Sometimes life gives us gifts in the form of a big leg of lamb or two or three farm chickens bought for the occasion. It is impossible to eat it right away, but I really want to save it. Lifehacker figured out how to properly store different types of meat so as not to harm your health.
Storing meat in the refrigerator
If you are going to cook meat today or tomorrow, you can not freeze it. It is enough to remove it deeper into.
As a rule, the bottom shelf is the coldest. However, it also happens that the top shelf is the coldest - it all depends on the model of the refrigerator. So read the instructions.
Chicken, turkey, and other poultry can only last 1-2 days in the refrigerator when raw, and 3-4 days when cooked.
Pork, beef and other raw red meats will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator. But after preparation, it is not recommended to store it for more than 4 days.
Minced meat can be stored on the shelf of the refrigerator for no more than 2 days.
Storing meat in the freezer
It is believed that the optimal temperature of the freezer is -18 ° C.
The main condition for the preservation of meat in the freezer is the absence of air in the package. Try to get out of the meat bag and close it tightly. If you have a special vacuum sealer - fine, use it. It also does not hurt to wrap the bag of meat in foil.
To prevent large pieces from freezing, wrap each in cling film.
Be sure to sign all packages and containers. So you will always know how long the meat has lain in the freezer.
A whole chicken, duck, goose or turkey can be stored in the freezer for a very long time - up to 12 months. Separate parts of the bird are recommended to be stored for no more than 9 months.
Large pieces of beef, veal, pork and lamb are also stored in the freezer from six months to a year. Small pieces of red meat will last less - 4-6 months.
Game (but not wild birds) can be stored for 8–12 months.
Frozen minced meat will last no more than 3-4 months.
Cooked frozen meat retains its properties for 2-6 months.
Storing meat without a refrigerator and freezer
If you are going on a long trip or just want to stock up on meat for future use, and the size of the freezer does not allow you to roam, consider alternative ways to store meat.
salting
Salt destroys microbes, dries the meat and allows it to not spoil for a long time. There are two main salting methods. You can rub the meat with salt, let the released liquid drain and get a dry product at the exit. To make the meat more tasty, you can add herbs and spices to the salt or pre-marinate it with vinegar. Or you can soak the meat in a saline solution, adding honey or brown sugar for taste.
There are many recipes, but Lifehacker found the easiest one.
How to cook corned beef
Put the pieces of meat in a bag or jar with a tightly screwed lid and sprinkle them with salt. Make sure the meat is covered with salt on all sides.
Close the jar or bag tightly and put it in a cool place (2-4 ° C, but in no case below zero).
The aging time of meat is calculated as follows: 3 days for each centimeter of meat. For example, a piece 10 cm thick will be salted for a month. Corned beef in a jar of no more than 1 liter is prepared for at least 3 weeks.
Rinse meat with water before eating. Corned beef can be stored without a refrigerator for 3-4 months if kept in an airtight container.
Drying
Cut the meat into narrow strips about 1 cm thick. Boil the meat for 3-5 minutes. Then take it out of the water and let it dry completely.
Salt the meat strips and season with spices to taste.
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet, arrange the meat in a single layer and place in the oven. Select the minimum temperature and turn on the ventilation mode or open the door a little. After 8-12 hours the meat is ready.
Dried meat is stored for up to 2 months without a refrigerator in a tightly closed container.
canning
Canned meat can be stored for years. The only thing to consider: for canning meat, in addition to jars with lids, you need a special device called an autoclave.
FoodCraftLab/flickr.com
This is a rather bulky thing that not everyone can find in the household. However, it is she who guarantees the safety of canned meat. The old grandmother's method of canning with steam sterilization of jars, alas, is not safe enough for meat.
You can preserve both boiled and raw meat.
Preservation of boiled meat
Boil the meat with salt and spices until half cooked. Then transfer the pieces to hot sterile jars and fill with hot broth almost to the top.
Wipe the jars, close them tightly with lids and place in the autoclave. Then follow the instructions for using the autoclave.
Canning raw meat
Pieces of raw meat are salted and stacked in jars. The meat does not need to be poured with anything: it will give juice by itself during heat treatment in an autoclave. This method requires more time than canning boiled meat. Pressure and cooking time also depend on the size of the jars and the amount of meat. Banks must be hermetically sealed.
Meat preserved in this way is stored without refrigeration, but it is still recommended to keep it in a cool place.
Among all types of animal meat, pork is considered the most popular in our country. This juicy meat has excellent taste characteristics, and besides, you can make any dish from it: from dumplings to barbecue. Often housewives buy a large amount of this product. Therefore, the question of how to store pork is quite relevant for many.
How to choose
- When choosing pork, you need to immediately look at its color. Meat that has been left too long is darker. This color can also be an indicator of the advanced age of the animal - it will not work to make a juicy kebab out of it.
- Quality fresh pork should be uniformly pink in color and have a slightly shiny surface.
- The fat layers should be white (the yellow color of the fat is an indicator that the animal is already old).
- Fresh meat has a delicate, pleasant aroma and good elasticity. A sharp sour smell indicates the staleness of the product. If you press a little, the meat will quickly acquire its original shape. And a product that has expired will leave a dent.
- On the surface of high-quality pork should not be a lot of moisture and mucus. And the piece itself should not be flabby and torn.
If the product has been on the counter for longer than the allotted time, bacteria begin to develop in it, which will not die even after heat treatment. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to buy and use stale meat.
Shelf life
- You can store pork in the freezer at -18°C and below, in a relative humidity of 95 - 98%.
- Pork with the skin can be stored for about 8 months, and without it - only 6.
- At temperatures below -25°C, the shelf life of pork is 12-14 months.
Fresh meat storage
Steam pork should be cooled naturally, without the use of a refrigerator or packaging. Pieces of pork will keep freshness in a dry place with a low temperature without a refrigerator for no more than 3 days. Under such conditions, the pork will “ripen” (become more juicy). Such meat is easier to digest by the body (during this time, protein synthesis occurs in it).
Usually meat is bought immediately in large quantities, and only a small part of it is cooked. If the storage of chilled pork complies with certain rules, it will not lose its taste and useful qualities for several days.
The meat of young pigs and minced pork are stored for no more than 1 day without a refrigerator in a dark, cool place.
Adult animals need to be in plastic food containers or plastic bags with holes for air access, in the lower part of the refrigerator for 2-3 days or in a frozen state.
Frozen storage
Usually meat is stocked in advance and stored in the freezer. If it is intended for daily use, it is divided into portions sufficient to prepare one dish. This is done so that the meat does not re-freeze.
Before storing pork in the freezer, do not wash it, otherwise it will quickly deteriorate. And if everything is washed, they are wiped dry with napkins before freezing.
Storing pork in the freezer is possible:
- in vacuum bags (about 3 months);
- using an ice crust (the meat is doused with water and frozen several times until a dense crust of ice forms on its surface). In this state, in polyethylene bags, the meat will last up to six months.
Meat frozen using quick (shock) freezing can be kept in foil for up to 6 months. But if the method of freezing the purchased product is unknown, it is better to eat it immediately.
Shared storage table
|
Storage temperature |
Shelf life |
| from 0 to +5 °C |
about two days (adult animals) |
| from 0 to +5 °C |
no more than a day (for young animals) |
In fact, there are many options when it comes to keeping food out of the fridge. For example, you need to know how to keep meat without a refrigerator if a person goes somewhere in the summer for a barbecue picnic. It is in this case that ordinary ice will help, in which meat will be placed. Beef or lamb can do the longest without a refrigerator, but for poultry and pork, this shelf life is reduced. Best of all, any meat will keep a fresh look if it is separated from the bones. After cleaning the meat from the bones in advance, you need to rinse it well, removing all the blood and dirt. Well-dried meat is rubbed with lemon juice or vinegar, leaving the product in a sealed container in a cool place. It is allowed to hang the meat in a draft.
In order for a fresh meat product not to spoil for several days, it is necessary to rub it on each side with melted pork, beef or lamb fat. The processed piece of meat is wrapped in waterproof paper and sent to the coolest place. There is another option that will allow the product not to deteriorate in the absence of a refrigerator. It is necessary to take raw meat and lower it into boiling water for several minutes, while the liquid should be well salted. Beef and lamb are dipped in boiling water for three minutes, if it is young veal, then one minute is enough. After that, the meat is left in a ventilated cold place where there is no access to flies.
Among the folk methods, they distinguish the shifting of the meat product with grated horseradish or nettle, as well as fresh leaves of bird cherry, wrapping the pieces with a wet towel. The material, well soaked in vinegar or saline, in which you will need to wrap beef and pork, will not allow the meat to deteriorate. Even with the strongest heat, the meat will not go rotten if you rub it with a cut lemon. It is important to leave the prepared product in a ventilated place. Skimmed milk, which quickly curdles and closes the product tightly, will keep the meat tenderloin in good condition for a whole week. In this case, it is necessary to send the meat also to a cool place. Before further use of the tenderloin, which was stored in this way, it must be washed well and dried.
Honey or fresh milk fights well with the processes of oxidation and reproduction of bacteria. To do this, it is necessary to completely fill the meat with raw milk or honey. Allows you to keep meat and regular table salt longer. In this case, you need to prepare a saline solution from a pack of salt and two liters of water. Meat pieces are laid out in the prepared salty liquid, which must be wrapped in advance with culinary parchment (the weight of each of them should not exceed two hundred grams). Thus, the product can be stored for more than two days. If it happens that there was already meat stored in the freezer compartment of a broken refrigerator, it is important to slow down the defrosting. In this case, you can use foil or special thermal bags. To create the effect of a thermos, a piece wrapped in foil is wrapped in several layers of material.
If you need to keep the meat for up to a week, a towel soaked in salicylic acid solution will do. Before preparing the meat for long-term storage without a refrigerator, regardless of the method chosen, it is necessary to rinse it well under running water. To prevent the meat from spoiling, you can fry it until a crust forms, pack it in a gauze bag and hang it in a place where there is a draft. It is also allowed to hold the meat over the gas until a dry crust forms. Tied with twine, such meat is hung in a cool place. In order to preserve boiled chicken meat, you should use red pepper and salt, rubbing the product well with spices on all sides.
In addition, you can use the salting of meat, getting the so-called corned beef. To do this, you can use salt traditionally or add your favorite herbal spices. To prepare the brine, thirty grams of salt is used for one liter of water (it is best to take boiled water). Beef, lamb or pork is cut into large pieces and sent to the prepared salt solution. Such a product should be in brine for up to a month. Cooked corned beef is stored in a cool and dark place. You can also use the drying of meat in a special dryer, having removed all the fat from it in advance. The meat, cut into thin slices, is laid out in a drying machine and dried for twenty hours at a temperature not lower than eighty degrees.
Since ancient, prehistoric times, when people got their livelihood exclusively by hunting and gathering, their survival almost completely depended on the ability to stock up on meat - the main source of protein. Without meat supplies, it would be extremely difficult for people to survive such difficult periods as winter cold or drought.
After a successful hunt, people buried the meat deep in the snow or dried it in the sun, which made it possible to preserve the carcass of the killed animal for a long time. These storage methods are the simplest, but they do not lose their effectiveness and are still used today.
Harvesting meat in modern conditions
Despite the fact that fresh and frozen meat is readily available all year round in cities and villages, this does not mean that it is time to forget about the ancient technologies for harvesting and storing meat. Firstly, such preparations allow people to be prepared for any emergency. Secondly, in the era of the processing of any products with chemicals and harmful substances, the methods of ancestors help to maintain confidence that only organic meat gets on the plate.
Representatives of isolated tribes to this day prepare dried, smoked or frozen meat and fish. These methods have found use and even popularity in technologically advanced places, the only difference is that technology allows meat to be harvested in ancient ways, without relying on the vagaries of nature.
Drying
One way to prepare meat without chemicals and other additives is drying, that is, dehydrating the meat until it turns into such a dry product that there is simply nowhere for microbes to multiply.
Compared to traditional sun drying, an electric dehydrator is faster and safer. It allows you to adjust the texture of the finished product and its complete drying in an antimicrobial environment.
The temperature regimes of most dehydrators will help get rid of such harmful and tenacious bacteria as Escherichia coli (Salmonella).
In addition, modern technologies make it possible to pack dried or dried meat in vacuum bags, which significantly increases its shelf life at room temperature.
Salting
Table salt is a dehydrating agent that helps keep meat at temperatures above freezing. You can store salted meat for a long time, since salt has antimicrobial properties.
Salting meat can be done in different ways. Popular is dry salting, a method in which the meat is simply rubbed with a large amount of salt and the juices are allowed to drain. To do this, you can use plain table salt, which can be mixed with spices and herbs to add flavor to the meat.
In addition, meat can be rolled into jars with a salt solution, in which honey or even sugar is added for extra taste.
Another interesting way of dry salting is that before salting the meat is stored in a marinade, and after it is rubbed with salt, the meat is dried in the sun or in a dehydrator.
It is worth noting that there is a special salt for salting meat and fish on sale. It softens the texture of the finished product, but it does so by mixing the salt with chemicals like 6% sodium nitrite. This chemical can harm the body if its content in food exceeds the permissible norm, therefore, using special salt mixtures, carefully follow the recommended proportions or give preference to simple table salt.
canning
For long-term preservation, canned meat is best. Cans of meat can be stored for years on the balcony, in the kitchen or in the basement.
Canning essentially means the sterilization of meat in containers that are sealed tightly after sterilization to keep the product from external contamination. Traditionally, jars were sterilized in water, however this type of sterilization is not entirely safe for meat.
Two methods of canning are advised - hot and cold:
- Hot canning is that before canning the meat must be cooked almost until cooked and put hot in jars, pouring broth. After making sure that there are no large air bubbles left in the broth, the jars can be rolled up.
- Raw canning is very similar to salting. Raw meat is well salted and rolled into jars without adding water, since salted meat releases enough of its own juice.
Security measures
No matter which method of harvesting and storing meat you choose, its success depends entirely on the quality of the meat and compliance with all safety rules. Choose only fresh meat and prepare it immediately after purchase, hunting or slaughter. If the preparation of meat needs to be temporarily postponed, store it properly - in the refrigerator (less than one day) or in the freezer.
How do you store meat?
To a modern person, accustomed to everyday amenities as something taken for granted, such a formulation of the question may seem strange. But let's imagine that you went to the country, to a picnic, in the end, your refrigerator may simply fail and you need to somehow turn over while it is being repaired. It’s good if it’s winter outside, but what if it’s August? How to be?
Ready meals and products can be stored in the basement. In rural areas, if there is neither a refrigerator nor a basement, food can be stored in a well by hanging it on a rope.
If there is ice, you can use a large saucepan or boiling water to store food and ready meals. Pieces of ice are wrapped in paper and placed tightly on the bottom. Food is placed on top, covered with paper and again ice wrapped in paper. The pan is covered with a blanket or some kind of thick cloth and put in a cold place. If there is no ice, it is replaced with moistened sand.
Keep cooked foods separate from raw foods. Try to prepare as much food as is necessary for the family for one day. On the 2-3rd day, it not only loses its nutritional value and taste, but can also deteriorate.
Sausages and lard in summer it can be stored in tiled stoves. Thoroughly clean the oven and place paper-wrapped food inside. In a draft (draft) in the oven, they will be fresh for a long time.
Raw meat it will last longer if you wrap it in a clean cloth moistened with vinegar or salt it well and put it in a dish, and cover it with a lid on top. Place a saucer at the bottom so that the blood from the meat drains into it.
Bones and meat with bones even in the refrigerator they are not stored for a long time, and therefore their storage outside the refrigerator is problematic.
Cooked meat It is better preserved in a dry form, so the water in which it was cooked must be drained.
Grilled meat long preserved if it is filled with fat. However, make sure that there is no water left in the fat.
If you need to store smoked meat for a long time, do not wash it.
In the summer, protect the meat from flies. Do not place raw vegetables, dairy and cooked products nearby.
open canned food use immediately. If there is a portion left, transfer to a glass dish and cover.
Canned vegetables should also be opened just before consumption.
Milk should not be stored in aluminum containers. After boiling it, pour it into a glass, enamel or earthenware dish.
Do not cover freshly boiled milk. It takes on an unpleasant odor.
Boiled milk will last longer if you add a little sugar to it.
Milk can be kept fresh longer if the glassware with it is placed in a bowl or wide saucepan with cold water and covered with a clean, wet cloth so that its edges sink into the water. Even evaporation of the water from the cloth will keep the temperature in the bowl of milk low.
Sour cream, cottage cheese, butter well preserved if they are placed in a bowl in cold water. In summer, the water should be changed several times a day. Cottage cheese is well preserved without a refrigerator if it is wrapped in a clean, damp white cloth and kept at a temperature not exceeding 10-15 ° C. The fabric should be rinsed in cold water once or twice a day.
To keep the surface of the cheeses from drying out, wrap them in a damp cloth.
Flour and cereals best stored in tin crates or boxes. It can also be in bags, but then at least once a month you should ventilate, mixing. Place some charcoal on top of the bag. Thanks to him, you can avoid the penetration of insects, dampness and prevent the appearance of rottenness.
Eggs for long-term storage, they are placed in boxes with the sharp end down and covered with shavings, sand or straw.
For such storage, eggs are not washed. You can also grease each egg or fill it with paraffin and put it in a jar. Regardless of the method of storage, they should be kept in a cool place.
Fresh vegetables they are stored for a long time if they are put in a box and covered with dry sand (so that they do not touch each other).
Peeled vegetables can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. At the same time, avoid metal utensils. Also, do not keep boiled vegetables in a metal bowl.
Potato store in a dark, cool place at a temperature not lower than 0 °C. At lower temperatures, starch quickly turns into sugar, potatoes become sweet, tasteless. Light also contributes to the formation of a harmful substance in potatoes - solanine.
Onion and garlic in winter, it is better to store woven into wreaths and suspended so that they do not touch other objects.
Lettuce, radish, green onion and other vegetables will stay fresh for several days if wrapped in a cloth moistened with a solution of vinegar and water.
Parsley and green onions you can have it in winter. To do this, plant parsley roots and onion heads in flower pots or boxes and place them in the kitchen on the windowsill. Watering should not be frequent.
pork fat long stored in glass, enamel or earthenware in a cold room.
Vegetable oil it will not go rancid if you pour it into a dark glass bottle to the top, pour 50 g of vodka and cork well. Store the oil in a cool dry place.
Mushrooms buy only if you are absolutely sure of their quality, and this quality is determined by competent persons, and purchase as much as is necessary for a single use.
Fresh mushrooms and dishes from them cannot be stored even in the refrigerator.
So that dried mushrooms do not lose their flavor, they should be stored in jars that are hermetically sealed.
Salt, sugar, black and red pepper easily absorb moisture, so they should be stored in a dry place in a tightly sealed glass or porcelain container.
To prevent salt and sugar from absorbing moisture, place a few grains of rice in the bottom of a salt or sugar bowl.
Salt will also be dry if you mix it with starch (for 500 g of salt - 30 g of starch) or put blotting paper on the bottom of the jar in which it is stored.
Poppy burns out quickly. Fresh poppy seeds are best kept in a linen bag in a cool, well-ventilated area. Poppy seeds should be ground only before use: ground, it spoils faster, bitter.
Yeast keep fresh for two weeks if cut into small pieces, put in a jar, cover with cold water and put in a cool dark place. Yeast does not lose its fermentation properties for several weeks if it is rubbed with flour, dried, put in a cup or glass and sprinkled with flour on top. You can also put the yeast in crushed salt.
nuts well preserved if they are washed in cold water and dried in the open fresh air. When the nuts are completely dry, they are put in a bag and hung up.
Dried fruits and vegetables are well preserved in gauze bags in a suspended state in a cool room. From time to time they should be reviewed and selected spoiled.
Dry dough products stored for a long time if put in a tin box, close tightly and keep in a cool room.
Cake will not dry out if you put an apple in the box where it lies.
Black and white bread should be kept separately. White easily absorbs the smell of black, as a result of which its taste deteriorates.
