Cooked ground beef sometimes gets a greenish tone when it goes bad. [3] X Research source
Cooked beef also smells sour and foul when it’s no longer good to eat. [6] X Research source
Cooked beef also feels slimy to the touch after it goes bad. It might also be on the mushy side. [8] X Research source Always wash your hands before and after you handle raw beef so you don’t spread bacteria or contaminate surfaces.
Let’s say you left raw ground beef in the fridge for 7 days—if the meat still wasn’t 3 days past its sell-by date (or showed any signs of spoilage), it would still be safe to eat.
Freeze any beef if you don’t plan on cooking or eating it right away.
Frozen beef technically doesn’t go bad, but it’ll start to taste less fresh if you freeze it for longer than 4 months. [14] X Research source
Beef thawed with water needs to be cooked right away, while beef defrosted in the refrigerator can be refrozen within 24-48 hours. Never leave the meat to thaw at room temperature, and make sure that it isn’t out for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour in really hot conditions). Beef can be thawed in the microwave but it needs to be cooked right after it’s finished thawing to avoid any contamination.
Seal away the beef in several bags before you toss it out (especially if you opened the package already). You don’t want animals rooting around in your trash and snacking on recalled meat!
