Anyone out there with experience cooking, then cold storing meats? How long are they good for? Is it safe? It seems to me that it would only be safe to store something that had been cooked to 140F or greater, but I could be mistaken. Thanks for any input!
If the meat has been pasteurised, properly cold shocked and still sealed in its cooking bag it can be stored in a fridge for an extended amount of time depending upon the temperature of your refrigerator.
From Douglas Baldwin’s Practical Guide to Sous Vide:
- below 36.5°F (2.5°C) for up to 90 days,
- below 38°F (3.3°C) for less than 31 days,
- below 41°F (5°C) for less than 10 days, or
- below 44.5°F (7°C) for less than 5 days
Once the package has been opened then it is no different from any other cooked meat.
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That is pretty much what I thought. Are you saying that internal temperature must have reached 140F?
It needs to be held at that temperature for a given time. The information is in the Baldwin book. Essential reading for sous vide experimenters.
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Baldwin provides Pasteurization time and temperature tables for a variety of foods under optimum conditions. You need to become familiar with them. He recommends 131F as the minimum temperature of Pasteurization for the appropriate length of time. Use the tables.
It’s also important to use a refrigerator thermometer so you can monitor your food’s temperature during storage. Domestic refrigerators can have substantially varying temperatures. If in doubt and for relatively small food packages, tumble in ice water for an hour, then freeze.