How Long Can Raw Sausage Stay In The Fridge?
Raw sausage is known to be perishable and it is advised to refrigerate it for no more than two days. After this, either use it up in cooking or shift it in the freezer. This is because, since its uncooked, sausage will go bad if not stored in the right temperatures.
Properly cooked breakfast sausages keep for three or four days in the fridge, or as long as the recommended four months in the freezer. As long as you properly store your ground breakfast sausage, it is safe to eat up to two days after its “best by” date as long as you store it in the fridge. You may heat up a ground breakfast sausage after cooking by popping it in a microwave oven or on a stovetop, but only if you were able to keep the ground breakfast sausage in the fridge prior to the two-hour room temperature exposure.
Raw ground breakfast sausage typically keeps fresh only for one to two days when stored in the fridge at 40degF or lower (ask.usda.gov). In general, both raw sausage and prepared sausages should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. Sausage, both raw and cooked, should never sit out at room temperature longer than 2 hours. Raw sausages can be stored in the fridge for one to two days, while cooked sausages can be stored in the refrigerator for three to four days.
| Storage | Temperature | Shelf Life |
| Kitchen counter | 60-68°F | 2 hours (suggested by USDA) |
| In the refrigerator | 32-34°F | 1-2 days |
| Freezer | 0°F | 4 months |
You can extend the shelf-life of fresh sausages by cooking them a bit prior to keeping in your refrigerator, up to three to four days. Sausages are best left outside of your freezer for several days before cooking or grilling, so you are assured that they will not spoil. Let sausages cool, seal in a freezer-safe bag, and put in the freezer, where they will retain their good taste for up to 3 months. As far as defrosted sausages go, you can hold on to them for one to two days after taking them out of the freezer.
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You will have to cook and eat the dethawed sausages in those two days, otherwise, they will not be edible. If the sausages, opened or not, unopened, raw or cooked, have been sitting outside longer than 1 or 2 hours, toss the sausages out, do not attempt to cook them, and do not eat them, because they are not any more safe to eat. If you do decide to eat sausages past their best-by date, safe food-handling practices must be used. The answer is, yes, you can eat smoked sausages past their best before date, assuming that they are stored and handled correctly.
The USDA advises storing smoked sausages in a cooler at or below 40 degrees F., and eating them within a week after they are purchased. If frozen, smoked sausages should be stored at a temperature of 0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower and may be stored up to two months. Keeping uncooked sausages frozen consistently in the freezer will allow them to last longer than if they were kept in a cooler where the temperature would fluctuate. Raw sausages have the shortest shelf life and must be cooked within a couple days, while dried sausages have the longest and can last weeks.
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Properly stored sausages may last for 3-5 days in a fridge; vacuum-packed sausages will last even longer. Freezing sausages raw is the best method for preserving them as long as possible. If kept in the original package, or wrapped in a piece of butchers paper, raw sausages will last for 1 or 2 days in the freezer. When it comes to cooked pork sausages, they will last a little longer in your refrigerator; they will still be fine even after three or four days.
If you choose to keep your pork sausages in the freezer, they will keep up to six months. Now, if we are talking cooked sausages, they typically last 3-5 days in a fridge, and up to 4 months well-regulated in the freezer. According to USDA, pre-cooked sausages can last for up to two weeks in a fridge when not opened, and up to a week once opened. According to the USDA FSIS guidelines, a fresh sausage pack only lasts between one to two days in the refrigerator, regardless if the pack is opened.
The American Meat Institute suggests sausages that are not going to be used for a period of one to two days should be put into your freezer ASAP to maintain their best meat quality. Once defrosted, use the non-cooked sausage products within two days, and cooked varieties within a week. In contrast, pre-cooked, smoked sausage varieties will keep past their best-by date, provided seals are not broken. More perishable foods should not be eaten after their expiration dates, but this does not mean sausages are always going to be rotten at this point.
This is true even of fresh sausages, which are cooked, but which are not going to get eaten within a safe cooling window. Regardless if you buy fresh or ready-to-eat sausage products, those items may stay outside the refrigerator only two hours or less. Except for dried sausages, all sausages are perishable for a few days and must be refrigerated or frozen (ask.usda.gov). For those who prefer tougher sausages, such as pepperoni, some salami products, and summer sausages, tough sausages may keep for six weeks at room temperature, if not opened.
Unopened sausages can be frozen in their original package, while opened sausages should be transferred into a freezer bag. Styrofoam packing is sufficient for sausages stored in a cooler, but tighter packaging is best if the sausages are placed in the freezer. You may want to add additional wrapping over the initial store-bought paper, such as heavy-duty aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a freezer-safe bag, to maximise your sausages shelf life. Sausages eventually get dry and begin suffering freezer burn, so it is best to use them up while they are still in their prime.
You can freeze either the entire sausage or slices, but remember, a whole sausage takes longer to defrost than slices, but it can be made into several dishes with a lot of ease. Label sausages you pack so you do not end up eating contaminated ground breakfast sausage, and throw out products once they are grayish-brown and goopy, smell rancid, taste bad, or are past their shelf life.
How to know when sausages is bad?
Smelling the meat is a quick and reliable way to determine whether ground breakfast sausage has gone bad. Freshly ground breakfast sausage typically smells mildly of meat and sometimes of herbs (depending on the additives). At the same time, rancid and putrid odors will be present in damaged ground breakfast sausage.
Do uncooked sausages go bad in the fridge?
A pack of fresh sausages will only last one to two days in your refrigerator, regardless of whether the packaging has been opened or not, according to USDA FSIS guidelines. Fresh sausages’ shelf life can be somewhat extended to three to four days by cooking them before storing them in the refrigerator.
Can you eat slimy sausage?
It’s a sign that your sausage has gone bad if it’s visibly slimy. Sausage casings may occasionally feel slightly sticky to the touch, which is acceptable. However, if visible slime is present that is thicker and definitely not natural slime from the fluids of the meat, throw the sausage away.