Shelf life of minced meat in the refrigerator, freezer and at room temperature

Product varieties

• meat - finely minced meat of artiodactyl animals, a classic version of minced meat, used to prepare many dishes;
• fish – fish pulp minced through a meat grinder, used for preparing dietary dishes;
• from poultry – chopped fillet of poultry carcass;
• sausage or sausage - a mixture of chopped meat ingredients that is used to prepare sausage products;
• vegetable – chopped vegetables;
• from mushrooms - chopped mushrooms, scrolled through a meat grinder or food processor.

Product nutritional value table:

What types of cutlets are there?

All these products are prepared from finely chopped minced meat.

Depending on the type they are:

• meat - made from one or more types of meat;
• fish - prepared from one or more types of fish;
• vegetable - made from vegetables.

Depending on the heat treatment there are:

• fried – made using vegetable oil or fat without adding liquid;
• steam - made without the use of vegetable oil or fat using steam;
• baked – cooked in the oven at high temperatures,

From fish From vegetables From meat

How to package a product before storage

To store minced meat in the refrigerator, you need to place it in a plastic container or glass container with a lid. Wrap the dishes in cling film and place in the refrigerator.

And in order to store the semi-finished product in the freezer, you need to divide the mass into several parts. Then pack it in a special food bag or regular cellophane bag. After this, form plates approximately 2 cm thick. This way the minced meat will freeze evenly and take up minimal space in the freezer.

Mushroom, fish and vegetable mince can be stored in plastic containers with a lid that are suitable for freezing. The mixture should be laid out in a thin layer in a plastic container and placed in a storage chamber.

It is worth considering that it is strongly not recommended to freeze minced fish, because... the product loses its taste and texture.

Shelf life

The shelf life of minced meat in the refrigerator and freezer differs significantly.

Chilled in the refrigerator

In the refrigerator, minced meat should be stored on the lowest shelf so that drops from it do not fall on other products located below.

In the freezer

You cannot freeze minced meat from several types of meat, because each product has its own shelf life. You cannot freeze minced meat more than once, and before freezing, the minced meat should be fresh or in the refrigerator for as little time as possible, because the longer the minced meat is left without freezing, the greater the likelihood of harmful microbes getting into it.

Thawed in the refrigerator

After defrosting the product, it is advisable to use it immediately, but if this is not possible, then it is worth considering that the timing of defrosted minced meat in the refrigerator:

Principles for storing raw cutlets

Each product must be stored in suitable conditions. Semi-finished products that are made at an enterprise or at home are also no exception, and they need to be provided with different conditions. This situation is due to the fact that manufacturing technology differs - in production everything is automated and the raw materials not always used are of the highest quality. At home, good minced meat is usually used, and the freshness of the remaining ingredients is the best.

Purchased semi-finished products

It is necessary to keep store-bought cutlets exclusively in the refrigerator; you need to choose a compartment based on the expected duration of storage. Thus, at a temperature of +1...+6 ̊С, semi-finished products from the store will remain edible for 36 hours. In order for the product to meet expectations, it must be chosen correctly. The main criteria for selecting high-quality purchased semi-finished products are as follows:

1. You should purchase the product exclusively from a store that has been verified, as low-quality products lead to severe poisoning. In addition to the above, some retailers sell frozen goods to increase the actual weight of the products.
2. The package must have a sticker or label indicating the packaging date and expiration date.
3. The consistency of the minced meat must be uniform in appearance, and it should also look dense. White inclusions are acceptable, which are a sign of the presence of lard.

To preserve their taste characteristics, such raw cutlets must be stored in suitable packaging or containers. Before being sent to the refrigerator, cutlets must be packaged in:

• container made of glass, ceramics, enameled, covered with cling film;
• plastic bag;
• food box with a tight-fitting lid;
• foil.

Advice! When you plan to use the workpiece over a longer period of time, it must be sent to the freezer. The temperature in the chamber must be maintained at – 18 °C.

Safe freezing of homemade cutlets

A dish prepared at home cannot last long, even when packaged in food grade polyethylene, foil or an airtight box. The semi-finished product must be stored separately from other food products; the optimal location is a zero chamber, in which the temperature is maintained at +4...+6 ̊С, and humidity levels are around 50%. This mode does not allow conditionally pathogenic microorganisms to conduct active life activities and rapidly multiply. To extend the shelf life of homemade semi-finished products, they should be frozen. The correct algorithm is the following:

1. I lay out the minced meat in silicone molds so as not to mold each individual cutlet (the container does not require any preparation, just wash and dry it).
2. I lay out the blanks on a plastic cutting board so that there are no points of contact.
3. I cover the semi-finished products, laid out on a plastic board, tightly with cling film and put them in the freezer.
4. When there is a large volume of minced meat, I place the cutlets on a plastic board in several layers, alternating them with cling film sprinkled with breadcrumbs.
5. After freezing semi-finished products, I transfer them to a common bag or food box - to save space inside the freezer.

The semi-finished product can last up to 3 months at a temperature of -18 °C. After this time, the taste characteristics of the product will begin to rapidly deteriorate.

Advice! I recommend sticking a marker on a container or bag with homemade frozen cutlets, which will indicate the date of sending to the freezer and the type of minced meat. This approach will prevent possible spoilage of the product or food poisoning if the shelf life of the cutlets has long expired.

Defrosting the product

There are several ways to defrost semi-finished products. Place frozen minced meat in the refrigerator or in cold water. For faster defrosting, you can use the microwave oven at minimum power with a mode designed for defrosting. You can also chop the meat product into small pieces and then wait about half an hour.

It is important to know that under no circumstances should you defrost minced meat in hot water, in the sun or in a warm place, because above-zero temperatures are favorable conditions for the proliferation of harmful bacteria.

When defrosting minced mushrooms and vegetables, a lot of liquid will be released, because most mushrooms and vegetables are water. Before cooking, you need to strain the liquid and only then start cooking.

Expiration dates, depending on type

Cutlets can be made from minced meat, fish or vegetables. This circumstance, as well as the presence or absence of heat treatment, directly affects their shelf life.

Chilled semi-finished products can be stored in the freezer:

1. Fish and meat - up to 3 months at a temperature of -18°C.
2. Vegetables - up to 3 months at a temperature of -15°C.

It is not recommended to store cutlets longer than the specified period, even if the temperature is maintained. This is due to the presence of harmful bacteria. When frozen, they become inactive, but are still capable of releasing toxins that can pose a threat to the body of a person or pet. For this reason, the product becomes unfit for consumption after the expiration of the established shelf life.

It is not allowed to store chilled cutlets for a long time. No more than 48 hours are allotted for this. After the specified period, the product must either be frozen or consumed. Semi-finished products, steamed or fried in oil, are stored at different temperatures. They depend on the type of minced meat used:

1. Meat and vegetable cutlets can be stored from +2 to +6°C.
2. Fish cutlets are stored at temperatures from -2 to +2°C.

The total storage period cannot exceed 24 hours from the moment of preparation. After its expiration, the cutlets must be disposed of or frozen.

Storage methods without refrigeration

Preserving minced meat without refrigeration is quite difficult, but there are still several ways:

1. For those who live in private houses, a cellar or basement can serve as a place to store minced meat. Place the product in a non-metallic container and place it in a cool place, wrapped in cling film or foil.
2. A more innovative and modern way to preserve minced meat without refrigeration is to use a cooler bag, if you have one. You need to pack the minced meat in the same way as when storing it in a regular refrigerator and place it in a portable refrigerator.
3. This method is only suitable for minced meat. You need to soak a cotton cloth in vinegar, wrap the minced meat in it and place the product in a saucepan with a lid, and then put it in a dark and cool place.
4. Being in natural conditions, people preserve meat products in the ground. They dig a hole and place the dishes with meat there, and then cover the top with boards, branches, or any other available materials.
5. You can also preserve meat using ice-cold running water by placing a pan in it.

It is important to know that minced meat deteriorates most quickly in cellophane packaging, so you should not try to preserve the product in this packaging. It is best to place the minced meat in a glass bowl or pan.

How to choose ready-made minced meat in the store

It is best to mince the meat yourself and get minced meat, but if this is not possible, then when buying store-bought minced meat, you should pay attention to some things.

• Consistency. The minced meat should not be paste-like, it should be homogeneous and with white inclusions, of which there should not be too many. If this is possible, then it is better to check the minced meat for quality: if the white inclusions are crushed with your finger, then it is fat, and if not, then it is tendons and ligaments.
• Color. Minced pork should be pinkish in color, while minced beef should be reddish. A gray coating indicates poor quality of the meat product. It is also worth paying attention to the type of minced meat; the fresh product has a shiny appearance. If the minced meat looks dull and faded, then think about its freshness.
• Best before date. An important criterion is expiration date. The fact is that minced meat can be stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 12 hours; if you close your eyes to this fact, then poisoning is just around the corner.
• Smell. The semi-finished product should smell like fresh meat. If the minced meat smells of any additives: spices, vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, then the sellers probably masked the smell of a spoiled product in this way.
• Category. Ground meat also has categories. Categories A, B imply from 80% meat content in minced meat, categories B, D, D indicate a meat content in minced meat of up to 60%. You need to understand that the lower the percentage of meat in the product, the more preservatives there are.
• Liquid. If the juice from the minced meat is cloudy and dark in color, then the minced meat has been lying on the counter for quite a long time and it is not the freshest. The juice should be clear. Also, the minced meat should not “float” in the liquid; if this is the case, then most likely the sellers used water to add weight to the product.

How can you tell if the cutlets have gone bad?

Spoiled cutlets can cause poisoning of the body not only of humans, but also of pets. You should not eat a product that is suspicious. In addition, rotten cutlets may contain dangerous bacteria (staphylococcus, E. coli).

The quality and freshness of a semi-finished product can be determined by several criteria. To do this you need:

• Touch the cutlets . A fresh product will be pleasant to the touch, a spoiled product will be slimy.
• Smell the semi-finished product . If the product begins to deteriorate, it will emit an unpleasant odor.
• Check the expiration date . This also applies to homemade cutlets. Please check the attached note. If the freshness of store-bought cutlets is determined, then attention is paid to the manufacturer’s marks.
• Explore color . The presence of green or gray inclusions indicates spoilage of the product.

The detection of any of these signs indicates that cutlets should not be eaten. They must be disposed of.

Features of self-cooking

It would seem that there is nothing complicated in preparing minced meat: grind the meat through a meat grinder, adding onion, salt and spices to taste. But there are still tricks that can make the product more tasty, soft and healthy.

To make minced meat less fatty, you need to reduce the pork content in the minced meat. And in order to relieve the minced meat from dryness, add onions, raw potatoes, or stale bread and a loaf soaked in milk. Also, to make the minced meat dish juicier, you can add lard to the minced meat.

To make the minced meat tender and fluffy, you need to knead it thoroughly or beat it.

In order to make minced chicken soft and juicy, you can mix it with a few tablespoons of sour cream, boiled rice or potatoes.

When making minced vegetables containing cabbage, you cannot salt the cabbage until it has completely cooled, otherwise excess moisture will be released, which will spoil the quality of the minced meat.

When preparing minced fish, to give it juiciness, add grated potatoes or semolina, rather than bread soaked in milk.