Defrosting Questions

[Rover24]

Hello all!

I took out some gorgeous peppered Wright's bacon from the freezer about a week ago and popped it in the fridge to defrost. Things got a little hectic at the house and the que I had planned was nixed. My question: Is there a general rule of thumb that I can use for how many days I have til I have to cook something that has defrosted in the fridge? Lets say that I picked up said item unfrozen from the store and froze it immediately, and that all defrosting took place in a fridge. (39*) Is there a different rule per type of meat, or is there one general (safe) guideline I can follow?

What says the Brethren?

 

[BluesDaddy]

Not sure there is a "general rule" regarding defrosted meat. How long it can be defrosted before use would depend on how long it had been "fresh" prior to freezing. That being said, bacon is a product that has been "cured", which is a process for preserving meats. If its still in the sealed package, you shouldn't have any problems with it.

 

[Rover24]

Thanks BD...I didn't think about the cure of the bacon. As for other non cured meat, I wasn't sure if I could just "restart" the "use or freeze by date" after freezing. For example, if I buy meat with with a "use or freeze by date" 10 days in the future and freeze it the day I buy it. I think I can resonably assume that I have 10 days to cook the meat once I begin defrosting it in the fridge, even when I begin that process a couple months after the original "use or freez by" date has passed.

 

[RobKC]

I've noticed that the Use or Freeze by date on brisket at one local store is 40 days after the kill date.