Will I Die if I Eat This?

[Villanelle]

I'm usually pretty good about rotating stock in my freezer.  But I just found a frozen kielbasa, in the original air-tight package (like the image below), with a use by date in 2020. 

Is eating this frugal, or cheap? The internet gives very mixed answers.  I want to hear yours.  I know we'v discussed "use by" dates before, and I'm usually pretty cavalier with them, but with meat, and 3 years past, I'm on the fence. 

[Morning Glory]

If it was in a chest type freezer that doesn't get opened frequently,  it should be fine.

[Josiecat22222]

I would totally be ok with eating this.  It's smoked meat (and those are usually even better preserved than raw meat) and it has been frozen solid in the freezer.  I don't even know how if I've ever checked a kielbasa's best by date from my freezer.  That said, if you are at all concerned, throw it out.  A three dollar sausage is not worth a night of GI distress or the mental stress of wondering if it was ok to eat.

[Sibley]

It might be freezer burned, which would not taste good but would not kill you. Defrost it to cook it, but have a backup plan in case its obvious it's badly freezer burned.

[Kris]

You’ll be fine. Will it taste good? Maybe not great. But you won’t get sick.

[uniwelder]

I’d certainly eat it. It’s already cooked, heavy with preservatives, and in a vacuum tight seal. However, in the future, you should try a better quality kielbasa. If there aren’t any Polish delis around, Boars Head makes a good one. We stock when they’re on clearance for $4.

[reeshau]

It might be freezer burned, which would not taste good but would not kill you. Defrost it to cook it, but have a backup plan in case its obvious it's badly freezer burned.

+1

Can you eat it?  Yeah.  Would you want to?  Probably not, but an interesting experiment.

I've found home-smoked things hiding out in the corner od the freezer for 2 years, and they have done quite well.

[GuitarStv]

I doubt anything from the freezer will kill you.  It might not taste optimal though.

I've found frozen cookie dough in the back of our freezer from three or four years ago and then made cookies with it.  They tasted like cookies . . . maybe slightly off (I think it was weird absorbed flavours?).  Didn't kill me though.  Or stop me from eating them.

[sonofsven]

You'll be fine. That kielbasa is stuffed with preservatives.

Will it kill you? Well, actually, eating ultra processed food is really bad for you, so maybe it will if it's a big part of your diet, but it will be slower ;-)

[Villanelle]

You'll be fine. That kielbasa is stuffed with preservatives.

Will it kill you? Well, actually, eating ultra processed food is really bad for you, so maybe it will if it's a big part of your diet, but it will be slower ;-)

If it were a big part of my diet, this wouldn't have lingered in my freezer for 3+ years!

~~

I'm not super concerned with the flavor, as long as it doesn't taste terribly Off.  It's going in a recipe with plenty of other things, and cajun spice, so if it's simply a matter of the taste being dull, no problem at all. 

It doesn't appear to be freezer burned, and since the package is air-tight, it seems that shouldn't be an issue.

Also, if this is my last post on MMM, thanks for everything, and I hope my heirs don't end up in the inheritance drama thread.  Wish me luck! 

[Adventine]

You'll be fine. That kielbasa is stuffed with preservatives.

Will it kill you? Well, actually, eating ultra processed food is really bad for you, so maybe it will if it's a big part of your diet, but it will be slower ;-)

If it were a big part of my diet, this wouldn't have lingered in my freezer for 3+ years!

~~

I'm not super concerned with the flavor, as long as it doesn't taste terribly Off.  It's going in a recipe with plenty of other things, and cajun spice, so if it's simply a matter of the taste being dull, no problem at all. 

It doesn't appear to be freezer burned, and since the package is air-tight, it seems that shouldn't be an issue.

Also, if this is my last post on MMM, thanks for everything, and I hope my heirs don't end up in the inheritance drama thread.  Wish me luck!

Send us a picture of what it looks like after you cook it!

[sonofsven]

You'll be fine. That kielbasa is stuffed with preservatives.

Will it kill you? Well, actually, eating ultra processed food is really bad for you, so maybe it will if it's a big part of your diet, but it will be slower ;-)

If it were a big part of my diet, this wouldn't have lingered in my freezer for 3+ years!

~~

I'm not super concerned with the flavor, as long as it doesn't taste terribly Off.  It's going in a recipe with plenty of other things, and cajun spice, so if it's simply a matter of the taste being dull, no problem at all. 

It doesn't appear to be freezer burned, and since the package is air-tight, it seems that shouldn't be an issue.

Also, if this is my last post on MMM, thanks for everything, and I hope my heirs don't end up in the inheritance drama thread.  Wish me luck!

I'm glad to hear it! 

I would prepare it just like in the picture, with lots of saurkraut on the side, and maybe some boiled potatoes. Mmmmm

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

Go for it! I've eaten a lot of meat multiple years old. I've eaten nuts that were almost twenty years old, and I'm still fine!

[Morning Glory]

You'll be fine. That kielbasa is stuffed with preservatives.

Will it kill you? Well, actually, eating ultra processed food is really bad for you, so maybe it will if it's a big part of your diet, but it will be slower ;-)

If it were a big part of my diet, this wouldn't have lingered in my freezer for 3+ years!

~~

I'm not super concerned with the flavor, as long as it doesn't taste terribly Off.  It's going in a recipe with plenty of other things, and cajun spice, so if it's simply a matter of the taste being dull, no problem at all. 

It doesn't appear to be freezer burned, and since the package is air-tight, it seems that shouldn't be an issue.

Also, if this is my last post on MMM, thanks for everything, and I hope my heirs don't end up in the inheritance drama thread.  Wish me luck!

I'm glad to hear it! 

I would prepare it just like in the picture, with lots of saurkraut on the side, and maybe some boiled potatoes. Mmmmm

Pass the Tums please.  It sounds good but I'm getting heartburn just thinking about it.

[Dicey]

Have you checked the sodium content of that stuff? You'll be fine!

[FireLane]

If it's been frozen continuously since you bought it (for example, no power outages where it thawed and then refroze), I'm sure it's fine. It's difficult for sealed, cured meat to go bad to begin with, and freezing will keep it good more or less indefinitely.

However, I agree that if you have any doubt whatsoever, throw it out. It's not worth risking food poisoning over one package of sausage.

[Fru-Gal]

Also, if this is my last post on MMM, thanks for everything, and I hope my heirs don't end up in the inheritance drama thread.  Wish me luck! 

😂🍲

[ChickenStash]

As long as the freezer has been working, I'd eat that. No problem. It's already cooked and chock full o' salt. The texture might be a little off but otherwise it'll be fine.

[neo von retorch]

You may want to remove it from the packaging and even try cutting it into smaller pieces first.

[LifeHappens]

So, @Villanelle did you eat it? If so, are you still alive? ;)

[Villanelle]

So, @Villanelle did you eat it? If so, are you still alive? ;)

Postponed until at least this weekend.  I figure a few more days won't hurt at this point!

[LifeHappens]

So, @Villanelle did you eat it? If so, are you still alive? ;)

Postponed until at least this weekend.  I figure a few more days won't hurt at this point!

Don't wait too long. The over/under on your imminent death is heating up!

[GuitarStv]

I am willing to bet that she will not report back to us dead after eating the food.

[reeshau]

Maybe this calls for a quick update to the will, so that we aren't left in the lurch.

[ChpBstrd]

Depends on whether the freezer has been through a multi-hour electrical outage anytime within the past 3-5 years.

[uniwelder]

Depends on whether the freezer has been through a multi-hour electrical outage anytime within the past 3-5 years.

Might change the texture, but probably not even that, since it’s so fatty. I think the freezer would have to be powered off for several days before worrying about being unsafe to eat. I think this is kind of like arguing over how long a Twinkie can stay out before going bad.

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

I am willing to bet that she will not report back to us dead after eating the food.

How long do we need to wait before we declare her missing?

[Dicey]

Related: I ran an annual food drive in my city today. The Food Bank can't take anything that doesn't have nutrition information printed on it. Therefore, I scored a few interesting things: five packages of jasmine rice that were probably part of a bulk pack, a package of ribbon striped pasta that I'm sure was part of a TJ's holiday gift pack, some packets of sugar and whatever the sweetener in the pink packet is called, which I will use when I make coffee for a large group thing I do. Best for last: two cans of something with no labels. Can't wait to see what's inside, but I'm so pooped it's gount to have to wait until tomorrow. If I'm never heard from again, blame the naked cans.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

Related: I ran an annual food drive in my city today. The Food Bank can't take anything that doesn't have nutrition information printed on it. Therefore, I scored a few interesting things: five packages of jasmine rice that were probably part of a bulk pack, a package of ribbon striped pasta that I'm sure was part of a TJ's holiday gift pack, some packets of sugar and whatever the sweetener in the pink packet is called, which I will use when I make coffee for a large group thing I do. Best for last: two cans of something with no labels. Can't wait to see what's inside, but I'm so pooped it's gount to have to wait until tomorrow. If I'm never heard from again, blame the naked cans.

It's probably pie filling. When I was a kid, my grade school did food drives once a year. My mom would usually give me old pie filling from the back of the cupboard she had forgotten about to donate.

[GilesMM]

You won't die right away but it does have 35 grams of saturated fat, so it may be tasty enough to be worth the risk.

[Dicey]

My first guess was pie filling, my second guess is some kind of canned fruit, because the contents don't seem to have the viscosity of pie filling. Plenty of sugar, either way.

[SunnyDays]

My first guess was pie filling, my second guess is some kind of canned fruit, because the contents don't seem to have the viscosity of pie filling. Plenty of sugar, either way.

Ah, the mystery cans.  My dad used to volunteer at an annual Christmas food bank and would bring home all the rejected stuff, due to dents, out-dated or missing labels.  It was amazing how much stuff would have gone into the dumpster if not for him, and that was after some things were weeded out for another food bank.  The food was not good enough for the needy, but was plenty good enough for us!  Most of the missing label cans were either fruit, soup or baked beans.  Opening them was an adventure.

[Villanelle]

Sorry to disappoint, but I seem to have survived. 

We had this for dinner last night, and there are no obvious signs of death thus far.

The meal was so, so good, but very salty.  I don't cook with much salt, and the combo of the kielbasa and the cajun seasoning (which has been in the spice cabinet probably since the pig that became that kielbasa was just a glint in the pig-parents' eyes) was very salty.  I'm starting the process of emptying All the Things, since we will be moving next year.  Sausage is gone and cajun seasoning is closer to empty. 

And I live to dine another day!

[Dicey]

Sorry to disappoint, but I seem to have survived. 

We had this for dinner last night, and there are no obvious signs of death thus far.

The meal was so, so good, but very salty.  I don't cook with much salt, and the combo of the kielbasa and the cajun seasoning (which has been in the spice cabinet probably since the pig that became that kielbasa was just a glint in the pig-parents' eyes) was very salty.  I'm starting the process of emptying All the Things, since we will be moving next year.  Sausage is gone and cajun seasoning is closer to empty. 

And I live to dine another day!

Drink lots of water!

[SunnyDays]

Just a tip for future salty meals - if you know in advance it's likely to be salty, cook a potato in with it, then discard the potato after (or eat it, as you wish).  It absorbs the salt, maybe due to the potassium.

[Adventine]

Just a tip for future salty meals - if you know in advance it's likely to be salty, cook a potato in with it, then discard the potato after (or eat it, as you wish).  It absorbs the salt, maybe due to the potassium.

No need to throw anything out - just eat less of the salty food and pair it with a bland food. Say, 1 serving of salty food with 2 servings of potato, or rice, or bread. More meals overall!

Just don't forget the cooked food in the freezer for several years again....

[Villanelle]

Oh, the salt as delicious.  I think we just aren't really used to all that salt, but it definitely isn't a complaint.  Although my blood pressure might be a bit higher for a couple days! 

[Villanelle]

Leftovers last night (and still some left for a couple lunches) and we are both still alive and kicking. 

[Dicey]

My first guess was pie filling, my second guess is some kind of canned fruit, because the contents don't seem to have the viscosity of pie filling. Plenty of sugar, either way.

On further reflection, I suspect it's a canned milk product. I don't have time to bake right now, so the great unveiling will have to wait a bit.

[GuitarStv]

My first guess was pie filling, my second guess is some kind of canned fruit, because the contents don't seem to have the viscosity of pie filling. Plenty of sugar, either way.

On further reflection, I suspect it's a canned milk product. I don't have time to bake right now, so the great unveiling will have to wait a bit.

Condensed milk just needs chocolate syrup to become a delicious food.  No cooking required!

[reeshau]

My first guess was pie filling, my second guess is some kind of canned fruit, because the contents don't seem to have the viscosity of pie filling. Plenty of sugar, either way.

On further reflection, I suspect it's a canned milk product. I don't have time to bake right now, so the great unveiling will have to wait a bit.

Condensed milk just needs chocolate syrup to become a delicious food.  No cooking required!

It can also become ice cream pretty easily--no cooking required, as with custard!

[Alternatepriorities]

My first guess was pie filling, my second guess is some kind of canned fruit, because the contents don't seem to have the viscosity of pie filling. Plenty of sugar, either way.

On further reflection, I suspect it's a canned milk product. I don't have time to bake right now, so the great unveiling will have to wait a bit.

If you cook an unopened can of sweetened condense milk in a pot of water for an hour or so it turns into delicious caramel... of course if it turns out to be something else the results may be less delicious...