crust.

The bone-in was glorious. Tastewise it was delicious and rich-tasting. Texturewise - like buttah. Also, gorgeous crust formation.

Anyway, after eating the boneless roast and being a bit disappointed, I was reminded of a segment I once saw on food network. THey showed the meat buyer for Peter Luger's steakhouse, and she was explaining that she wouldn't buy any meat for aging that didn't have bone and kidney attached to it bceause that protects the meat during the aging process. That could explain why my boneless rib roast didn't turn out that great because it had no protection in my refrigerator. Boy was I relieved when the bone-in turned out as good as it did.

Edited December 30, 2004 by ellencho (log)

[polack]

Hey John, My frig is an Imana with the freezer also on the bottom. On the back wall is like a piece of duct work that goes from the bottom of the frig section towards the top where it has a vent opening for cold air to escape. That's where the control and the flapper valve is located. Just make sure that in the freezer section, the vent opening for the condesor is clear and unobstructed. That will cause the condensor to freeze up thus letting the cold air from going to the frig.

Polack

[JanMcBaker]

This is not a stupid question at all. In fact more people should ask questions like this. 

1. how long will meat stay fresh in the fridge?

    How cold is your refrigerator? You need to know this before one can attempt an answer. I keep mine at 36F (temperature taken at the middle shelf). This is colder than most, but I get a longer shelf life on my perishables.

2. Will the vacuum packing help, hinder or make no difference?

    Makes no difference. Bacteria can grow in the absense of oxygen. They become anaerobic, which is growing in the absence of oxygen. Oxygen is just one of six thinigs bacteria needs to grow. The others are the food item itself, some acidity, time, moisture, and temperature (most prosperous temp for bacteria is between 40F and 140F). Removing one does not stop its propensity to reproduce. Monitoring and responding to all six growing conditions is the best thing to do.

The best thing to do is to rinse the roast under cold running water, thoroughly pat dry, and place it, uncovered, on a rack in the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. (Raw proteins should always go on the bottom shelf.)

For a light primer on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point, or HACCP, see a U.S. government's Web site on the seven principles of HACCP.

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I'd like to add something to the bacteria concerns. Bacteria don't become anaerobic. There's aerobic, anaerobic and facultative bacteria. Bacteria that are aerobic don't become anaerobic-- they die in the absence of oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria are the ones that thrive in the absence of oxygen. And facultative, if I remember my long ago microbiology classes correctly, are kind of in the middle-- don't need as much oxygen as aerobic bugs but also don't do well in the absence of oxygen. BTW, I also had a 4 rib roast airing on the bottom rack of my fridge for 4 days-- totally exposed, and no problem at all. Turned out good too!

[Really Nice!]

Hi Janet, and welcome to eGullet.

I stand corrected about the 'becoming' part. Yes, they are aerobic, anaerobic or facultative.

However, most microorganisms that cause foodborne illnesses are facultative such as E. coli 0157.H7, salmonella, shigella, listeria, staphulococcus, bacillus cereus, and yersinia. All these can survive in vacuum packing.