Six year old beef lurking in the freezer.

Solzhenitzen reported the story that prisoners in Siberia had dug a mammoth from the permafrost, thawed it, cooked it, and eaten it.

Apologies to other grans who had already mentioned the deep frozen mammoth

Great news- waste not, want not. Bravo.

Imho meat from the freezer is edible after stewing to kill off any bacteria, worms, etc. The same is not true for veggies which have deteriorated as you can't neutralise some of the products of vegetable decomposition by heating - should be discarded.

I would certainly cook it and give it a try. Many years ago stumbled on a 20 year old leg of lamb at the bottom of a huge chest freezer. Result - delicious (and I'm still here!)

Cook it nice and slow,it will probably have lost a bit of taste but that`s about all.

If it's been truly frozen I'm sure it will be fine. We worry too much about such things. If it looks okay, smells okay, tastes okay, then it is okay!

silverlining48

I would cook it slowly too. I cooked and ate something of a similar age recently also found at the back of the outside freezer; we were fine.

I agree, slow cook in a flavoursome sauce to cover any possible "freezer taste". Possibly marinade too? I'd be tempted to cook it with beer or wine.

undines

If it's been truly frozen I'm sure it will be fine. We worry too much about such things. If it looks okay, smells okay, tastes okay, then it is okay!

I totally agree. Cook it and eat it, it will be fine

My Dear DH would eat this without a second thought or repercussions. After a bad dose of Dysentry caught at work many years ago I find even second-day meat has a very adverse effect on me.
When I find old food in the freezer I sneak it into the bin. In our last house, I once threw beef and mince on the open fire DH came to the aroma of roast beef and sat down to fish fingers shared with the DD's.

I now have hope for my year old meatballs
or do I?

I would greatly prefer its room in the freezer to its company on the dinner table.

The quality cannot be as good as it would have been six years ago.

Eating it may not constitute a health hazard, but I would either throw it out, put it out for the resident fox, or hand it over to the nearest cat-and-dog home, pointing out how old the meat is.

The OP cooked it 2 days ago and said it was fine...

Will peobably have ’Freezer burn’ and be tough, or if fibres have been separated by ice crystals - slow freezing may be more tender! You will only find ou by cooking and trying. It’s safe as lonf as you follow rules of defrosting and cooking to temperature as with in-date meat.

Pointless saying so, Maizie. People don’t read, just wade in.

Vacuum Cleaner838/0186
I wouldn’t waste it. I would cook it probably in a slow cooker , It might be a bit dry ( might not) but that’s the worst that could happen. Even if you don’t eat it wild birds love it cut up very small. I have cooked up things that are older I never waste food.

I'd cook it in one of the ways suggested possibly even serving it with my 1993 vintage piccalilli son found in the cellar recently The colour was much darkened but he said the flavour was best he had ever had and took the whole consignment back home for his family

Never!!
The longer you freeze meat (long term) it starts to break down in every way (texture, flavor, smell, etc)
My rule of thumb for freezing meat is six weeks.
I’m astonished to read how many are encouraging you to make it. Six years???
Never!!

I'm with Germanshepherdsmum on this. As long as you cook it thoroughly, I don't see a problem. I've often cooked meat that's been in my freezer longer than that.

No idea what the Vacuum Cleaner838/0186 comment is or how got on there I sware my pc is haunted.

Gundy - I love the idea meat is useless after 6 weeks!! why bother freezing it at all then? I regularly eat meat of all sorts and game at least a year old. Vacuum packing stops freezer burn and degradation. Very very old meat will degrade but it wont rot or become dangerous - cook long and slow - its the vacu packing that is the best tip.

Gundy This is why you cook it long and low in stock and red wine, like venison The fibres of the meat absorb the flavout of the ingredients it is cooked with. and means that an expensive joint of meat is not wasted.

I keep meat in my freezer for more than 6 weeks, sometimes for up to a year without any loss of flavour. But I buy Pasture for Life beef and organic lamb and pork from local producers. I suspect that supermarket meat for industrially managed herds may not be as freezer resistant.

Wondering what nutritional value there might be in a piece of beef that's been frozen for six years - I might leave it out for a fox to eat but as for human consumption, no way. And there's no guarantee that your freezer hasn't malfunctioned at some point in the history of this beef joint, meaning it's potentially been subjected to changing temperatures, so not only nutritionally bankrupt but also unsafe to eat.

Really? Reading comprehension is underrated.

Llamedos13 already cooked it; declared it delicious. She has moved on to 2017 pork, I'm sure the pork will also be lovely.

Granarchist - First of all - I love your name! I can relate to that.
Yes, vacuum sealed wrapping is the best if you have to freeze.
M0nica - I don’t eat a lot of meat anymore. I was raised (and am) European, so it was a meat and potato upbringing. Now I buy a lot less for myself due to astronomical prices and consume it within a few weeks. I prefer to make on the day of purchase for the best outcome!
Have a g’day, Girls!