To ask about mince from the butchers?!

[lancsgirl85]

Sorry not an AIBU but just wondering who is right here, me or DP?

We bought fresh mince from the butchers yesterday lunchtime. I think it will need cooking today latest. He thinks we have until tomorrow to cook it.

Who is right? I really don't want to end up with food poisoning 😭

I dont know. Supermarket mince has quite a few days of life before it needs cooking. I'd call the butchers and ask them.

I usually work on 3 days for meat from the butchers. They mince in much smaller quantities than the processors who supply the supermarkets.

Assuming you've kept it in the fridge, it should last longer than packeted stuff you buy from the supermarket as I'd assume it was fresher when you bought it.

In the fridge I'd keep it at least 3 or 4 days. Definitely way more than 24 hours. If in doubt, give the butchers a call I'm sure they'd be happy to give you an answer

You'll be able to tell by looking at it and smelling it. No one on here can tell you if it's ok or not.

Thanks everyone. Yes it's been kept in the fridge, inside a sealed plastic bag. I hadn't thought to call the butchers to ask! Will do that, thanks.

I'm saying the opposite. I assume the butcher's have packaged it in a bag or those kind of paper packets. If bought yesterday, I would definitely use it no later than today.

When I buy mince or any meat directly at the butcher's counter, the use by date printed on the label is very short.

The packaged supermarket meat is packed in such a way that it lasts longer - eg you won't often see it turning brown, which it should do, naturally (tho ok to eat).

So yes, DH is right, use today!

I just wanted a rough guide really as if we leave it til tomorrow and it looks and smells bad by then, then we'll have to bin £10 worth of food! Which I didn't fancy doing ...

@lancsgirl85 ok fair enough. I'll say I would definitely use it. I don't take any notice of use or best before dates anyway.

Mince doesn't have that long a shelf life as when it is minced such a large surface area is exposed to bacteria. Our butcher puts a 3 day use by date on it. I would cook.it today, in case it was minced the day before you bought it.

I would also expect a shorter shelf life from the butcher - supermarkets packaging is sealed so doesn't go off as quickly.

Do let us know what the butcher says

Packaged mince from the supermarket is gas flushed - this removes the oxygen from the pack - which preserves it for longer.

If you're worried about it, why not freeze it until you want to cook?

I get meat delivered from the butcher on a Thursday. Mince I'm happy to use up until about Tuesday if I forget to freeze it.

When we buy from the butcher we always use by the next day

Supermarket gas sealed containers give a false view of shelf life

I would cook it today. It doesn't keep in the fridge as long as the supermarket one.

Cook today. Eat tomorrow.

I often wondered what it was they did! Thanks BIWI

@EarringsandLipstick all my years of market research and standing around in supermarkets has paid off!

I know all kinds of shit about stuff that sometimes comes in useful!

Are you really going to call the butcher to ask him if you can still eat his mince? 😮
Smell it!
If you're worried it'll go bad either cook it now or freeze it.

@MrsOwainGlyndŵr

No. I'm going to call the butcher and ask "how long does your fresh mince typically last in the fridge before it needs to be cooked? Would it be reasonable to cook it after 48 hours, or does it need to be cooked within 24 hours?"

I'm not asking him to actually assess the meat in my fridge. I'm asking for a ballpark estimate of whether I can push it to tomorrow before I cook it, or whether he would advise cooking it sooner. As I stated previously, I don't want to risk leaving it another day, only to find it's gone bad and I have to bin it.

I'd say today- and I tend to be supremely relaxed about this kind of thing. At a minimum, brown it today, then finish the rest of the dish tomorrow.

@MrsOwainGlyndŵr

Your advice to "smell it" doesn't help me unless I can make a time machine, jump forward to tomorrow afternoon, smell the mince, and then make my decision

Not a bad idea! Thank you

We get all of our meat from the butcher, and for mince I’d say 3 days is perfectly fine. As a general rule for most meats from the butcher I’ll cook and eat them by day 4, but mince a day less.

If you bought it on Friday, I'd say it'd be fine by Sunday if you haven't opened the bag. We buy all our meat from a butcher, although they do label it with a use by date which is helpful! But the mince always has 2 days on it (as in, 2 days after the day it was bought), so your mince bought on the 15th would have a use by date of the 17th, for example.