# Aged Beef Short Ribs Smelled Bad



## farmerbrown (Jun 13, 2015)

I am a real beef eater, love it.  I often buy large quantities of various cuts, cryovac it, and let it sit for a while in the fridge.  I seldom pass 40 days though, the flavor is not to my liking after that.

I bought 15-20 pounds of beef ribs, some standard cut short ribs, some cut across the bone (Korean BBQ Style), and some full ribs.  They were all cryovaced and in a 33 degree fridge drawer.  I keep a thermometer to check the temp.

I took it out tonight to cook it, and all three packages had a terrible odor.  Two were 35 days old, one was 20 days old.  They were all properly sealed.  The meat had not oxidized at all.

The odor was like human poop.  No other way to put it.  Not manure, not grassy or beefy, but poop.  It made the whole house smell like a bad baby diaper.

I rinsed it and rubbed it in cold water, no change. I cut off the outside, not help.  I cut right to the bone, but the meat all the way in the center had the same odor.

I am used to the smell of aged meat.  Sometimes it can be a little offensive.  This was not that smell.  It did not dissipate like the bag smell will.

The meat looked and felt pristine.  Not slimy, good texture, firm fat.  the fat was very light, like fresher meat.  The juices were deep red, not at all discolored.  Just a really terrible odor.

I threw it all away, very reluctantly.

Can anyone give me some input on this?  The only thing I could think is perhaps the bones do not age well?  I have aged bone in rib before with no problem.  Does short rib not age well?

Any help is really appreciated.


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## pepper grind (Mar 10, 2015)

The only advice I have to offer is if it smells like poop do you really want to eat it even if its not bad? Doesn't sound like something I would look forward to...


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

WOW. I have found that "cryovacing" ANYTHING does not keep it from degrading.

Somehow, some way your seal got broken on those ribs.


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## le plongeur (Jan 6, 2015)

I would definitely recommend blanching before Cryovacing IF the short ribs you typically use have a large amount of impurities which cause the smell.

Cryovacing preserves what's in the bag. If the bag contains a high level of bacteria, it'll still degrade your short ribs.

Many chefs blanch their bones before making a brown stock in order to get rid of the very same matter that's caused the smell. It affects mouth feel and final taste once the stock's reduced so it'll certainly affect the smell of your short ribs. Blanching, drying and vac packing won't affect the end product as much as the impurities you'll be getting rid of.

LP.


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## allanmcpherson (Apr 5, 2007)

Anytime you get into aging beef, and you are sort of wet aging here, you are better off working with primals or larger sub primals.  The short ribs would not be a good candidate for this as the odds are they would have been cut with a band saw.  The bone dust is a serious risk for contamination, especially once vac packed.  A good cleaning or blanching (not a practice I have personally used, but as said above, is often advocated) might have helped here.


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## farmerbrown (Jun 13, 2015)

AllanMcPherson said:


> The short ribs would not be a good candidate for this as the odds are they would have been cut with a band saw. The bone dust is a serious risk for contamination, especially once vac packed.


That is a really good point. I wondered why it just happened to bone in cuts. This may be the reason. I spoke with a butcher over the weekend, and he theorized it was related to the bones.


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## Chef R J (1 mo ago)

farmerbrown said:


> I am a real beef eater, love it. I often buy large quantities of various cuts, cryovac it, and let it sit for a while in the fridge. I seldom pass 40 days though, the flavor is not to my liking after that.
> 
> I bought 15-20 pounds of beef ribs, some standard cut short ribs, some cut across the bone (Korean BBQ Style), and some full ribs. They were all cryovaced and in a 33 degree fridge drawer. I keep a thermometer to check the temp.
> 
> ...


I just experienced a similar problem - though I only had the Short Ribs in my fridge for 5 days. There was definitely an oder coming from the beef - I am cooking it now but am not sure if I will get sick if I eat it. Any further advice on meat a week old and an odor and safe to eat is appreciated.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

> In vacuum-packaged meat, psychrotrophic facultative anaerobic and anaerobic bacteria can grow and cause different types of spoilage Microbial deterioration of vacuum-packaged chilled beef cuts and techniques for microbiota detection and characterization: a review





> Vacuum sealing can extend the fridge life of meats as well, but because anaerobic bacteria can grow at temperatures above 3°F, all vacuum-packed refrigerated meats should be unsealed and cooked within 10 days.The Best Tips for Storing Meats


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