How Long

[texastweeter]

Just picked up a 7 bone prime rib from the butcher. Came straight out of the cryovac to me. If i vac pack it, how long do you think it will stay good in the fridge raw? I know the usda says 5 days, but I know that is on the short side. Im thinking like wet aging a brisket, however, i know once that cryovac bag was cut, that it is flooded with ambient bacteria. Ideas, thoughts?

[Troutman]

Cryovac has the obvious advantage of a somewhat sterile environment in packaging and vacuum sealing going for it. Bacteria can't grow where this is no air. Now like you said, the seal has been broken but my thinking is if you get a good re-seal on it with your vacuum sealer you've at least solved for the air elimination issue (not altogether but to a large degree). So, having said that, I've gone for 7-8 days before with vac packed roasts. The only thing I don't like is they start to leach out liquid which leads me to believe they are beginning to age. Anyway, I wouldn't push it too much, I assume you're only cooking it medium rare.

[EdF]

That pretty much matches my experience.

[texastweeter]

Yes, medium rare

[ddmcwhirter]

I'd go ahead and salt it before re-packing. At 68, I look at fresh beef and pork as...if it looks good, and for pork, doesn't have a weird smell, then it is good. Also if having a second fridge run it less than 40 degrees.

[tbob4]

Do you happen to know what the "sell by" date was on the original cryo package? I stick to the 5 day rule past the sell by date.

[Huskee]

I agree with all of the gentleman above, at least from a "to be safe" point. I recently bought a brisket flat that expired yesterday, opened it up and trimmed it & salted it, and I re- vacc packed it, and I held it another seven or eight days. It cooked up mighty beautifully. Who's to say it wouldn't have gone a couple weeks or more, but I didn't want to risk it much past a week. I don't know a real rule of thumb on that, but you've got 4 of us saying near a week works fine.

[wcpreston]

I never open the cryovac and wet age my briskets for 30 days. But that's not really what you're asking.

[Spinaker]

Once the cry-vac has been opened I would not go past 5 days or so. Too many bugs flying around. I had one cry vac bag blow up like a balloon in the fridge. Thankfully that bag didn't break.

[jfmorris]

Personally.... I would vac seal it, and if not cooking it this week, would freeze it, and thaw a day or two before cooking it. I know that is not what you want to hear, but I don't think "wet aging" is the way to go once the seal is broken like that.

I hand cut a 13 pound prime NY strip into 1.5" thick steaks a month or two back, and vacuum sealed them, and have been thawing 1 or 2 at a time for cooking. Some of the best steaks I've ever eaten, and they did not suffer from freezing. I wet aged a brisket one time (Costco, in the cryvac) for several weeks, then ended up having to freeze it for several months due to a change in plans, and it cooked up perfectly as well. If you vacuum seal things so there is no freezer burn, I don't think the meat suffers much at all, especially if you have a deep freeze.

[texastweeter]

Thanks kind what I was thinking.

[Dr ROK]

Fancy meat places like Snake River Farms send your order frozen. I wouldn't worry about freezing it.

[texastweeter]

I am going to dry brine it for 48 hours, the vac seal it and drop it in the deep freeze until a couple of days before i cook. It is a 16lber, so it may take a few days to thaw.

[jfmorris]

I think since you know it will thaw for a couple of days anyway, just rub it with the 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt per pound for the dry brine, and vac seal and freeze it tonight. The several days of thawing in the vac bag will be plenty of time to dry brine, and the salt will already be in the bag.

If you think you might cook from frozen, which I have done, then dry brine now, as you suggest, before freezing. I've cooked chucks and butts from frozen with great success. They get more smoke that way.