How Do You Tell if Ground Sausage is Still Good?

[KateH21]

I'm well aware of the "when in doubt, throw it out" rule, but this has happened twice and I'm worried I'm throwing out good meat.

I typically only use ground sausage once a year. I haven't used any in a couple years though. Last year I opened a package that smelled weird, so I threw it out. It may have been stored improperly due to a failing freezer (where it had been stored) so I decided it was best to err on the side of caution.

Today I opened a package that was 2 days past the use by date of October 28 and it was gray on the outside, pink on the inside, and smelled weird. The smell is exactly like the smell from last year. I don't recall ground sausage ever smelling that way, so I assumed it was bad. Someone had moved it to the refrigerator door at some point, so I don't know if that made a difference or not. I usually keep meat near the back where it's colder, not in the door.

I wouldn't think sausage would be bad two days after the use by date. Any thoughts? I don't remember how sausage is supposed to smell. I'm gonna try to buy some this week and use it right away. The whole thing is still puzzling me though.


I was planning on having sausage and gravy for supper.

 

[taxlady]

That sausage doesn't sound good. Have you ever smelled it when it was fresh? Or defrosted properly after a short time?

 

[KateH21]

Oddly enough, the universe gave me the answer. I took the lid off my cans/plastics recycle bin and was hit in the face by a horrible odor. It smelled exactly like the sausage. Most of the cans in the recycle bin are rinsed out pet food cans. So that told me right away that the sausage was bad both times.

I can't remember when the last time I cooked ground sausage was. I usually use it in my stuffing, but I don't think I've made that since 2016. Usually if I buy breakfast sausage, it's the maple links which has a totally different smell.

I can't believe storing meat in the door can make that much difference. I've always heard that it does, I've just never tested it out.

 

[taxlady]

BTW Kate, welcome to Discuss Cooking.

 

[jennyema]

Just remember that ground meats are contaminated from within by bacteria from the grinding process, so be careful.

Also food goes bad before it smells....

 

[KateH21]

Update:


I recently bought the exact same brand of sausage (Gwaltney) from the same store and it smells the same. This one has a use by date of 1/9/21. It's Jan. 2, and the sausage smells, looks, and feels the same as the previous one I thought was bad.

I decided that maybe it's the brand and I went ahead and cooked it. It doesn't taste as bad as it smells, but it doesn't taste good either. I made sausage and gravy with eggs over biscuits. I finished eating about 35 minutes ago, ate a peppermint candy afterwards and still have that nasty sausage taste in my mouth. Yuck! I decided to check out some reviews for this sausage and other people complain about the odor and taste. So at least I know it wasn't rotten.


Usually I use the Jamestown brand and have always been happy with it. I have not been able to get my hands on it since 2019. I'm lucky I got any sausage at all, it was out of stock at my local Walmarts. The only other store that has fairly affordable curbside grocery shopping was Food Lion and this is all they had that didn't cost an arm and a leg.

 

[pepperhead212]

I'm glad that it didn't make you sick!
But now you know it's not worth buying, and I'll remember not to buy that brand, though I've never seen it around here. But then, I rarely buy sausage, except for cured sausages.

 

[taxlady]

Kgirl, I think it's time to find some sausage recipes. It's really easy to make up some "sausage meat". It's just ground pork (you could probably use ground beef, but I think pork is better for sausage), some spices, maybe some herbs, and some salt. You can roll it into cigars or make sausage patties. It's cheaper than ready made sausage and you know what's in it. Be sure to use meat that has enough fat. If the meat is lean, add some EVOO or fat from something else. I learned that the hard way. The sausages tasted good, but were on the dry side.

 

[dragnlaw]

Kgirl, I agree with taxy, make your own.

You can make it spicy or not. There are plenty of recipes out there.
You might find you use it more!

But even so, once made, take out a small test piece,
keep covered in fridge the balance for the moment,
cook to test that little patty to see if you've got the taste you want

- then freeze it all immediately in patty shapes or cigar shapes, what ever you think will work for you to defrost/cook.