Hi I had a shipment of online meat delayed for a couple of days. Was a Butt, some burgers, and a couple of streaks. Shipped frozen but was defrosted on arrival. I tossed the burgers but using a temp gun surface temp was 37 degrees for everything else. Is it safe? Can I refreeze? They refunded my order but not sure if the meat is salvageable.
I don't want to name names because the carrier was at fault.
I would give it the smell test. If that passes, I would refreeze it. I would just make sure I hit the right temps. I hate to waste anything and a bit of a tightwad, so this may not be the "safest" answer. I'm willing to risk it. At least the steaks.
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
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I dunno because of its size the butt maybe ok, may retain some cold/chill.
The steaks tough call, what does your nose say, the burgers are in the right place.
I have had this happen a few times. One time the meat was warm to the touch (summer in Florida), probably 70 degrees. Definitely threw that stuff away. But most other times the meat was still cold enough to salvage. I think one of the briskets was 45 degrees but I still cooked it up. Above 50 I would start to question it.
Thanks all. Consensus is it will be fine. I put it all in the freezer except for the hamburgers which I tossed. There was still some frost on the underside of the butt so I think I'm ok.
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
I've had this happened before and it is a big reason I think that Click Akaushi went out of business - at least twice either all or part of a shipment I received from them arrived thawed and at unsafe temperatures. Same with Porter Road, but to a lesser extent as they are closer to me.
My rule of thumb is anything that the IR told me was below 40F was safe and went in the freezer. Anything above that, I asked for and received a refund on.
IIRC Porter Road ships fresh, not frozen. So the meat arriving thawed is normal. I think all my shipments from them have been the proper temp and can't remember any that have been too warm.
JoeSousa their sausage and ground meats are shipped frozen. The times I've had issues with Porter Road, it was because they shipped late in the week, and it sat on a hot Fedex truck or in a Fedex facility over a weekend, before getting to me on a Monday.
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Meat that stays between 40F and 140F for extended periods is unsafe. If the surface temp is 37F, the interior is lower than that. The Butt is certainly still frozen inside. The steaks are probably 35F internal. Completely safe. Refreeze and save for another day or cook right away. Either way, you are good to go. And the burgers definitely should toss.
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