How long will cryovac meat last.

Cryovacing works by excluding oxygen, so any air pockets are bad news.
I reccon 6 weeks is closer than 1 week if done well and stored at 2-4 degrees, but maybe somewhere inbetween would be safe.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

Hi Graeme,

You should get boneless red meat to last at least 4 weeks and probably 6, though I dont think I have ever tried for that long. We freeze our meat before setting out, and also pack the cryovaced packs in plastic containers in the bottom of the fridge. Too much weight on them can cause the cryovac packs to burst, especially if travelling over corrugations! Fish, chicken, sausages etc will not last as long as red meat.

Cheers

Pyro 1, with your scenario , six weeks no problems at all. Have never tried to make things last longer than that.


Regards

TDB

Up to 6 weeks- keep the fridge at or below 4 degrees.
Don't cryovac anything with bones that could pierce the plastic which would spoil the contents...

Don't know much about Graeme , but there are different processes some of which last longer.

Think better commercial systems , flush the product with inert gas before vaccuming and these last longer.

Graeme,
Last year I had my rump steak in the van fridge for six weeks, no problem. Not sure what the temp stays at.
Willie.

Depends on your SWMBO.
We had some Tbones which SWMBO insisted be tossed out after about 2 weeks because the fat goes green.
Apparently this is common with cryovac meat and does not imply it is off.
But try to convince the SWMBO.
Regards Philip A

Have found that different butchers use different cryovac bags , some bags seem to be much thicker/stronger than others , would have to surmise that the thicker bags require a stronger air removal and less air contact = longer product life.
Have kept boneless cuts including boneless/skinless chicken for upto 6 weeks in the fridge section of our 80lt Waeco , nowadays though we generaly freeze the cryovac products first to act as a cold "bank" ,

Hi Pyro 1

As an ex Butcher this is my opinion.

We use cryovac meat all the time at home and going away.
White meats, mince and sausages up to 10 days.
red meat up to 10 to 12 weeks.
As long as your fridge stays at about 2 degrees, this works for me.

when red meat is open you will get a smell as soon as the air hit the meat, it also looks a bit greenish. give it a good wipe down with paper towel to get all moisture off then you will notice it turn back to normal color. If you think it has a bit that looks bit off just trim it off.

I always use oyster blade steak as a whole piece then you can roast it, cut it up for steaks to grill, bbq, fry or you can cut it up for a stew or casserole.

Make sure that you use it ASAP after opening, if you need the meat to be put in smaller sizes there are plenty of butcher that do that to your requirements.

I have been doing this for years and had no problems, just make sure that there is no bone in any meat as this will pierce the bag, if you need a leg of lamb etc get the butcher to bone it out for you.

Also place it all in the bottom of the fridge and try not to open fridge for to long as this all helps. We normally have one fridge for meat and the other for drinks.

Hope all this helps

David

G'day Graeme

I've kept a whole cryovaced rump in the fridge for almost 2 years and it was truly, to die for, when cooked!! 'The' most tender piece of beef I've ever eaten. It was 'vacced by the local bulk butcher and I spoke to a friend who's husband was a butcher and she said they regularly keep meat for this length of time. Her suggestion was to rotate the meat every week or so, that way the juices don't drain to the bottom and the top of the meat be dried out when cooked.

Hope this helps?
Bronwyn ;-)

The smell is only the blood/fluids in the meat, it usually disperses after a wipe down, then rinse the meat under the tap for a little bit. The smell doesn't mean that the meat is off. According to a family friend also a butcher, Cryo Should last 6-10 weeks in the fridge.

Graeme,

Cryvaccing and Vacuum sealing are two entirely different things.

Cry uses a sysyem to sterilise the surface bacteria, then vacuum seal. Simple vacuum seailing only prolongs the effect of the existing surface bacteria.

Hence you are getting different advice from butchers.

Cheers,

Jim.

Last September I bought two pieces of bulk cryovaced meat from a local wholesale cheapo butcher (Patton's, GC) with the idea of testing out a theory from another butcher who usually produces superb meat. "In the cryovac you can keep some bulk meat up to 200 days".

One was a thin rib fillet (supposedly export) and the other was a whole sirloin.

2 weeks ago I removed both from the fridge and carved them into steaks. The rib fillet had just gone past its usefuleating date and while it was still edible, removing the ammonia smell took too much time for me to be happy. This was quite a thin piece of meat and did not hold up well. I also had concerns about the way it was packed but at $17 I wasn't too concerned. I'll buy this in future but reduce the fridge time.

The sirloin was another story. The beautiful dark colour, no smell, outer fat lookingand smelling OK and 5 months plus of 'hanging', I knew this was going to be great! Once carved I grilled one and it was just brilliant. The rest I have vac packed (using my own machine) and frozen. I got it for $40 reduced from $80 but technically it was still a budget cut of meat. I'll do this again. Hanging any big cut of beef, regardless of quality, will definitely improve its tenderness and flavour.

Finally, usng my own vac packer, I've had rump steak in the fridge for two months and it's come out very well. I reckon I could have doubled the time it was in there.

Went to W.A for 3 months last year kept the meat in cryovac at
-2 ate the last of at Renmark on way home if done properly it will last

Does marinating the meat before cryovac buy you anymore time ????


Cheers

Hi Pyro
all this depends on whether the rump etc. that you are slicing and cryovacing into meal sized portions is fresh or whether the rump etc. has previously been cryovaced. You can not cryovac meat that is about to expire and then expect it to last as long as meat that has been hung and then sliced and immediately.
So i would take the advise of the butcher as he knows how long the meat will last because they know the history of it prior to cryovacing, and as others have pointed out chicken does not probably last longer than a week, and as also pointed out the thinner the slices are less time it will last.
I think cryovacing is great as you don't have to run the fridge above beer temp and the meat will keep for enough time to (2 weeks MAX etc once sliced for red meat and a week MAX for chicken) get to the next butcher for the next supply, if this does not work you can always cryovac the meat then freeze it put it in the bottom of the fridge then put news paper on top of it and run it at beer temp and you will find the meat will stay frozen for quite a few days and as it is cyovaced you still have the window at fridge temp.
I do not think 400g pieces of meat will last not more than 2 weeks and still be good to eat(IF NOT PREVIOUSLY CYOVACED AS A WHOLE RUMP)if it has been cyovaced prior to being sliced i would find another butcher, i appologise for all the rest of the explanation just my experiences from our camping trips.
If a butcher told me that it would last beyond 2 weeks i would find another butcher or go back to the one that said 1 week at least he or she is being realistic.

MATTIE

G,day Graeme
We get our meat (boneless) cryovac packed in Broome before spending a month at Cape Leveque. It is stored in our 40 litre Engel at about 3 degrees and have found it's still ok on the trip home.
Cheers
Peter

Ground Hog Day. This post keeps coming back !

if anyone is interested in doing their own packing, I got a good machine from www.thepackagingcentre.com.au .. works out pretty cheap to pack, I think an average size bag for this machine is about 14c