In a Nutshell
Discounted meat isn’t necessarily unsafe—it’s often just closer to its sell-by date or less visually appealing—but knowing how to spot signs of spoilage and choose the right cooking method can help you take advantage of bargains without sacrificing flavor or quality.
In this time of rising grocery prices, many shoppers are limiting their meat consumption and looking to score a deal when they do buy a steak. One way to save is by perusing the “manager’s special” section of the meat case, where grocery stores discount meat approaching its sell-by date.
Even though the prices may be tempting—especially in this economy—discounted meats like steaks, pork chops, and chicken breasts can feel too good to be true. They carry a bit more risk than something like day-old bread, but there are ways to navigate the discount aisle, save money, and avoid buying shady meat.
The real question isn’t just whether what’s in that discounted package is safe to eat—it’s how it will cook. A slightly older cut may still be perfectly fine for a braise or a well-done preparation, but it’s less ideal for a quick sear or a medium-rare steak. Knowing the difference can help you shop smarter, cook with more confidence, and decide when a bargain is actually worth it.
Why Do Grocery Stores Discount Meat?
The most common reason grocery stores discount meats like steaks, pork chops, and chicken breasts is straightforward: They’re approaching their sell-by dates. Meat is typically delivered to stores at what’s known as a “hard chill,” or just above freezing, to slow bacterial growth. Once it’s placed in the refrigerated case, its shelf-life clock starts ticking.
Grocery stores may also discount meat for inventory reasons—for example, if they received too much skirt steak from a supplier or stocked a cut that didn’t sell as expected. Meat can also be marked down for cosmetic reasons, says Dr. Aeriel Belk, an assistant professor in Auburn University’s Department of Animal Sciences, such as a brisket with too much of its fat cap trimmed away, which can lead to tougher meat, or a lopsided steak that will be harder to sear evenly.
“Sometimes you’ll see a steak or a chop that’s a little wonky—it doesn’t look like the nice cut that you would expect, even though it’s perfectly good,” Belk says. “I would consider that a good deal—it’s sort of like the marketing around ‘ugly fruit.'”
In other words, a lower price doesn’t necessarily mean reduced safety—it often just means a shorter shelf life or less-than-perfect looks. In many cases, that affects how the meat cooks more than whether it’s worth buying at all.
Unpacking “Spoiled” vs. “Unsafe”
Most of the time, the meat in the discount case won’t look its best—but that isn’t necessarily an indicator of whether it’s safe to eat. Among food safety experts, “spoiled” and “unsafe to eat” have distinct meanings. Food that is spoiled—like meat beginning to rot or grow mold—may not be inherently unsafe, meaning it won’t cause foodborne illness in the same way pathogens like E. coli or Salmonella can.
In fact, the molds and microbes that cause spoilage tend to be less dangerous than pathogens that can be present in food without affecting its appearance, such as Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism. In that sense, spoilage can serve as a rough warning that a food is past its prime, though it isn’t a reliable indicator of whether dangerous pathogens are present.
Still, spoiled meat is not fit for consumption. As it decomposes, meat produces compounds like cadaverine and putrescine—yes, that’s what they’re actually called—which are responsible for the unpleasant odors associated with rotting meat and can be harmful if consumed in significant amounts. “It’s not good, but it’s not going to make you sick in the way that you think,” Belk says. “Your body might say, ‘this is gross,’ and try to get rid of it because it knows that you consumed something that’s rotting. A reaction to something that is gross is different from a true illness. It’s a subtle difference, but an important one.”
For cooks, that distinction matters because a piece of meat that’s slightly past its visual prime may still be safe to cook, but once it smells off or shows clear signs of spoilage, it’s no longer worth trying to salvage—no matter how good the deal.
How to Safely Shop for Bargain Meat
When you’re shopping in the discount meat case, your two strongest tools are your eyes and your nose. Belk says she tends to shop with her nose first—if you smell any off-putting odors, like rotting meat, oddly sweet notes, or anything particularly pungent, it’s best to pass on that package.
Then it’s time to look for visual cues. If a piece of red meat still has vivid, cherry-red flesh, it’s likely still fresh. If it’s begun to brown, it’s likely still safe to eat, but the color change—caused by the oxidation of myoglobin—indicates that it’s older. When shopping for pork or chicken, keep an eye out for greenish, gray, or brownish hues in the flesh, as well as any yellowing or browning in the fat. Fresh pork and chicken should look plump and moist, but never slimy.
In any meat package, the presence of excess liquid can also be a red flag. In red meat, it may indicate the product has been frozen and thawed multiple times, which can affect quality and juiciness. In chicken and pork, it can indicate spoilage.
When it comes to ground meat, there’s always a slightly higher risk of bacterial contamination because of how it’s processed. “There are more places for bacteria to hide in the nooks and crannies of ground meat, which makes it a higher risk for pathogens,” Belk says. “It’s going to spoil faster than a whole muscle.”
She notes, though, that packaging may be the most important factor of all. She considers vacuum-sealed meats the safest option in the discount case, since the packaging helps minimize exposure to oxygen and slow spoilage. Meats packaged aerobically—like those in standard Styrofoam trays with plastic wrap—spoil faster than those packaged anaerobically, such as “chubs” of ground beef or vacuum-sealed steaks. “Vacuum-packaged is what you want, because that will last even beyond the sell-by date on the packaging,” she says.
For cooks, these cues can also help you gauge not just safety, but performance: Meat that’s slightly older or has lost some moisture may still be perfectly usable, but it’s often better suited to braises or well-done preparations than a quick sear.
How Should I Store and Prepare Bargain Meat?
Though you might be tempted to stock up on discounted meat and throw it straight into the freezer, that’s not always the best approach. If the meat is still a few days before its sell-by date, you’re in the clear. But it’s important to remember that freezing meat stops bacterial growth only as long as it’s kept at a consistently low temperature—something that can be difficult to maintain in a home freezer. It also doesn’t kill all pathogens, so anything present before freezing can become active again once the meat is thawed. And while frozen meat can remain safe indefinitely under ideal conditions, its quality will decline over time, leading to changes in texture, flavor, and juiciness.
If you decide to use meat a day or two past its sell-by date and it still looks and smells fine, it’s best to cook it thoroughly: 165°F for chicken, 160°F for ground meats, and 145°F for beef, pork, and lamb, according to the USDA. In those cases, you may want to avoid cooking steaks or chops to medium-rare (or lower), since higher temperatures provide a greater margin of safety. These considerations are especially important for people who are immunocompromised, elderly, or pregnant—if any of those apply, it’s best to be more cautious.
From a cooking perspective, slightly older meat is best cooked to higher internal temperatures, which provides a greater margin of safety. That makes it better suited to braises, stews, or well-done preparations—not dishes where you’re aiming for a juicy, medium-rare results.
And as always, the adage still applies: When in doubt, throw it out. If you have any concerns about a piece of meat, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Read the original article on Serious Eats
Dining and Cooking