Storing meat: where and how

Where do I store my chilled beef and lamb? How do I store it? These are questions we are asked time and time again, and rightly so. With a long shelf life on our chilled beef and lamb (up to 23 days from air freight), it is important to ensure you store your products safely so it can be enjoyed by the whole family.

Where should I store my chilled beef and lamb in the fridge?

We are all taught the golden rule that meat items should be kept to the lower shelves of a fridge in case fluid seeps from the packaging and contaminates food items including fruit and vegetables on lower shelves. This is certainly the case for anything that is not properly air-sealed or cryovaced.

However, for our range of beef and lamb, which are cryovaced on the processes floor in Australia, it is best practice and safe to store them in the top chiller box of the fridge (where you may also have cheese, for example). The chiller box is the most cool area of the fridge, where temperature fluctuations are kept to a minimum (from opening the door time and time again).

How long can I store my chilled beef and lamb for, in a fridge?

Our chilled beef can be safely stored for up to 23 days in the fridge, from the date of air freight. To avoid any confusion, you'll see that each chilled item will have a 'freeze by' sticker on it, indicating that you should either:

1. consumed the meat; or
2. place it in the freezer,

prior to that date.

How does wet ageing (in the fridge) and dry ageing beef and lamb effect meat quality?

Wet or dry aging meat is an effective way to tenderize meat as the muscle fibers tend to relax further over time, making them thinner and easier to bite. In this way, our unique packaging offers a great way to safely store and tenderise the meat further.

How can I properly freeze meat without affecting the eating experience?

Freezing chilled beef and lamb tends to affect the eating experience because – just like a plastic bottle filled with water might ‘explode’ in the freezer (evidenced by the top popping off, for example) – meat fibers are compromised at the time of being frozen. They also tend to ‘explode’ or in actual fact, break apart. This is not immediately noticeable as the look and feel of the raw steak will remain unchanged. It is only at the time of cooking, when the steak tends to 'bleed' on the pan, that you'll notice the difference.

To avoid the loss of fluid and ultimately; taste and tenderness, you can try and ‘blast freeze’ meat in the freezer. This can be done by creating as much room around the meat itself, so the cold air can quickly surround and freeze the meat with the available surface area. The less room there is in the freezer itself, the slower the freezing process and the more likely for the meat fibers to break apart.