How long can brisket sit in refrigerator?

[qposner]

Bought a 10lb packer last Fri in cryo. Packing date was Dec 31 and has sell by date of Feb 9. Turns out I won't have time to cook it until the 10th. Not sure if it needs to be frozen most of that time or if it's fine refrigerated until then. Don't know when Cash and Carry thawed it.

 

[Jason TQ]

Longest I've gone is 74 days from pack date. I'd regularly go 45-60 without thinking too much about it. Watch for air bubbles.

 

[smoke ninja]

You should have several days past a sell by date given the cryo is intact.

 

[mchar69]

It was never frozen, It's OK.
Get pics of the cook.

 

[Ron_L]

Forget the sell by date. Those are arbitrarily set by store policy. The pack date is what you care about. I routinely go 40-45 days past the pack date. Look at the cryo and make sure it is still sealed. There will be some bubbles from the beef aging, but there should be no holes or stuff leaking out of it. If it is intact, you're fine.

 

[qposner]

Thanks everyone! Again, this place is the best!

 

[rikun]

We get our briskets as imports from IBP/Tyson here in Finland. The freshest I've found has been already "aged" 1.5 months in transport. Not sure about that, since they might have been kept really cold in transit, effictively not aging that much?

The package says they are good for 4 months after slaughter date (!) if kept at 32 F.

Then again, don't know how much they age if kept that cold. I don't think I've seen any bubbles in the cryovac.

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

We get our briskets as imports from IBP/Tyson here in Finland. The freshest I've found has been already "aged" 1.5 months in transport. Not sure about that, since they might have been kept really cold in transit, effictively not aging that much?

The package says they are good for 4 months after slaughter date (!) if kept at 32 F.

Then again, don't know how much they age if kept that cold. I don't think I've seen any bubbles in the cryovac.

For those of you that think,"sure it will be good that long frozen". Brisket will "not" freeze at 32*......

 

[rikun]

Yeah, meat will start to freeze at around 28.4 F. I think it's pretty common to transit meats stored just above that for long oversea hauls.

 

[Porcine Perfection]

Oxygen is the key word here.

Though oxygen is a key element in supporting life, when it comes to food shelf life, quality and, in some cases, safety, it can become an adversary. The element oxygen is essential to the biological functions in plants and animals involving respiration and photosynthesis. However in foods it causes the degradative oxidation reactions that result in off-flavors, odors and sometimes-harmful compounds.

 

[QDoc]

I've been told if air bubbles develop quarter size you need to cook it.

 

[Untraceable]

recently did a pair of creekstones nearing 90 days.

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

Yeah, meat will start to freeze at around 28.4 F. I think it's pretty common to transit meats stored just above that for long oversea hauls.

I've experimented with wet aging brisket in the 30* range, my findings were that it slowed down the process considerably. It's not a surprise to me that you've seen very little signs of the wet aging on your shipments.

 

[SGH]

I'm not suggesting that you do or do not do it, but I have let them sit 90-93 days before. There is fellow Brethern and friend of mine (Cen-Tex) who has done the same thing on more than one occasion. Again, I'm not suggesting that it's ideal or that you do it, but it can be done with no ill effects as long as the cryovac is sound and temps are maintained without any spikes.