Can I eat it – frozen for 3 years
October 25, 2021 12:48 PM Subscribe
In the bottom of my chest freezer I have 3 whole chickens, a package of beef stew meat and a chuck roast that I bought in the spring of 2018. Can I eat them?
I bought them from a small local farm in the spring of 2018, so a bit over 3 years ago. They were delivered frozen and sealed in plastic. I believe they were frozen immediately after processing, and they have stayed frozen for the entire time at the bottom of a chest freezer (so not one that gets opened a lot) Can I eat them? I wouldn’t hesitate if it was only a year, but 3 years just seems like a long time.
I can deal with some less than ideal texture (I would want to make the chicken into something stewed anyway) but I’d rather not make myself sick.
I bought them from a small local farm in the spring of 2018, so a bit over 3 years ago. They were delivered frozen and sealed in plastic. I believe they were frozen immediately after processing, and they have stayed frozen for the entire time at the bottom of a chest freezer (so not one that gets opened a lot) Can I eat them? I wouldn’t hesitate if it was only a year, but 3 years just seems like a long time.
I can deal with some less than ideal texture (I would want to make the chicken into something stewed anyway) but I’d rather not make myself sick.
It’s safe.
posted by vocativecase at 12:54 PM on October 25, 2021
posted by vocativecase at 12:54 PM on October 25, 2021
They are safe to cook & eat; quality may be reduced - texture may be a bit off, could have some freezer taste.
posted by theora55 at 12:57 PM on October 25, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 12:57 PM on October 25, 2021 [7 favorites]
I can confirm I've eaten frozen food older than this with no ill effects. It didn't even taste that bad.
posted by kevinbelt at 1:07 PM on October 25, 2021
posted by kevinbelt at 1:07 PM on October 25, 2021
It's safe as long as your freezer is reliable and never went above zero degrees Farenheit you can keep food indefinitely in a deep freeze though the texture and flavor may change and every time recommendation you read will be because of those changes not food safety as long as it remained frozen. I'd make a soup or a stew with it to hide the texture changes.
posted by wwax at 1:16 PM on October 25, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by wwax at 1:16 PM on October 25, 2021 [6 favorites]
Yep, they're fine, I've done the same. A freezer trick I use is to put a plastic cup of water in there, let it freeze, then keep a quarter on top of it -- if your freezer happens to thaw/refreeze (due to an outage when you're not at home, etc) then you'll be able to tell.
posted by j.edwards at 2:34 PM on October 25, 2021 [28 favorites]
posted by j.edwards at 2:34 PM on October 25, 2021 [28 favorites]
Will be completely fine for several more years.
posted by turkeyphant at 5:48 PM on October 25, 2021
posted by turkeyphant at 5:48 PM on October 25, 2021
Response by poster: Thank you, everyone! I will eat these without worry now. I marked AndrewStephens' answer as the best, since the links had the magic words I was looking for: "Frozen beef/chicken will be safe indefinitely."
posted by Sabby at 7:40 AM on October 26, 2021
posted by Sabby at 7:40 AM on October 26, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/How-long-can-you-freeze-chicken
https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/How-long-can-you-freeze-beef
posted by AndrewStephens at 12:53 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]