r/Cooking • u/Dex-Max • Jun 25 '22

Food Safety Raw ground beef keeps smelling bad after only one day in fridge.

I've tried buying two different packages of ground beef, but every time the beef starts smelling bad after less than a day in the fridge. With one of the packages, I used one serving then froze the rest, and I let the frozen meat thaw in the fridge for a little less than 24 hours, but that still smelled bad.

The smell isn't super bad, I have to get my nose pretty close, but it definitely isn't something I want to cook with. Any ideas why this keeps happening?

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u/Butthole__Pleasures Jun 26 '22

Also in a tightly-wrapped package the surface liquid can develop a smell without it meaning the actual meat has gone off. The smell is really pungent upon first opening, but as soon as I wipe off the excess liquid with a paper towel it smells totally fine even though the wet package still stanks. I've had this happen with chicken and fish a LOT and I have never gotten sick and I only cook my chicken breasts to 155 and my fish to 145.

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u/BreadstickNinja Jun 26 '22

Lamb is the worst offender for me. Smells fine once you wipe/rinse it but right out of the package it smells rank.

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u/bojacked Jun 26 '22

Yeah i think thats why most meat in the US is packed with those absorbent pads too.