Another meat and expiry dates question. Can I use....

[MaryMotherOfCheeses]

1. Mince dated 4th Jan? Will cook it tomorrow.

1. Pork chops which have been in freezer since September.

And. How long do you keep meat in the freezer before you use it? Do you follow the instructions on the freezer door? What happens if you don't? Will we explode if we eat, say, chicken which has been in there for a year?

1. Make sure it is well cooked through ie in a sauce so that it can boil gently and it'll be fine.
2. Absolutely fine. I have used pork that was in the freezer for years with no ill effect. It wasn't that delicious so I made it into a goulasch and a curry. Don't know how nice it would have been fresher (since if I had eaten it when it was fresh it wouldn't have worked its way down to the bottom of the freezer).

Have never exploded. Instructions are designed to make us waste food, spend more and counteract the credit crunch.

Freezer is definitely pre-credit crunch era

Meat tastes funny when it's been frozen for a while, doesn't it? DH always claims that.

you could eat a mammoth if you found one in the ice. someone did, once.

LOL but did they have to curry it????

Maybe that's why mammoth pork needed currying. Make nice strong sauce and don't tell dh where you found the meat.

I think that food that has been frozen for a very long time gradually changes its texture, something to do with the fibres breaking down of course. Not dangerous as such, as long as it has remained frozen solid.I would eat frozen meat probably up to 2 years later.