Creekstone, the reverse problem from @Rod . What should I do?

[rickgregory]

Wild that they'd offer that.

I'd partially thaw, divide, seal and refreeze. I'd also contact them and ask them to refund the next day shipping amount.

PS: I doubt your supermarket has meat that good. I mean, heck, if they do... why ever order online? I'm not being snarky here - to me online has to offer something I can't get locally or like you say, why bother?

[Mosca]

Do you have a cleaver? if so, you might be able to let it partially thaw, divide into halve etc and then vac seal and refreeze.

but I have to ask... you expected them to ship meat NOT frozen? That's almost impossible. You're asking for meat to stay between 33 and 40F for the time it takes to ship, probably a couple of days.

Also - you can just refreeze the meat as long as you don't let it stay thawed for a long time.

It was specifically stated in the product description: "These do ship fresh and once received, roasts can be stored in the freezer until you are ready to cook or can be left in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and then cut into individual steaks or cooked whole as a roast." And I paid extra for next day shipping, because I’ve had problems with orders arriving in poor condition. It will take probably 5 days at least for this thing to thaw.

I’m not pissed off; I’m disgruntled. Something that was supposed to be simple is going to be a pain in the ass. But also, I don’t know what an equitable solution might be. I don’t think asking for a replacement is fair to Creekstone. But I also feel that I didn’t exactly get what I bargained for, either.

If there is no resolution beyond the status quo, they get crossed off the list and life goes on. I can deal with it. It’s just that something that was supposed to be simple turned into a project. I could have bought the damn thing at Wegman’s.

[Dadof3Illinois]

IMO, for what that’s worth...I wouldn’t have a problem freezing it again after splitting it up.

[rickgregory]

Do you have a cleaver? if so, you might be able to let it partially thaw, divide into halve etc and then vac seal and refreeze.

but I have to ask... you expected them to ship meat NOT frozen? That's almost impossible. You're asking for meat to stay between 33 and 40F for the time it takes to ship, probably a couple of days.

Also - you can just refreeze the meat as long as you don't let it stay thawed for a long time.

[ComfortablyNumb]

I would keep it frozen until you want to use it. Then section it, refreeze the ones you aren't going to use, then carry on. You could mention to the seller, express dissatisfaction, and they will probably do something to 'make you whole', such as a good discount, some free meat, etc.

[Mosca]

I thought of that. But I don’t have a meat saw. Not thinking of buying one, either.

[Oakgrovebacon]

I would go meat saw, while frozen. Right between the bones. Portion it up, vacuum seal and back to the freezer.

[Mosca]

So, yesterday this came:



Which is nice. It is a beautiful piece of beef. Black Angus prime.

However, it was supposed to be fresh, not frozen. (It was also not supposed to be here until Tuesday, but it was in good condition, so no big deal on that.)

Now, I normally wouldn’t have a problem with that. I don’t think properly frozen, then properly thawed beef tastes any different from fresh. My problem is that I didn’t want one huge piece of frozen meat. I wanted one huge piece of fresh meat, that I would then cut into one 4 bone roast for the holidays, and 8 1lb ribeyes to freeze for other meals.

As it is, I have no use for this. Not that we won’t eat it, but there will be seven of us. This is about 16 pounds of rib roast. There will be 10 lbs of waste. I’m not going to thaw the whole thing, resection it, and then refreeze it.

Or should I?

Anyhow, what should my recourse be? It’s not like it arrived warm and I can’t eat it. On the other hand, I’m not exactly whole here, either, because I can’t do with it what I want.

I don’t want to hold Creekstone up for another roast. That somehow doesn’t seem fair. But I don’t know what would be fair.