Would you cook a frozen pork joint past its eat-by date?

[Sausagenbacon]

I have a pork joint in the freezer, with an eat by date of 24th april. I'm tempted to eat it, but do mn'ers think it's too risky?

Not risky at all! That’s what the freezer is for.

If it was frozen before the eat by date it should be fine…curious if I’ve been wrong about this now!

Use by dates are irrelevant on frozen food aren't they? Why bother to freeze it if it doesn't extend the use by.

What are you might have happened to it while it's been frozen?

Freezer - absolutely fine. That's the whole purpose of them. Pork can be kept 3-6 months in a freezer.

Fridge - no of course not. I'm very wary of eating any meat or fish past its use by date.

I would absolutely cook frozen meat IF it was properly refrigerated and frozen before the use by date. Even in a commercial kitchen setting this is ok providing the food has had holding temps done on delivery/receipt and is labeled with the date it was frozen and the new date it souls be used by . Off the top of my head I think it’s 12 or 16 weeks but we don’t use much pork in work tbh…. but at home I’d have zero problems using it for anywhere up to 12 months as I know my freezer states below -16c .

Sorry fernandosor, did you lose your way to AIBU? Or are you this rude to everyone who asks a question?
Thanks to other posters.

If you froze the meat pre use by date then its fine.
If you bought it frozen with a use by date of 24th April, then strictly speaking it is beyond its use by date. I would still eat it though! But I am a bit like that!

My gran cooked us a dinner then announced the beef had been in the freezer 8 years 🤣
Ever since, if it's in the freezer it stays there till we want it, I don't look at the dates.

This is what freezers are for surely?

Buy fresh - freeze - eat when it suits you!

We have eaten a turkey that was frozen for a year. It was delicious and none of us have died off.

What date did it go onto the freezer?

Why wouldn’t you? Not being rude just wondering what would stop you?

Because of the eat by date.
That's what mn is for (i always thought), to ask odd questions.
I froze it when i got it back from the supermarket.

The use by date is for if you had it in the fridge
As you have frozen it you can ignore that date and it will have its life extended by many months.

The eat by date is for food which has been kept fresh in fridge. You have frozen it so you can ignore that date.

My freezer has some meat in there which has been frozen for over a year - it will still get eaten sometime!

As long as it is properly wrapped up when frozen and doesn't get freezer burn, I do not worry too much about it.

That’s why you freeze it, it’s completely fine. Use by date is irrelevant if it’s been frozen before then.
Defrost overnight in the fridge then cook thoroughly

Why did you freeze it? Surely you did so to extend the date you had to eat it by?

If not, what's the point of a freezer

It’s frozen - of course it’s fine to eat

I cooked one last weekend that had a sell by date of February. If it was frozen fresh when you bought it, then just defrost and roast it as usual. That's the whole point of freezers surely?!

What was the.point of putting it in the freezer if you didn't think that would extend the period in which you were able to eat it?

Yes, but I’d thaw it and cook it first.

This is the whole point of a freezer, to extend edible lifespan of foodstuffs.
How does anyone get to adulthood and not know something this basic?

😂😂😂

@Sausagenbacon in the nicest possible wat, this really. It's the WHOJE point of a freezer.

you can look up how long things keep well for in the freezer, but as long as it's been frozen the whole time the worst that will happen (even years later) is that it's not quite as nice 🌷

If you'd bought it frozen with that date on it I could understand you asking the question. Although my answer would have still been: Yes, I'd thaw it, cook it and eat it.
But if you bought it fresh and then froze it then, as PPs have said, that's the whole point of freezing things.
I cooked a leg of lamb last Sunday that had been intended for Easter but I wasn't well. So I froze to eat at a later date.
If you think you have to eat things by the Eat By date regardless of whether they're fresh or frozen there'd be no point having a freezer.
Well, except for ice cream which is important 🙂