Help - what to do with mince that goes off tomorrow

[nicecupofteaplease]

Tescos have surpassed themselves with their short sell by date meat and I am stuck with two lots of mince that has a use by date of tomorrow. It's not physically possible to eat that much meat in such a short time, what should I do with it? Freeze as is, or cook it first..? How long after I defrost will it be ok?

Help please!

Freeze it. When you want to use it, defrost it on the same day that you're going to cook it.

It will be absolutely fine.

yes, shove it in the freezer and use it when you are ready.

or if you do have time make bolognese or chilli or just a savoury mince, portion it out and put that in the freezer, then you have something done for another day when time is short.

What they said. But also phone Tesco and moan. They have always refunded me if I have been unhappy and on occasion even offered me vouchers to keep me sweet.

it doesn't actually suddenly go off tomorrow though. The mince doesn't have a watch or a calander.

Personally I'd cook it then freeze it, but only because I get a bit paranoid about things being a funny colour, and a batch of spag bol/chili/whatever isn't as likely to go a funny colour (or get freezer-burned) as raw mince.

Don't risk keeping it in the fridge I lost two packs of mince the other day by opening them the day after it was rank!

I always freeze meat unless we are definately going to use it within two days - its too expensive to chuck out.

I make burgers, cottage pie aswell as spaghetti bog and Chilli with mince.

or if you cook it you can keep it in the fridge for about 3 days, so could make a bolognase and then eat it in 3 days time

Disagrees with siamofottuti. Never use meat past it's use by date unless you want to get Ill.

why would you suddenly get ill? Does mince have a time release e-coli bomb that explodes at the stroke of midnight on the day printed on the packet?

Smell it, look at it, learn to use your judgement instead of relying on arbitrary dates on food. You'll be healthier and less wasteful.

Absolutely. Use by dates are important, but not an absolute.

my kkids drive me nuts with this shit

like something is suddenly not useable at the stroke of midnight.

common sense people gaaaaaaah

So you suddenly have vision that allows you to see all the micro organisms in your food simply but your sense of smell an sight. Wow amazing. Wish I had that.

if there are microorganisms is it, they are there at both before and after the stroke of midnight. Relying on your senses is eminently more sensible that relying solely on the date that happens to be stamped on the front of the pack.

use by dates means eat by the use by date - not afterwards

I would make a large cottage pie base/ chilli and spag bog with the mince and freeze in bags now - then defrost on the day you want to eat the food.

supergreen how do you cope with meat from the butchers or fish from the fishmongers that has no use-by date on it? You use your judgement and senses just as people always have. Use-by dates on supermarket food are extremely conservative, which works in the supermarkets favour of course.

Ivy, I don't think we need the morons guide to food safety, thank you. Common sense is your friend.

Oh dear siamo where did your common sense go? seems you have fallen out with yours along with your manners

Freeze either/both of them - I do it all the time. Sometimes I eat things after their use by date too. Livin' on the edge, that's me

I do agree with the common sense principle, you would be able to smell if the mince was off.

And vice versa meat and fish can go off before useby date so if something is close to the date I would always check it seemed ok first.

I have used both mince and lamb past its date and am still here to tell the tale.

I dont buy meat from a butchers but they would (I assume) use the 3 day principle if asked and would advise you on when to use it by. If you use it after there advise well......
Nothing wrong with being a responsible parent and following guide lines.

I'm clearly an irresponsible parent then. Oh, and you do have a sense of smell (and taste) that tells you whether something is fit to eat. That's one of the reasons why we evolved a sense of smell and taste in the first place.

Frankly yes. Irresponsible.

The relevant word is guidelines supergreenuk. They are not the same as rules

We also feed DS game that we have shot and hung in our garage, eggs from our hens, fruit and veg from our garden, trout and crayfish from the stream, none of which has a use by date.

Clearly we are irresponsible to not pay homage each month to a giant multinational to provide us with 'food' in sterile packs with a government-approved use-by date so that we don't have to accidentally use our tiny little brains. After all it's not our job as good citizens to think, as long as we consume, spend, and believe everything we are told by corporations and governments, everything will be just fine.