Would you eat this? Ground beef 3 days past "use by" date

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I bought one of those vac-sealed triple packages of ground beef from Costco about a week ago, and I didn't look at the "use by" date. It turns out the date was 3/11 :( So now I have 2.66 pounds of ground beef in my fridge, waiting for me to decide what to do with it.

 

Would you eat it? If you would, would you cook it and freeze it (e.g., for tacos)? 

 

And if you would cook it and freeze, do you season it during cooking or when you re-heat it? I've never done that before. 

 

TIA!

[wapiti]

It depends.  How does it look and smell?

 

I keep my costco beef in the rear of a low, wide bottom drawer, which for some reason stays very cold, and I'm sure I've used it past the date from time to time.  The unopened packages have almost always been fresh beyond the date, in my experience.  On the other hand, a package that has already been open and then stored in, say, a ziploc bag, is much less likely to stay fresh as long.

[justasque]

That's pretty iffy.  What does it look like?  What does it smell like?  I think it would be pushing it.

Putting that aside, I have made taco/burrito meat and frozen it before.  I usually do it with onion, peppers, and beans, and sometimes I add tomatoes or carrots or celery or turnips, depending on what I have on hand, because I am all about squeezing as many veg as possible into every dish.  I do season it before freezing - I usually make a large batch, have some for dinner, then freeze the rest.  It freezes and reheats really well.  I suggest chopping the veg on the smaller size rather than in large chunks, for texture concerns, although I've always done small so I don't know if large is actually a problem.

You can also just brown the meat and freeze it plain and unseasoned.  The advantage there is that you can use it in other things - shepherd's pie, etc. - if you're sick of tacos.

That said, I'd go the plain route if you decide to use it - no sense wasting good veg and/or broth if you decide it isn't worth eating.  

[TammyinTN]

It's expensive, but I would toss it.  I get those and come right home and toss them in the freezer because I would forget them in the refrigerator every time.  

[zoobie]

I'd open it, let the nitrogen or whatever off gas, then smell it after 5 mins or so. But it wouldn't take much of a smell for me to toss it.

[Heatherwith4]

If it smelled ok, I would cook very thoroughly and use as much as I could *today*. The rest I would toss.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I haven't opened it. It's not the hand packaged kind--it's the vacuum-packaged kind with no air in it, like this:

 

http://www1.planetretail.net/sites/default/files/images/20141103110954.jpg

 

It still looks exactly like the day I bought it. 

 

*sigh* I hate when this happens. I never used to have to check dates with Costco, but with this new one, I do seem to have to. I don't know if it's the economy or the quality of employee around here (I have to be constantly vigilant at the BJ's across the street too), but it's so frustrating.

[Jasperstone]

If it smells iffy, toss it!

[simplemom]

I also vote for the smell test.

[Mommy22alyns]

Yep, sniff it!

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

If it smells okay and I was going to cook it thoroughly anywsy, I'd use it.

 

Disclaimer: I ignore a lot of food safety rules and no one in my family has suffered for it. The only time we have gotten sick was from food that was purchased at a restaurant.

[Melissa in Australia]

it is pretty obvious when beef has gone off. it will be discolored, smelly and slimy. if it has any of those three things then I would feed it to the chooks or dogs. if it has none of those then I would cook it really well.

[Happy]

Smell test, then smell again as you brown it. If either smells bad--toss it. If not, enjoy.

 

Beef has a definite whang to it when it's turned.

 

 

[Catwoman]

I would toss it.

[Tsuga]

Under a pound, I'd toss. That much... I go for the smell test.

[Pippen]

I'd toss it.

[mamajag]

Smell test. I don't throw meat out simply because of a date.