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**cwain8845** · March 28, 2017, 09:18 AM

If frozen, then no I would not throw it out.

**lschweig** · March 28, 2017, 09:32 AM

Sell date is different than use by date. I would open it and take a whiff. If you just bought it I would think Costco would stand by it with receipt.

**Jeff_Carley** · March 28, 2017, 10:24 AM

I was reading where some bbq guys would buy packers from Costco or Sams and keep them in the fridge for a few weeks to help age the meat and aid in breaking down some fibers or what not. Going with this logic, I would assume you are ok. You know what they say when you "assume".... looking forward to hearing about your cook with the lamb though. Have been wanting to try my hand at it for a long time now.

**PappyBBQ** · March 28, 2017, 04:52 PM

I pay serious attention to the dates on what I buy at Costco. Just always have. The ones local to me (maybe wider?) got caught up selling "old" meat. I was in the store when they were removing vast quantities of packaged stuff from the cases, with guys in white shirts and black ties barking orders. I've always paid attention to dates and let my nose do the final tell. At the time I didn't pay much attention to what was going on as I was in a hurry... Having said that, I buy most of my meat from Costco still.

**JeffJ** · March 28, 2017, 09:07 PM

Smell it - if it doesn't smell funky cook it very soon. Keep in mind, prolonged heat and smoke kill an awful lot of nasty stuff. Lamb is usually best in the medium-rare - to - medium range. So, it really depends on what kind of dish you are going with. If it's frozen, you should be fine no matter what. If it's refrigerated, maybe create a stew, or something, with it, where it can be more thoroughly cooked to make sure that any potential nasties are destroyed in the process.

**Brewmaster** · March 29, 2017, 09:33 AM

Just to set the record straight when I bought the lamb the date still had plenty of time on it, it just got lost in the fridge.; I opened it and it smelled normal so I took a chance and cooked it on my PBC to an internal temp of 140. I used Noah's Beef and Game rub as he said he invented it for a rack of lamb and it was delicious.

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