Festivity times can’t be imagined without meat. And pork is the most popular of them all.
During the holiday period, I’m staying extra busy, always cooking something.
My boys (all three of them) love baked meat, and pork chops are among the favorite dishes on our dinner table. I prepare them with special care. 🙂
Throughout the week, I’ve found one meatloaf in the freezer I forgot about during this chaotic period and was unaware of how long it was there. The situation where you don’t know this information is very tricky, as it can bring you to the danger zone.
How To Tell If Pork Is Bad?
If you consume meat that has gone bad, the symptoms arise three days after consumption; food poisoning with rotten meat will induce pain, cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and even vomiting. You don’t want that.
Recently I wrote about recognizing if the chicken has gone bad; stimulated by that experience, I realized that I need to conduct a thorough inspection before putting my pork into the frying pan, and here’s what I did.
Determining if the pork has gone bad – Three steps to be 100% sure
The loaf I found in my freezer was packaged in foil, but the label faded away because I buy from a butcher near my house. We are good friends, and he selects the freshest meat for me every time I come by.
Jack (the butcher) packs the meat in foil and then in plastic boxes, and the label was inside, near the meat. When I put the loaf in the freezer, I threw the box away and kept the foil because the freezer was stacked at the time.
1. Inspect The Packaging
It would be best if you looked at the label of your packaging first. To have your pork perfectly clean and safe, you should use it during the use-by period.
Freshly bought, pork should be used during the first day if you’re not planning to freeze it. If you have other stuff to do or don’t have the time to prepare it right away, you can keep it in the fridge for entire three days.
(While I’m writing this, I realized I had to throw the loaf in the freezer to keep its freshness)
When put in the freezer, pork meat can stay in for three months without losing its consistency and quality. Keep in mind that with more time, the quality of the meat deteriorates inevitably. The properly sized freezing bags with zippers can help prolong the life of pork, but it’s advised to use the meat during the first two months.
Related: Pork Smells Like Eggs! What Does It Mean?
2. Inspect the meat thoroughly – Use both your hands, nose, and eyes
Nothing equals the chef’s touch and examination, even though labels provide the most precise information. The visual examination will, first and foremost, reveal how long the meat has been preserved. You should search for pork that is pink to crimson in color. If you observe anything else, there is a problem.
Fresh pork often has white lines and fat separations; yellow should not be present. Speaking of color, you should be aware that after being frozen for a while, pork takes on a somewhat deeper shade of red. It’s crucial to understand how meat’s color changes over time because of this.
The main culprit for this chemical reaction is the relation between oxygen and protein. These two don’t go well together, and meat fiber is rich in protein. The oxidation process changes the color of the pork gradually, regardless of the temperature or the doneness of the meat. On the other hand, low temperatures keep the pork in a safer zone, but color fading is imminent.
When you have a situation like that (just like I had with this meatloaf), you have two options – either to discard the entire meat or to cut off the faded meat.
But how to know what to do then?
3. That’s when the smell & hand inspection comes into place
When you inspect the pork, you have to check the meat consistency and texture and finalize the check with the smell check. If you have any suspicions about the meat’s quality, these two will definitely solve any dilemmas.
The sensation of pork meat in hand is quite distinctive and easy to recognize. Healthy pork meat is tender yet consistent while held in hand. Overall, you’re looking for more firm than soft content.
Next, it’s important to look for overall dryness and the slimy film’s presence over the surface. If the meat feels too slimy or too dry, that piece is not as healthy as it was while it was fresh.
The smell difference is quite easy to distinguish and recognize; fresh pork meat is almost odorless. If you feel anything that resembles a sour, ammonia-like odor on the pork you’re inspecting, this is the big red light.
The bacteria in our surroundings attack the gentle surfaces of the meat and develop easily at the right temperature, violating your pork’s texture and integrity. Depending on the level of damage the bacteria has done, the smell of the meat will get more and worse.
4. What if there is mold?
Avoid keeping your pork in storage for too long before cooking in order to prevent mold from forming on it. To get rid of any possible molds that may have developed at some time during storage, chefs advise boiling or salting the meat. Never try washing off a little amount of mold with water and hoping they’ll be okay when cooked if you’re unfortunate enough to uncover any visible traces of mold; instead, toss them away!
If you live in a damp environment, you may already be aware that mold is a solid indicator that your pork has gone bad. There are several ways to handle this situation, including boiling or salting right away after noticing.
You’ll never know how much mold is in your meat, so avoid it completely. You can’t even boil the affected parts of a piece of contaminated food to get rid of the symptoms- you’ll just infect yourself with stomach problems and regret ever getting near that nasty stuff!
So, to sum it all up, to tell if pork is bad with 100% certainty, you need to:
- Inspect the packaging
- Inspect the meat visually.
- Inspect the meat with your hands – Smell the meat
Related: Suggested Meat Slicers For You; Which is the Perfect Cleaver For Meat
Your pork matters – That’s why you need to prevent it from going bad
Knowing the condition of your meat connects with the knowledge of preserving the meat in the best state as much as possible. To avoid all the symptoms I showcased for you above; you need to know how long can pork stay (depending on conditions) in a good state.
First and foremost, fresh pork should be used in approximately a day or two. If not consumed or heat-treated, pork should be in the freezer. If you’re unsure if you’re going to use it right away, you should aim for a maximum of 4 days in the fridge.
Not thinking about your meat will make it go bad. Have in mind when you bought it and how long has it been in the fridge or the freezer.
Storing pork in the freezer requires proper storage bags and vacuum sealing. It’s simple – because we know that meat and oxygen don’t mix well, we want our meat to be frozen and without any air (or with the least air possible) contained in the packaging.
I’ve had a situation where I forgot about a chunk of meat I put outside the freezer to have ready during the week. Four days passed, and on the fifth day, the color of the meat changed. I knew it – it was time to throw it out.
If you experience this situation, don’t get tempted to refreeze the meat again or use it “because it’s not too late.” Your belly will thank you later. 😀
Now you’re probably wondering: “How long to keep the pork in the freezer?”
The right answer is – up to five months.
This is the recommended period, during which the meat will stay in good condition. During the “freezer career,” you should keep in mind that you should use it once you take the pork out.
Returning it to the freezer is not recommended, even though I did it a couple of times, and nothing happened.
If you’ve taken your pork out of the freezer and now ought to return it in (for your reasons), know that the time doesn’t reset: if your pork has been in the freezer for the whole three months, you can’t count the time from the start.
On the contrary, if you return it after such a period, there’s a maximum of two weeks of freshness left in your pork. So be careful!
Verdict
Everybody loves pork; it can be delicious and made in so many ways. If you prepare it well, the whole neighborhood will enjoy the aroma that’s coming from your house, and your family will praise you.
But, you have to be careful with it while storing it. If it gets bad (which can happen quite easily if you’re careless), pork can make you and your loved ones feel bad and ruin a potentially great day/night.
When you’re not sure, stick to my tips on how to tell if pork is bad, and you’ll be 100% safe. If there’s someone you think can benefit from this article, you know what to do – send it his/her way!
Until our next meet 😉
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