Whether in a juicy burger, spicy chili con carne, or hearty shepherd's pie, we all love our ground beef. But do we really know how—and for how long—to shop it?

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How long does basis beef terminal?

If yous abide by the U.S. Department of Agriculture'southward food safety rules for ground beef, which all of us should, the answer will surprise you.

Stored on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator towards the dorsum, where the temperature is the most stable, an unopened package of store-bought ground beefiness will stay good for ane to 2 days.

Once you've broken the seal on the original package, portion out whatsoever chunks of ground beefiness that you don't program to utilise in freezer bags, and then refrigerate (for storage of upwards to 24 hours) or freeze (for no longer than four months).

What about cooked ground beef, then? Are the ground rules—pun unashamedly intended—whatsoever different?

Left to cool and transferred to an airtight food storage container, cooked ground beef will stay good for 3-4 days in your fridge and two-3 months in your freezer.

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For the reasons that I'm about to share with yous in a department or two, the important affair is non to let that package of ground beef or a cooked meal containing ground beef sit out on the counter for longer than 2 hours.

As a thing of fact, the quicker you refrigerate or freeze it, the amend.

How Long Will Frozen Ground Beef Last?

So you lot bought a few pounds of ground beefiness on sale?

Here's how to freeze information technology then that you don't take to swallow beef enchiladas for breakfast, dejeuner, and dinner a couple of days in a row.

Portion the ground beef out into meal-sized chunks sealed in freezer bags (so that you can easily thaw each), stick a characterization on them, write down today's date, and store for up to 4 months in your freezer.

Unopened in its original packaging or sealed in a zero bag, frozen footing beef will remain safe to eat indefinitely. But the meat's texture, aroma, and taste will start to degrade after a few months. So it'southward best to use it up within three to four months of freezing.

Notice the word "sealed."

To go along ground beefiness from catching funky flavors and odors from the other foods in your refrigerator or freezer, brand certain that no air can get in or out of the bag or container you've stored it in.

Resealable freezer bags and airtight storage containers work; tin foil and freezer paper don't.

There's a continuous period of air inside your refrigerator and freezer. And, but like it keeps the food items that you've stored in information technology chilled, information technology can likewise comport aroma (and smell imparts season) from one food detail to another.

In example you've wondered, that's the reason why some foods, similar a halved onion or an unsealed package of salmon, tin can stink upwards the entire appliance.

Thawing Basis Beef

The best way to thaw ground beef is to move it to the refrigerator the dark before you plan to melt it. This allows the meat to defrost at a safe temperature of nether 40°F, which inhibits bacterial growth.

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To thaw ground beef speedily, use the defrost setting on your microwave in ii-3 minute intervals—with a preference for shorter intervals as the meat gets closer to beingness fully thawed—cooking it immediately after.

Many home cooks make the fault of taking a package of beef out of the freezer and leaving information technology to sit down on the counter for hours on terminate. The food-condom rule of pollex is not to let the meat stay out of your fridge or freezer for more than ii hours.

How Long Can Basis Beef Sit down Out?

When you lot're unpacking your groceries at abode, make sure to accomplish for that package or two of ground beef showtime and, depending on how long you desire to shop it, refrigerate or freeze information technology.

Basis beef shouldn't be left out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours, according to the USDA. That fourth dimension is reduced to 1 hr in summer when the temperature outside is 90°F and above.

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If nosotros're in the hot, sultry days of summer and you're running errands with your motorcar, save the trip to the grocery shop or butcher for final. Otherwise, the prolonged exposure to rut tin shorten the storage time for the ground beef (and for all other raw meats in your grocery bags).

You're doing this because leaner thrive at temperatures of forty°F to 140°F, then leaving a package of ground beef out on the counter for too long volition allow the pathogens inside it to grow to levels and then loftier, they could brand you sick.

That growth slows down at temperatures of forty°F and lower, which is why we refrigerate perishable foods. On the other hand, temperatures college than 140°F kill bacteria (hence why we cook food for safe consumption).

How to Tell If Ground Beef Is Bad

Raw ground beef is fresh if the meat is reddish to pinkish-red on the outside, and the interior is brown to grayish-brownish on the inside (Healthline).

That redness comes from a pigment calledmyoglobin, which forms when the protein on the surface of the meat reacts to the oxygen in the air. The inside of the meat is shielded from contact with the air—and myoglobin can't form—which is why its color is brown to grayish-brown instead.

When the footing beefiness turns brown, greyish-brown, or grey on the exterior, that's a tell-tale sign that it has gone bad and that you should throw it away. Mold, in the course of fuzzy blue or green spots, is another sign of spoilage.

You lot tin can also tell if basis beef is bad by using your senses. If, when you impact the meat, it'southward firm and feels make clean to the touch, so information technology's good. If information technology's sloppy and slimy, in which case it will besides have an off odour, then it'south bad.

Better safe than sorry when it comes to nutrient rubber. Cooking spoiled meat won't necessarily make it safe. Yes, it tin can kill nigh of the bacteria, but it won't get rid of all the toxins that they left in it.

Founding Editor

When Jim isn't in the kitchen, he is usually spending fourth dimension with family and friends, and working with the HCW editorial team to respond the questions he used to ask himself back when he was learning the ropes of cooking.