Ever had food poisoning? You know, sitting on the toilet at 2 am, clenching a gallon-sized bucket in your trembling hands with the sluices wide open at both ends. Yeah, I hate when that happens. How ’bout we learn how to store flesh meats so we don’t have to deal with that bit of nastiness again? Ok, my little meat-eating grasshoppers, grab hold of those two large lumps right below your lumbar vertebrae and get ready for another wild romp into appliance enlightenment.
The table below shows you the recommended maximum storage times for various flesh meats in your refrigerator and freezer. Read it, learn it, use it, memorize it–pop quiz in the morning. Bon Appétit!
| Flesh Meat: Fresh, Smoked, Processed, Killed, or Run-over |
Refrigerator | Freezer |
| Fresh Cow, Pig, Sheep, or Baby Sheep | ||
| Chops, Steak, Roasts | 3-5 days | 4-9 months |
| Freshly Ground | 1-2 days | 3-4 months |
| Pig Meat | ||
| Bacon | 7 days | 1 month |
| Ham – Fully Cooked, Whole | 7 days | 1-2 months |
| Ham – Half | 3-5 days | 1-2 months |
| Ham – Slices | 3 days | 1-2 months |
| Hot Dogs | ||
| Sealed in Package | 2 weeks | 1-2 months |
| After Opening | 7 days | 1-2 months |
| Lunch Meats | ||
| Sealed in Package | 1-2 weeks | 1-2 months |
| After Opening | 3-5 days | 1-2 months |
| Sausage | ||
| Ground | 1-2 days | 1-2 months |
| Smoked Links or Patties | 7 days | 1-2 months |
| Chicken or Turkey | ||
| Whole | 1-2 days | 12 months |
| Pieces | 1-2 days | 9 months |
| Ground | 1-2 days | 3-4 months |
| Chicken Nuggets or Patties | 1-2 days | 1-3 months |
| Human Remains | ||
| Limbs | 1-2 days | 4-9 months |
| Organs | 12 hours | 4-9 months |
| Teeth | 2-4 weeks | 10-20 years |
| Road Kill | ||
| Squirrels | 3-5 days | 1-4 months |
| Deer | 1-2 days | 2-3 months |
| Moose | 1-2 days | 1-2 months |
Sources: United States Department of Agriculture; Food Marketing Institute; Cooperative Extension Service, Iowa State University; New Hampshire mountain folk lore.
