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Chicken, beef, or even shrimp? How long can I keep it there before it goes bad?

Aaronut
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Cho
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4 Answers4

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If it is sealed in an air tight container and the freezer always stays very cold so the meat never thaws- then chicken and beef will stay good indefinitely. I have used both chicken and beef that had been frozen in my deep freezer at 0F for years with no ill effect.

I can't speak for shrimp as I have no personal experience but I would expect it to be the same.

Sobachatina
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As long as it has been kept frozen meat and poultry will be safe to eat indefinitely.

The quality of the meat may deteriorate with time. This depends on whether the meat was packed in a airtight container before freezing. The major risk is freezer burn which attacks the edges and surface of meat first. It can be trimmed off and the remainder of the meat used safely. If used with a combination of other flavors any freezer effects are not noticeable.

Meat which has been packed using cryovac will keep safely and maintain good texture and flavor for several years based on my personal experience. Cryovac is a process in which a food product is sealed in thick impermeable plastic where all the air has been removed

Finned fish which has been kept frozen will remain safe. Quality seems to be dependent on how delicate the fish is. My husband went fishing in Alaska about 10 years ago and brought home cryovac-ed salmon which was still tasty about 60 days ago.

Tangentially, smoked salmon which has been cryovac-ed keeps indefinitely. I "discovered" an old hostess gift and researched on line whether it was safe to eat.I was unable to locate any data which gave a "best by" or expiration date . It went back in the upper cabinet subject to further research, though.

I rely on the Harold McGee books. Madeleine Kamman, The Making of a Cook and Cook's Illustrated magazine. Kamman is getting a bit dated but she writes for both home and restaurant cooks . These three sources avoid the Food Network hype

piquet
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People might not believe this BUT I SWEAR it's true: when my mother father died in December 1993, and I moved my mother in with me (her only child/son) and looked after her until she died in 1998. She had 4 deep freezers!!!, one of which I kept running (and it still running) in my garage (and has NEVER been defrosted - (a chest freezer)). Over the years, just sorta never got around to completely eating down to/through the bottom half/kept refilling the top 1/2) until recently when I thought 'gotta get this sucker emptied. So, about a week or so as I was working my way down and got down to (hold your breath): 1996!!! Found a beef roast, well wrapped/no sign of freezer burn soooo... decided what the heck: Thawed out plus about 45 minutes in a convection microwave and IT WAS DELICIOUS. Yah couldna told it from fresh from the store.

So, like the man says: if its well wrapped, kept real cold/never thawed and no (or little) freezer burn, it will keep a LONG TIME - like 18 years in this case!!!

G Madison
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Roasts and steaks will last 6-12 months and ground beef will last 3-4 months. (via KitchenHacks)

GavinR
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