[carfreemama]

Here I go again. I bought 2 pounds of organic raw ground hamburger at the farmers' market on Saturday morning. I have still not gotten around to making chili with it. I keep hearing only 1-2 days in the fridge for raw ground meat. Does that mean I have to throw this out? It's 11 p.m. here and I REALLY don't want to start cooking now. Would it be okay to cook in the morning?

 

[dogmom327]

I would just cook it tomorrow. I leave raw meat in the fridge longer than that. If I know my source and cook it appropriately, I don't worry about it.

 

[cristeen]

I only shop once a week, so meat stays in my fridge for up to a week.

 

[carfreemama]

Even raw ground meat? Okay. It's true, I know and trust the farmer. It's probably fresher than in the supermarket, I'm guessing. Thanks!

 

[ErinBird]

I'd totally cook with it in the morning! I always do a smell test before preparing meat, but I generally have no issues with leaving raw meet in the fridge for several days.

 

[grisandole]

Yeah I don't understand why "they" say to keep it only 1-2 days in the fridge when it sits at the market for way longer...like if the sell by date is a week into the future, why can't it be in my fridge for that long?

And ftr, I am a stickler for food safety!

 

[carfreemama]

I think I've been spooked by having a health inspector for a FIL.

He's totally scared me off raw milk, too.

 

[cristeen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by carfreemama Even raw ground meat? Okay. It's true, I know and trust the farmer. It's probably fresher than in the supermarket, I'm guessing. Thanks!

Even raw ground meat. Much fresher than the supermarket, where it may have already sat out for most of a week.

Supermarket meat rarely lasts a week, it's usually starting to stink by day 4-5. But the place where I get my meat, it's generally frozen until that morning, or possibly still partially frozen when I buy it at the Farmer's Market.

 

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

I think you are fine -- especially since you are planning on making chili or something similar from it. If you were planning on eating it as a rare burger then I would be a little more worried.

 

[Drummer's Wife]

see, I'm a freak about food safety and don't even eat leftovers if they are more than a day or two old... BUT I think your ground beef is okay. I can't see throwing it out. Can you look at it and smell it to be sure?

We tend to buy 5 lbs at a time and then separate it into smaller portions to freeze in food saver bags but this doesn't usually happen until it's been in the fridge a day or two. And I'm talking about store bought, fwiw.

 

[primjillie]

I always seem to be the odd one out in these posts, but no way! It usually is turning brown after a two days or so and starts to stink, so I wouldn't take a chance (and I buy from a good meat counter). That means it was in your fridge for 4 or 5 days? 2 days would be my max. I have always read that ground beef is the worst to watch for spoiling since it is handled more times than regular beef, due to the grinding and mixing. I always wonder at these threads - are people just not wanting to go back to the store, don't have a back up, or just can't afford to replace the item? I'm a "better safe than sorry" person, I guess.....

 

[Drummer's Wife]

oh, 4-5 days I probably would toss it but I thought the OP said it was more like 3 days. Sat am - Tues am? That seems like it might be pushing it but again, if it doesn't look or smell funny, i'd probably be inclined to cook it or freeze it