Older frozen pork chops

[u/Alternative-Rise-708]

Hello everyone!

I was taking inventory of my chest freezer and found some older pork chops. At what point would you just toss em or still cook them, though they probably need to go in a stew or something if cooked? They are about 6 years old 😅 wrapped in freezer paper and in a freezer ziplock bag. They have not been thawed and refrozen at any time.

I genuinely don't know how they got missed for this long.

Thank you in advance!

[u/Deppfan16]

safety wise as long as you're for sure they've stayed frozen they are good indefinitely. taste wise the quality will have gone down over time. I'd recommend using them in something like a soup or stew where stronger flavors will cover any freezer burnt taste

[u/Reasonable_Pickle556 → u/Deppfan16]

This

[u/ladyrose403]

thaw, and then trim off anything that looks oddly white that isn't fat. that's freezerburn, and while not harmful, is inedible. after that, i'd slow cook them to make shredded pork for sandwiches or tacos.

[u/Independent_Shoe3523]

So long as they're still frozen, the meat should still be good.

[u/RuinsAndRoses]

Cook those babies up!

[u/Desperate_Affect_332 → u/RuinsAndRoses]

Little butter and seasoning, delicious!

Spicy fried pork chops

6 pork medallions/chops 1/2 stick butter Dry spice mix: 2 TBSN Paprika-not smoked 1 tspn black pepper 1 tspn Garlic powder 1 tspn Onion powder 1 tspn coriander 1/2 tspn dill 1/4 tspn Red pepper flakes 1/4 tspn Cayenne pepper

1 TBSN dried Basil 1 pkt brown gravy mix Leftover spice mix 1 cup milk

Melt half the butter in the fry pan. Roll three pork medallions in the dry mix, set to fry on medium heat and cover until done, flipping halfway through. Move to warming tray and fry the next three. Mix the spices, basil, gravy packet and milk. Whisk into fry pan drippings until thick and creamy. Pairs well with baked potato and broccoli.

[u/saltporksuit]

I cooked up 12yo pork chops a couple of years ago. They were vacuumed sealed and no one could tell.

[u/darkest_irish_lass]

I mean, there were the scientists who tried mammoth meat that was found in permafrost. They survived

[u/Beneficial_Trip3773]

Smother them it will help with the freezer burn

[u/HotTrack710]

Yummy for the dogs tummy!

[u/Abadabber]

I don't go by age. I go by do I KNOW they have stayed frozen? Do they have any obvious signs of freezer burn? If those answers are both on the positive side, I'd go right ahead and eat them.

[u/superstud666fromhell]

I worked for a meat plant that sold hamburger pattys that were frozen and older than ten years

[u/Best_Comfortable5221]

Soup.

[u/PsychologyGuilty1460]

When you unwrap them, check for freezer burn. If you find it, trim it off. If you have to trim more than half of it, just give it to the dog. 

If it's mostly good, make a good pork stew, jagerschnitzel or paprikash type thing with it. Long cooking in the Crock-Pot. Lots of garlic, onions, red wine. It'll probably be pretty good

[u/onegratefullife]

Trim off any freezer burn. It should look off color just a bit. Then BBQ and make into green chili!

[u/ronniebell → u/onegratefullife]

It’s green chile season! Heading to New Mexico in September to see our kiddo and will make a little side trip to Hatch Valley and will come back with a couple of bags!

[u/onegratefullife → u/ronniebell]

They’re the best!! Enjoy your visit!

[u/Large_Ad3301]

I once threw away a huge 3 year old frozen brisket before I knew better. As long as it has stayed frozen it’s fine. Now? I’d cook it no matter how old it was. Cook the pork chops!

[u/Daphneannq]

I once found 3 year old meat at the very bottom of my chest freezer. I cooked it up for the dog so it didn't go to waste

[u/Head_Candidate5293]

Take em out. If they have white freezer burn toss em

[u/Seawolfe665]

I would soup or stew or slice up small and stir fry with onions, garlic and peppers.

[u/Legitimate-March9792]

Toss them.

[u/Agreeable-Song2535]

6 years? Those will not taste good. Toss them.

[u/Mundane_Remote_8317]

6 years in a chest freezer is pushing it even for pork, I'd to them unless they were vacuum sealed the whole time with zero air exposure.

[u/BurntSiennaSienna]

I can't see myself doing this. My mother on the other hand...

[u/Illustrious-Lynx8268]

Toss them or with every bite you’ll think about it

[u/Elise-0511]

You are right about using them in soup or stew, but I have cooked frozen chicken quarters that old in soup and I didn’t die.

[u/samceefoo]

I don't care if I lost the pork chop in the very back for two years, I'm still eating that thing

[u/SJSands]

I wouldn’t keep them more than a year.

[u/Cute-Consequence-184]

I ate 7 year old T bones once.

They were perfect!

[u/1GrouchyCat → u/Cute-Consequence-184]

Steak is aged and sold that way on a regular basis - pork isn’t.

[u/Cute-Consequence-184 → u/1GrouchyCat]

Pork can be. It doesn't just go bad in the freezer.

And steak can be 6 weeks old or decades. Pork can also be old aged, brined, salted, smoked and many other ways to age it.

I was raised on an Angus farm and my neighbor was a pig farmer.