Ordering half a pig or a meat package directly from the farmer is still one of the best ways for private households to source their meat. But what are the best ways to store the meat? We have a few helpful tips for you.
“If stored correctly, meat can be kept for around six months”, says Raffaela Neussinger from V-ZUG’s Gourmet Academy. It’s important that the meat is protected against freezer burn, so watch out for areas that appear dried out and discoloured. This happens because when water leaks from the frozen food and then refreezes on the surface, the meat will dry out. But it can still be consumed, even with freezer burn. “Unfortunately, though, the flavour of the entire piece of meat will be impacted and simply cutting away the affected areas won’t help”, explains trained chef Neussinger. Prevention is the best cure. Avoid fluctuations in temperature. And ensure that the packaging of the meat is as airtight as possible, using either a vacuum device or plastic bags wrapped tightly around the meat. Neussinger explains: “Meat that has a large surface area, such as mince or steak, is more prone to freezer burn than large slabs of meat.” If you’re not sure whether or not the meat from your freezer is still good to eat, you can inspect it once it has defrosted. Neussinger says: “The first way to inspect the meat is to smell it.” Always allow the initial smell to escape from the packaging first. Secondly, you can cut off a piece of the meat and fry it without any seasoning. According to the V-ZUG expert, this will tell you whether the meat still tastes good. And as always, once the meat has been defrosted, it should not be refrozen. Otherwise the quality of the meat will deteriorate and there will be a greater risk of bacteria multiplying.