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I'm about to make bone broth for the first time. I've just opened the fridge to get the bones. The smell is horrible. Is this normal? It's quite a a lot and i bought it directly from a grass-fed farm one week ago. Could it be spoiled? 1 Week doesn't sound too long to me. I couldn't cook it during the week, my parents would probably have killed me because of the smell. I used to eat it some marrow bones from the supermarket and there was no smell at all, as far as i can remember.

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Yes bone marrow goes rancid very fast, plain red meat can be held fairly long in the fridge as long as it doesnt sit in its juices and the fridge holds steady 2C temperature. – Jan May 28 2011 at 18:02
I generally toss them in the freezer until I can use them. – Dave S. May 28 2011 at 21:31

6 Answers

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Definitely toss them; always trust your nose.

1 week is plenty of time for meat to spoil, even if it has been refrigerated (and there is no guarantee that the bones were fresh when you bought them 1 week ago). Marrow especially is sort of like a 5 star hotel for microbes, so you have to be especially careful with it.

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Yes, i just tossed them. I'll stick with eating some marrow bones form the supermarket and getting gelatin from powder (jello desserts) What a mess! – Paul May 28 2011 at 17:37
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A week is WAY too long for meat. I'm a recovering vegetarian, so I know what it is like to be completely clueless when it comes to meat.

  1. ALWAYS trust your nose. If it doesn't smell right, toss it.
  2. I use a rule for meats that they must be cooked within 24 hours and within 6 hours for fresh fish.
  3. Portion your meats into FREEZER quality ziplock baggies if you buy large volumes. If you've already portioned them into ONE meal sizes, you are also unlikely to over eat as well as having safe meat.
  4. Ask your butcher a lot of questions regarding meat handling. You'll find a good friend and maybe get some good deals on great meats.

And, why are you thawing it for bone broth? Just dump it in the water, frozen.

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I wasn't thawing it. It wasnt frozen @ 5° Celsius = 41 Fahrenheit. Yeah, i wasn't a vegetarian myself, but i'm realy a total noob in regard to meat and cooking in general. During some weeks I don't have a freezer (only a small fridge) so the 24 h timeline is quite difficult to handle. I'm a student and i can't go shopping every second day. But THX for your advices, they are very helpful and i've ignored them a lot. – Paul May 28 2011 at 17:46
Paul, I totally understand this. I might recommend getting a crockpot, and just throwing them in when you buy them. You can let it simmer on low for days, so long as you keep the water level high enough. If you let it reduce to a super-rich broth, you can use less fridge space, too. This is extra specially good with bones from lamb. – Sara May 28 2011 at 18:16
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The meat I buy easily last 1-2 weeks in the fridge, even the ground beef. I buy from a local butcher. Funny thing is meat I have bought from a Safeway, etc doe snot seem to last as long, hmmmmm.

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Bones get a bit whiffy by the end of a week even in the fridge - mine are for my dogs and they seem to love them a bit smelly. I chuck them after a week though cos I don't want the fridge ponging out.

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I wonder what people think about this: I make my soup with bone broth and keep it in the fridge for about 1.5 - 2 weeks. It's a huge vat from which I eat at least 2 bowls everyday. It's got chopped beef, shrimps, kale, different vegetables, and of coruse the bone broth made with marrow and small rib bones -- about 1/4 of the total soup is bone broth.

So far no smell and I'm okay. I do notice though that the green leafy veggies (spinach and kale) do become faded, however. Is this possibly keeping it too long? I keep it in the back of the fridge so it is being kept at a bit lower temperature.

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bones keep about 7-9 days after butcher when optimally stored. So better wrap them in clingfilm and freeze them asap after you buy them. The marrow fat goes rancid very fast.

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