How to refrigerate meat the right way

Raw meat is one of the first foods that need to be stored in the fridge quickly before cooking.  As raw meat is very perishable, you have to kill the microorganisms in the raw meat with ice.  Improper storage of raw meat can lead to food poisoning. However, if the right rules are followed before storing raw meat, the meat stays good for months or even years.

Storing the meat

• It is important to keep it in the fridge after qurbani but not without cleaning it properly.  Even if you can't clean it completely, you have to wash it with water for some time and wash the blood. This is because if the meat is kept with blood in the fridge for a long time, the bacteria will attack. In addition, it also creates a rotten smell in the meat.

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• It's better to keep the meat in the refrigerator in a certain order and not randomly.

• Meat cannot be left open in polythene or containers. This will deteriorate the quality of meat.  Keep the mouth of the container or polythene in the fridge with the mouth closed as much as possible. It will also help you later to take out the frozen meat from the fridge. Also try to store it in small portions and packets to make unloading easier for the future.

Preparing the fridge

• Deep freezer must be cleaned before putting meat in the fridge. After a few days of keeping the meat again, clean the fridge again. This helps keep the bad smell away in the fridge.

• When keeping meat in the fridge, keep a distance between the two packets which will help the ventilation inside the fridge.

• Remove the excess bone and fat from the meat before preserving otherwise once it completely freezes it will be much difficult to clean.

• Keep different sorts of meat like beef, mutton, duck or chicken separately in different containers. 

• If you plan to keep the meat in the fridge for a long time, you can sprinkle a little salt on top. It will keep the good taste, quality and smell of meat intact.

Taking the meat out of the fridge

• It is not right to soak the meat directly in water in order to defreeze. Rather keep the polythene or the container wet. When the meat is defreezed, wash with water and cook immediately.

• To keep the colour, smell and taste of meat intact, it should not be washed in too much water or taken out of the fridge repeatedly.