Yes, another annoying "Is this safe to eat" question.

June 10, 2009 1:56 PM

CanIEatThisFilter: Just discovered a couple of pounds of steak that has been sitting in our fridge, in marinade, for about ten days (it was purchased a week ago Saturday). Looks like it never made it on the grill. If I cook it well is it safe to eat?
posted by anastasiav to food & drink (33 answers total)

What's in the marinade?
posted by The Light Fantastic at 2:00 PM on June 10, 2009

No idea. It smells like Italian salad dressing.
posted by anastasiav at 2:01 PM on June 10, 2009

If the marinade has vinegar in it, probably so. It's a bit like pickling the meat (yech). Not sure how it'd taste, but if it's not green and doesn't smell bad, go for it.
posted by Malice at 2:02 PM on June 10, 2009

Does it smell off? I know you might be getting a nose full of Italian dressing... When steak goes bad, it has a smell.

Also, what color is it?
posted by jerseygirl at 2:03 PM on June 10, 2009

All I can smell is garlic and Italian seasonings.

Its not an unusual color. Just a brown, probably from the marinade.
posted by anastasiav at 2:06 PM on June 10, 2009

I'd eat it.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 2:07 PM on June 10, 2009

"when in doubt, throw it out."

ten days?
for a couple of pounds of steak, prolly not worth the risk.
posted by candyhammer at 2:08 PM on June 10, 2009

actually, check the sell-by date-- I'd try to figure that into it.

you also said that you "discovered" it, so...
I still wouldn't consider you a wuss if you threw it out.
posted by candyhammer at 2:12 PM on June 10, 2009

Be aware that food poisoning is not all about live bacteria; even if you cook them and kill them there still may be residual toxins and I'm not sure any of us can answer whether that will be in there. The temperature of your refrigerator would also play a factor; some people's fridges are at 34, others are at 44 and that really makes a difference. Offhand I would side with candyhammer.
posted by crapmatic at 2:12 PM on June 10, 2009

check the sell-by date

sorry-- let's assume the packaging isn't lying around, hmm? my bad.
posted by candyhammer at 2:12 PM on June 10, 2009

I'm kind of iffy on this one, leaning towards toss it. But the marinade might have preserved it a couple days longer than marinated meat. Cut a piece of it and fry it in a pan and see. If anything seems weird - smell, texture, chewiness, toss it.
posted by jerseygirl at 2:13 PM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

er, preserved it a couple days longer than unmarinated meat.
posted by jerseygirl at 2:14 PM on June 10, 2009

Raw meat sitting in salad dressing for 10 days? If you are craving steak so badly that the possibility of vomiting/diarrhea/constipation/god only knows what else is worth it, then go for it!
posted by bahama mama at 2:14 PM on June 10, 2009

even if you cook them and kill them there still may be residual toxins and I'm not sure any of us can answer whether that will be in there

Would there be toxins you couldn't smell though?
posted by smackfu at 2:30 PM on June 10, 2009

Yes, there could be unsmelly toxins.

I'm usually in the "eat it!" brigade, but in this case, I would not.
posted by rtha at 2:50 PM on June 10, 2009

Toss it. Even if it's in some astounding marinade that can prolong its shelf life beyond the recommended three to five days, what if part of it wasn't fully immersed?
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:53 PM on June 10, 2009

Wouldn't eat that, no. Five days, maybe, if I knew exactly what was in the marinade, but 10 days, no way.
posted by Grlnxtdr at 3:00 PM on June 10, 2009

Do not eat.
posted by not that girl at 3:02 PM on June 10, 2009

Nope. Yep. Up to 5 days.

I wouldn't.
posted by b33j at 3:26 PM on June 10, 2009

Man throw that crap out. It's been sitting unfrozen for 10 days in a marinade. If you question eating it enough to post online about eating it, I would not eat it. err yea.

Otherwise take a potential ride on the diarrhea and vomit train.
posted by Gravitus at 3:45 PM on June 10, 2009

Please don't.
posted by vers at 3:58 PM on June 10, 2009

Take this how you will: I very rarely see a should-I-eat-this question here about something that I wouldn't be willing to risk eating myself, but there is no question in my mind that I wouldn't eat your steak.
posted by ssg at 4:18 PM on June 10, 2009

Would there be toxins you couldn't smell though?

Botulinum, for one.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 4:24 PM on June 10, 2009

Yeeks, there's no way I'd eat that.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:23 PM on June 10, 2009

Stilltasty says no.
posted by Decimask at 8:41 PM on June 10, 2009

I'm curious to know if the OP has any recollection of placing the meat in the fridge, or if not, has any ideas about how it got there....
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 9:18 PM on June 10, 2009

dirtynumbangelboy, botulinum would be completely broken down by heat.

I've eaten unmarinated steak that's set that long in the fridge. Granted, without marinade, the color of the flesh helps indicate spoilage, but OTOH, if there's vinegar a/o salt in the marinade, it's a preservative.

Personally, I'd eat it without a second thought, but wouldn't expect it to taste as good as fresh.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:42 PM on June 10, 2009

The other day I found some week-old chicken in my fridge. It smelled fine, so I cooked it. Then, once cooked, it smelled weird and I threw it out.

If it were me, I'd cook the steak and if it smelled/ tasted 100% fine, I'd eat it. If I was even a tiny bit unsure, I'd toss it.

But, I'm not very careful. If I was pregnant or had an important upcoming event, I'd probably just err on the side of caution and toss it.
posted by insectosaurus at 10:31 PM on June 10, 2009

I'm curious to know if the OP has any recollection of placing the meat in the fridge, or if not, has any ideas about how it got there....

Oh yes. $30 worth of grass-fed Angus steak that I thought had been put on the grill, but apparently had just been pushed to the back of the fridge......

.... I suspect we'll throw it out tonight. But the waste pains me.
posted by anastasiav at 4:32 AM on June 11, 2009

Regardless of the food safety issues, good steak that's been sitting 10 days in an acidic marinade is most likely going to be mushy and taste like crap any way.
posted by FreezBoy at 10:41 AM on June 11, 2009

Oh, I missed the 10-days-in-marinade part. Pitch it.
posted by IAmBroom at 3:06 PM on June 11, 2009

10 days in the back of the fridge is just the beginning of a dry-aging process. Now granted, you're not really supposed to dry-age individual steaks, and also you can't dry-age beef in a marinade, obviously. But still, ten days doesn't strike me as a crazy long time for meat in a fridge and in what amounts to an acid bath. These are two food preservation methods.

Some of the suggestions above: botulinum is anaerobioc. It will not develop in a fridge type container, which is sure to have lots of air.

Anyway. The bottom line is that the spoilage you're going to get here is of the "fuzzy green and scary-looking" sort, not the exceedingly rare and near-mythical "totally invisible and insensible but kills you" sort. If it's not fuzzy, green, or scary looking / smelling, cook it. If it's still not scary smelling, serve it up.

My bet is it would actually be pretty good. Very tender (the acids working on the meat) but perhaps a little over-marinade-ey. Squeeze some lime juice on it.

Disclaimer: My answer is virtually always "Sure, you can eat that." My normal groceries routinely sit around unrefrigerated for a full day. Hey, I live on an island. I have had food poisoning once, a long tme ago when I didn't live on an island. Americans are, by and large, a little nuts about food spoilage.
posted by rusty at 10:15 AM on June 12, 2009

So, Monday night I cooked this beef in the oven with carrots and potatoes and more marinade to make sure the steaks were completely covered. Cooked in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour and a half (to a temp of 160 when a thermometer was inserted).

Its delicious. I had some for dinner Monday night, and more for lunch on Tuesday (and will have more today for lunch). The meat is very tender, and very flavorful (as it should be after sitting in marinade for two weeks).
posted by anastasiav at 7:10 AM on June 17, 2009