How long is the meat good for?

[Desert Rose Rabbits]

I forgot about a bun I had resting in the fridge (never frozen). He's been in there probably around 1.5 weeks. He's just dry bagged in a ziploc, but I rinsed him well before he went into the fridge. I opened up the bag last night, and I didn't smell anything that turned my stomach (what DOES bad rabbit smell like? You know... like you know when it's chicken or beef that's gone bad... is there a particular smell associated with bad rabbit meat?), and the meat wasn't slimy or funky feeling.

I can feed him to the dog, but no point if it's still ok for human consumption.

 

[akane]

Cooked properly it should be fine for humans. I'm not sure what bad rabbit smells like because freshly butchered, refrigerated meat takes a long time to truly go bad. I think it was 3-4weeks before we noticed a smell last time I forgot some in the bottom drawer of the fridge. There might be some extra bacterial activity after a week but I still think as long as you cook it thoroughly you'll be fine. Disclaimer for anyone that has certain immune system or digestive system disorders and are extra sensitive to such things.

 

[Zass]

if in doubt...throw it out?

 

[dayna]

If it was me, I'd toss it. But take into consideration I know nothing about how long meat takes to go bad.

 

[GBov]

If it smells good, isn't slimy or tacky to the touch, its just fine.

The meat you get in supermarkets must be aaaaaages old, it goes off in just a few days but I have had rabbit still good after three weeks!

If bad it will smell like gone bad poultry. Unmistakable!

 

[Cottie]

^^ What GBov said.

You won't be able to mistake bad meat. It's got a...particular...odor to it.

 

[3mina]

Truly fresh meat takes a very long time to go bad and even longer if there is less surface area exposed as is the case with whole carcasses as opposed to ground or cut into smaller pieces. I'd worry if you'd forgotten it on the counter in the summer.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Yep, what they said...I have eaten them after two weeks in the fridge. Supermarket meat is months old at the LEAST....

 

[TMTex]

Same thing here. 2 or 3 weeks is fine. After that, it's still good for the dogs for another week or so.

And as I remind my wife from time to time, food is not wasted if it goes to the dogs.

 

[Desert Rose Rabbits]

Huh... well, I'll revisit it. If it still smells good today, I think I'll make a basic soup.

I do have to say that the nice thing about the dog is that she can handle stuff that's already started to turn (yay for awesome gut bacteria!) .

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Agreed. You will definitely be able to smell that it is "off".

I do have to say that the nice thing about the dog is that she can handle stuff that's already started to turn (yay for awesome gut bacteria!) .

Our dogs seem to like it even better that way.