Six year old beef lurking in the freezer.

I would greatly prefer its room in the freezer to its company on the dinner table.

The quality cannot be as good as it would have been six years ago.

Eating it may not constitute a health hazard, but I would either throw it out, put it out for the resident fox, or hand it over to the nearest cat-and-dog home, pointing out how old the meat is.

I now have hope for my year old meatballs
or do I?

My Dear DH would eat this without a second thought or repercussions. After a bad dose of Dysentry caught at work many years ago I find even second-day meat has a very adverse effect on me.
When I find old food in the freezer I sneak it into the bin. In our last house, I once threw beef and mince on the open fire DH came to the aroma of roast beef and sat down to fish fingers shared with the DD's.

undines

If it's been truly frozen I'm sure it will be fine. We worry too much about such things. If it looks okay, smells okay, tastes okay, then it is okay!

I totally agree. Cook it and eat it, it will be fine

silverlining48

I would cook it slowly too. I cooked and ate something of a similar age recently also found at the back of the outside freezer; we were fine.

I agree, slow cook in a flavoursome sauce to cover any possible "freezer taste". Possibly marinade too? I'd be tempted to cook it with beer or wine.

If it's been truly frozen I'm sure it will be fine. We worry too much about such things. If it looks okay, smells okay, tastes okay, then it is okay!

Cook it nice and slow,it will probably have lost a bit of taste but that`s about all.

I would certainly cook it and give it a try. Many years ago stumbled on a 20 year old leg of lamb at the bottom of a huge chest freezer. Result - delicious (and I'm still here!)

Imho meat from the freezer is edible after stewing to kill off any bacteria, worms, etc. The same is not true for veggies which have deteriorated as you can't neutralise some of the products of vegetable decomposition by heating - should be discarded.

Great news- waste not, want not. Bravo.

Apologies to other grans who had already mentioned the deep frozen mammoth

Solzhenitzen reported the story that prisoners in Siberia had dug a mammoth from the permafrost, thawed it, cooked it, and eaten it.

Llamedos13

Just took it out of the slowcooker and it’s falling apart tender and tastes delicious.😋Next up to try the 2017 lump of frozen pork.

Working up (or back) to the Woolly Mammoth in the Permafrost? 🤣🤣🤣

I‘d cook it for the cats.

Casserole it, if it tastes OK eat it, if not the dog gets a treat.

Thank you Norah, I’ll check it out.

Llamedos13

Arrabbiata is fantastic, even if made with "long in freezer" pork.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dinner-tonight-pork-arrabbiata-with-penne-ln9dwv2qp7p

Do you have a pressure cooker.? I have an electric one and it’ll tenderise anything.

Just took it out of the slowcooker and it’s falling apart tender and tastes delicious.😋Next up to try the 2017 lump of frozen pork.

I’d eat it, probably slice it into chunks, cook it long and slow in the slow cooker with shallots, mushrooms, red wine and beef stock .

I would definitely make sure it is thoroughly defrosted then would cook in a conventional oven - if it tastes and smells ok then it probably is! I must sort my freezer out and see what is lurking there !! Most certainly would not throw it away - enjoy ☺️

i would dice it and cook it as if it was venison. Lots of veg plus stock cubes and oxo cubes, and plenty of red wine.

If the meat isn't edible the gravy will be gorgeous

It’s in the slowcooker, I’ll let you know how it turned out in about ten hours.Callistemon I’m definitely not telling him, I know he’d bin it.

I've made jams and jellies from blackcurrants which were 5 years old. DH would have thrown them out but I just didn't tell him. He enjoyed it.

I’d be happy to eat it. I’ve just had pheasant frozen since 2016!