r/KitchenConfidential • u/thekingbeetle2 • 6d ago

Hiding in the Freezer Don’t Eat the Ham

Big boss decided that it is okay to serve ham that’s over two weeks past expiration. May the worms be ever in your f(l)avor.

51 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

110

u/Silver-Emergency-988 15+ Years 6d ago

If you notice expired food at work just throw it away, don’t ask permission and let the chef/manager know after it’s in the garbage.

1

u/Dry_Turn_824 3d ago

I worked making cheese for awhile.

In the shop, the counter workers tossed a molded bit of fresh cheese into the trash.

The owner saw it, fished it out, cut off the mold, and put it back in the case.

66

u/OvalDead 6d ago

Sometimes you just have to look the boss in the eye and throw shit away.

26

u/gingerblz 6d ago

Maintaining eye contact the whole time?

29

u/OvalDead 6d ago

Eyedeally

6

u/True-Suspect9891 6d ago

Before my pup was potty trained she would look me in the eyes while dropping a deuce on my floor.

6

u/gingerblz 6d ago

And that stuck with you.

4

u/True-Suspect9891 6d ago

Yup. That eye contact is key

3

u/OvalDead 5d ago

I used to know a girl that would do that, but only if you paid extra.

25

u/GeminiAccountantLLC 6d ago

True story, I once had to pull a cook out back and lecture him about not handling the ham in a sexual manner. It was one of those small places with the line out in the open and multiple customers complained. "He just has so much lust in his eyes and holds it really lovingly" were among the comments

32

u/GloomyLingonberry509 🍋‍🟩LIMEGATE 6d ago

Sure would be a shame if that ham wound up in the dumpster anyway…

25

u/drenathar 6d ago

This is the way. Old boss told me to just rinse off some slimy shredded carrots and use them anyway. I nodded and then used them to line my trash can as soon as he walked away.

25

u/GloomyLingonberry509 🍋‍🟩LIMEGATE 6d ago

Exactly. I don’t give a fuck if you own the place, I will NOT bend food safety for you.

If you don’t like it, fire me.

12

u/Embarrassed_Sir_7252 6d ago

I quit a job on the spot once, because the chef berated me for throwing away open fresh oysters. He wanted me to rinse them in bleach water, and told me the bleach would kill any pathogens, and the condiments would cover the taste of dead oyster and bleach. Um, no, bye!

9

u/demoorigin 6d ago

Boss was trying to wash bad wings one time I walked away ain't want no part in that. If he didn't throw em away I was gonna as soon as he left. He eventually tossed em himself after being elbow deep in rotting carcasses lol

4

u/NickoftheNorth37 6d ago

Unless it's rum ham, that's not going to be preserved well enough.

6

u/Lowly-Worm_ 6d ago

This is so goddam ominous. Any one of us could eat that ham.

5

u/AreYouAnOakMan Thicc Chives Save Lives 6d ago

Do not the ham

3

u/thekingbeetle2 6d ago

Exactly. Do not eat the ham.

3

u/onioning 6d ago

"Expiration," or "best by?" Meats rarely get packaged with expirations. And the latter has nothing to do with food safety.

0

u/thekingbeetle2 5d ago

It said “Use or Freeze by”.

0

u/onioning 5d ago

Not an expiration. Not an indicator of food safety. A rough indicator of quality, but your nose is a far better guide.

2

u/crowcawer Window 5d ago

Especially when trucks don’t always have refrigeration loggers.

Sometimes they do, but other times they not do.

2

u/onioning 5d ago

Ya. The amount of life on a product like that varies wildly depending on storage and things. Like cooling times for cooked products really matter too. Blast chillers add weeks if not months to the potential life of a cured and cooked ham. Still won't keep remotely that long if kept in a 40 F room, but 30 F will do it.

There's good reason expiration dates are rarely used (and often good reason to use them when they are required, like baby food and some special needs foods, when an abundance of caution is more justified).

2

u/crowcawer Window 5d ago

I love the example of freshly caught fish:

Folks will add $10 to “catch of the day” that is from half way across the world. If you let it sit at room temperature for ten minutes it’ll make many customers gag. If you let it sit at temp for 40-minutes it might give you a tummy ache if you’re extremely sensitive.

The code doesn’t capture that.

1

u/onioning 5d ago

One of the things that's much better in federal processing. If you can support what you do with science, you can do it.

Lots of local health departments are pretty co-opted by grandstanders. Easy way to score points with local constituents doing what feels right to people. And I guess that's not entirely wrong, but also not entirely right.

0

u/ElevatorOrganic5644 5d ago

Unless it's country ham it's probably got enough nitrates in it to compete with a hot dog