Meat preservation : rules and curiosities

Italian meat: how to preserve its properties

Fresh Italian meat, due to the quantity of water and proteins it contains, can become a means for the development of microbes and harmful substances if it is not preserved appropriately. From slaughter to packaging and storage, it can undergo various types of contamination if strict rules are not applied across the board. Let's discover together some rules and useful tips to best preserve the Italian meat that we purchase in our trusted online butcher's shop.

Almost all products, with a few exceptions, are suitable for being stored in the cold line, offering us the possibility of making them last longer, of being able to eat some vegetables out of season and, the most important part, of creating less waste: so much is bought , we eat a lot. Let's start now with three important concepts to understand how to preserve raw meat: refrigeration, freezing and freezing.

Refrigeration of beef

Refrigeration is what we implement when we put the meat in the refrigerator and then subject it to a temperature between 0° and 4/6°C. In practice it serves to greatly slow down microbial growth (yeasts, bacteria and molds) but not to block it completely, unlike what happens with freezing and deep freezing; as the block occurs at much lower temperatures: from -17/-18°C. We suggest keeping large cuts of meat such as Florentine steaks , roasts and ribs in the refrigerator for a maximum of 4 - 7 days; smaller pieces and ground meat have a shorter shelf life.

Freezing of Italian beef

Freezing is what we do at home when we decide to put Italian meat in the freezer; in this way the meat takes many hours to freeze and the final temperature is between -1.5 and -20 °C. Freezing cools the product and the conservation of the substances contained in it is much more limited, since they have not been completely blocked by frost, but only partially "hibernated".

Freezing or freezing

The frozen food is subjected for a maximum of 4 hours to very low temperatures (below - 18°C ​​and up to -60°C) which ensure instant and perfect preservation, both nutritional and hygienic, of the beef and poultry and pork. It is the typical industrial process, it happens very quickly and does not allow the creation of large ice crystals, therefore it does not affect the structure and quality of the meat.

Home preservation of meat: freezing

The main rules for preserving meat are few but very important:

• When we freeze meat, remember to clean it of fat and bones and dry it carefully
• Divide the meat into smaller portions, as is done for burgers , stews , which you can find in our online butcher's shop
• Steaks and scallops should be placed in sheets of cellophane or wax paper and separated from each other
• Chicken meat should be cleaned, gutted and tested for neck and legs
• Maintain the cold chain: do not refreeze food that has already been frozen previously
• Wrap it in food paper ideal for preserving meat or vacuum packing
• Do not consume it more than 6 months after freezing

Cooking Italian organic meat: defrosting

As with freezing, each food also has its own ideal defrosting method to ensure that all the quality of the meat remains intact. Here are some rules for defrosting meat properly.

• Not all beef can be cooked while still frozen, so find out by reading the label
• Do not consume the meat more than 2 days after defrosting, to avoid increasing the bacterial load
• Thaw the meat at room temperature, leaving it in its package or wrapper
• Thaw the beef slowly in the refrigerator, in about 12 hours, avoiding leaving the Italian meat at room temperature
• Cuts of meat such as steaks , slices and burgers can be placed in the pan while still frozen
• The chicken meat should be left to thaw at room temperature, avoiding using running water

Vacuum-packed meat and preservation

Vacuum-packed meat needs to be stored at a constant temperature in the refrigerator, the fact that it is protected by film and subjected to oxygen deprivation does not mean that it can be kept at room temperature if cooking is not carried out in a relatively short time .

We decided to choose this packaging system for all the cuts of beef we produce, also for the famous Fiorentina steak which, if removed from the vacuum a few hours before cooking and prepared according to the recipes intended for this particular dish, manages to collect a enormous success among diners both from a gustatory point of view and in terms of nutritional properties. Find out more . Vacuum-packed beef lasts 15 days in the refrigerator without any problems. However, you will find the label on each product showing the shelf life in the refrigerator.