Buying Lamb
When buying lamb, check the grading and decide which works for your budget. Do not buy frozen meat that has any excess ice crystallization or ice chunks crusted over it, because again it could mean that the meat was defrosted and refrozen.
Lamb Freshness
Let’s now discuss how to determine if the lamb that you have in your fridge is still safe to eat. I will cover the time frame, visual and physical inspection.
Besides the “use by” label on your package of lamb, there are general time frames that lamb should be used.
- Fresh lamb should be used within 3-4 days.
- Cooked lamb should be used within 4 days.
- Chunks of lamb can be frozen for 4-8 months.
- Ground lamb can be frozen for 3 months.
- Cooked lamb can be frozen for 2 months.
There are two ways to check if the lamb in your fridge is fresh: doing a visual and physical inspection.
First is the visual inspection. Discoloration is a sign that the lamb is getting older and should be used soon. If the lamb is turning a bit gray but does not smell or is not slimy it should be okay to eat but always use caution! Lamb meat should be light red in color.
Second is the physical inspection. Lamb that is slimy should not be eaten. Push your finger onto the piece of lamb and if it leaves an imprint then that is a sign that it is no longer fresh. Lamb that has any kind of bad odor should not be eaten.
Storing Lamb
Now that you purchased the best fresh cut of lamb, let’s cover how to store that lamb. When storing lamb in the freezer, wrap the protein in plastic wrap, foil, or wax paper and store in a freezer bag. Freeze lamb when they are fresh to keep the most nutrients intact. The best way to keep your protein fresh longer is to keep the air off of your protein. Therefore, when you are storing lamb, you should wrap each protein in plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container.
