We went shopping on Saturday and got some chicken in bulk. I forgot to split it up (there are two huge pieces there) and left it sitting in the fridge in its packet. I've just got it out now to separate it (have one tonight and freeze the other) and the use by date was the 13th April (yesterday)
Sooooo.... would this still be ok to have tonight and freeze another one ya reckon?
i would be reluctant Mel - it might smell "ok" but it's not something i'd be likely to use - you never know how it will impact you. not a fan of meat that has been left sitting around - actually washed something the other day on teev with a microbiologist recommending chicken be used within 48 hours if in the fridge or it starts to go bad anyway...
feed it to the dogs - won't be a complete waste... just micro or lightly fry it and give them a treat. exxy treat, but better than complete waste (ours are eating top notch lamb at the moment from the meat we can't use for us after the fires - spoilt mutts!)
I wouldn't touch it being pregnant. But not being pregnant, I'd wash it (bacteria is usually on the surface isn't it?) and smell it, and then probably still freak out and chuck it LOL.
chicken is much more dicey than mince (and i have a sensitive tum, so if mince was going to go bad, i'd be the first to notice!) - the mince, if still in date, should be fine - but i'd be getting to it NOW hun. even if you're planning on using it tomorrow, freeze it over night to give you some peace of mind...
Ahhh crap, the mince has a use by date by the 13th too. Seriously. Why do people only give a few days shelf life - don't they know that I have a memory like a bucket with a big stinkin hole in it.
Does that mean ALL the meat that I brought on Saturday shouldn't be used?
So long as it has been in the fridge the entire time, I would still use it. Being preg, I might be a bit more cautious about the chicken but the mince will still be fine.
check the dates hun. if anything has a use by date of today use it today - don't freeze it - you need to use it now - even if you make stuff to freeze - if you take into account it needs to be used today, you need to use it otherwise by the time you defrost it, it might be no good (kwim?)
i get annoyed at food with limited use by dates as well - yeah, it makes sense that on the weekend they've got the end of line stock there, but honestly, they should reduce the price when it's only a couple of days, so that you're aware from the nice bright stickers that you have to do something sooner!
we get our meat from the same butcher all the time and know the limits of how long to use it - we bougth on sat as well - today the last of the meat will be used and then meals frozen. it sucks that things are so "disposable"
cook up the mince (or mix with grated carrot and some rice) for the dogs - willbe good for them. not sure how much meat you got, but if it's a bit, cook it up and freeze in meal sizes for them.
next time, tell me you've been shopping and i'll bug you on msn every couple of hours til you put your meat in the freezer lol!
hmm... mince can actually be worse I think, because it's minced. It's the surface of the meat that grows the bacteria, and mince is full of surface area, which is why you have to cook mince thoroughly.. unlike steaks & stuff, which you can prepare rare. I learned this on Ready Steady Cook PMSL.
Yup, the smaller the pieces of meat, the shorter the time it will keep. So you can keep a roast in your fridge for a lot longer than you can keep mince. If the mince still looks ok, you may be fine, but if there's blood pooling in the bag, definitely don't go near it.
We've pushed the boundaries on meat use-by dates before - but it's something we'd never do with me pregnant. Most of the time use-by dates are a guide, not a hard and fast rule that it will go off on that date, but we were much more cautious with pregnancy.
i do this all the time... naughty naugty... i seem to sit in the fridge and think yeah i'll do it later... u could have cooked it and made a frozen meal...
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D'ya think the chicken would be ok?
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