How To Stop Meat From Going Bad
In order to stop meat from going bad, it is important to store it the right way. Meat usually has a short shelf life, except that you can keep it frozen for several months. First of all, never buy meat that has passed its expiry date. Now that you have purchased your meat, it is important to know how to keep it safely so that it does not go bad. Signs of spoiled meat include changed color, bad smell, green or black areas on the surface etc. Read this oneHOWTO article to know how to stop meat from going bad.
Steps to follow:
Never leave fresh meat at room temperature. Always keep it in the refrigerator to prevent it from spoiling. Fresh meat at room temperature goes bad within a few hours, while it can be kept in the refrigerator for as long as a week
If you are going to store meat, it is best to keep it in the freezer. But make certain that power does not go out in your area. Frozen meat can last for a long time, and you can thaw it by keeping it in the refrigerator for about a day. If you are storing meat in the freezer, either keep it in its original packaging or transfer it into a Ziploc bag and keep in the freezer.
Beef is a hard meat product that freezes well and can last for as long as a year. Pork freezes equally good too, but it lasts for around 8 months. Make sure that the package in which you are storing your meat does not have holes in it, as the meat may become watery. You may also cover the freezer with a blanket to help the insulation and keep things colder
Drying meat is one way of taking moisture out of the fresh meat and keeping it stored without it going bad. Usually, meat is dried by applying heat and adding salt to it, and storing it the right way. If done correctly, dried meat can last forever. You may use an oven or electric dryer to dry your meat.
Instructions to dry meat
- First, soak fresh meat in salt solution for about a day, cut it into small portions to help the drying process.
- Dry it for several hours, and then sealing in Ziploc bags.
- If you don’t have an oven or dryer, you can also lay your meat pieces in the sun and dry.
- The salt solution can be made by mixing water and salt, preferably sea salt without iodine.
Another option is to cure the meat, which is much similar to the process of drying. In this process, meat is rubbed with salt and then hung up to dry. This process is more common for beef and pork than chicken. Fishes like salmon also cure well and stay pleasant after that too. After rehydration, these meats are best used in soups and other preparations
You can smoke meat by treating meat in smoker or over fire. You can use an electrical smoker, or a gas or charcoal powered one. The smoke infuses aldehydes in the meat, due to which moisture is removed from the meat and it remains preserved for longer. Smoking meat not only prolongs its shelf life, but also improves its flavor manifolds.
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