Rad Cat: The Grey Bits, Are They Safe?

[daftcat75]

So I have been putting Krista through hell giving her too old Rad Cat (three days in fridge?). I don’t seem to know when it’s gotten long in the beak but she does. She’ll take a few bites, jump down, and immediately empty her stomach.

My new system, which is evolving over repetition, is to thaw a tub in the fridge overnight. Then weigh it and scoop it into ice cube trays 15 g per cube. (Jewish mother’s half ounce. “Have a little more! You look skinny!”)
Then I refreeze the cubes. Once frozen, I package them into baggies, three to a baggie. And that’s a meal. I plan to keep no more than a days’ meals in the fridge, pulling out the next day’s meals from freezer to fridge each night.

So my question is, when loading up the trays, there is a sort of softer grey layer that contacts all the tub surfaces and on top. Is this just meat that thawed faster and oxidized due to air exposure? Or should this be scraped away and only use the pink center? (This is turkey by the way.)

 

[Azazel]

I've never seen a grey layer on top of rad cat turkey before. I only defrost the tubs for a few hours - enough so that they are just crunchy enough to scoop but not completely defrosted. I then portion and put it in the freezer and I don't leave completely defrosted portions in the fridge longer than a day.

A picture might help.

 

[daftcat75]

Next tub. I have to get a few more ice cube trays. I realized it took longer than 30 minutes to load the two trays I had and while the pink center was still frozen, I didn’t feel good about the edges anymore. I didn’t think I’d feel too good about the pink center either if this went back in the fridge and continued to thaw.

When you defrost for a few hours, do you simply move the tub from freezer to fridge or do you also run it under warm or cold water? I seem to need at least an overnight thaw to be able to spoon the still frozen RC into the ice cube trays.

 

[Azazel]

Next tub. I have to get a few more ice cube trays. I realized it took longer than 30 minutes to load the two trays I had and while the pink center was still frozen, I didn’t feel good about the edges anymore. I didn’t think I’d feel too good about the pink center either if this went back in the fridge and continued to thaw.

When you defrost for a few hours, do you simply move the tub from freezer to fridge or do you also run it under warm or cold water? I seem to need at least an overnight thaw to be able to spoon the still frozen RC into the ice cube trays.

I just move it directly to the fridge. It probably depends on the temp of your fridge, but I can portion out a 24oz tub with a fork after 6 hours in the fridge.

You have to stab it a few times at the beginning to get going but after the first couple scoops it's pretty easy.

 

[lisahe]

I also go directly to the refrigerator; I never thaw it outside the refrigerator. (Being raised by a dietitian with food safety training made its mark on many of my kitchen habits!) Unlike Azazel, though, it takes at least 24 hours for the Rad Cat to reach a consistency where I can hack at it enough to even serve a little up! We keep our refrigerator very cold, though, usually around 40F. (Food keeps much longer that way, that was advice from a lobster pound owner. )

I don't worry about the gray layer -- I know exactly what you mean, daftcat75 , and wonder if it's a bit of freezer burn or something -- but now that you mention it, I wonder if that's why our pickier cat doesn't like the first portions from the tub, when I just hack some from the top and edges. When the food has thawed enough to be portioned out, I always mix it up so any stale flavoring from the gray parts gets mixed in.

Sad that there's not much more Rad Cat left, ugh.

 

[abbyntim]

We also go straight from the freezer to the refrigerator, and it takes at least 24 hours (also a cold refrigerator). I tend to wait until I can mix things up, to blend in the grey bits with the pink bits. I suspect it's oxidation. I also never noticed grey bits in the pre-HPP turkey. I will miss Rad Cat ... I have about one month left

 

[molly92]

I think it's just oxidation too-perfectly safe. Wendy likes lamb and venison, which are red meats and always have a gray layer, which she eats just fine, but I try to mix it in with the red stuff.

 

[mschauer]

I think it's just oxidation too-perfectly safe. Wendy likes lamb and venison, which are red meats and always have a gray layer, which she eats just fine, but I try to mix it in with the red stuff.

 

[Azazel]

I will miss Rad Cat ... I have about one month left

Me too

I went a little crazy and bought 7 months worth of Rad Cat the other day.

 

[abbyntim]

Me too

I went a little crazy and bought 7 months worth of Rad Cat the other day.

I would if I could. I was on vacation when I got the news, and as soon as I got home late yesterday I called all around and got what I could. The stores I shop at were already low on stock due to the recall, so I feel lucky I got what I did.