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How To Know If Turkey Is Spoiled
One of the most common signs of spoiled turkey is that spoiled turkey can smell like rotten eggs or sulfur burps. Unpleasant odor, slimy texture, and discoloration are indications that your turkey is spoiled. Spoiled turkey may lose some of the nutrients and have a bad taste.
If consumed, spoilt turkey has the potential to cause serious harm to your health, as it is meat, and meat can contain a large number of bacteria and pathogens, particularly Clostridium perfringens, the leading pathogen of turkey-food poisoning. It is not ok to consume meat from rotting turkeys unless you are absolutely certain the meat is not spoiled. Turkey meat can smell bad either because you do not like the kind of smell, or you have noticed by the way its smell is spoiled.
However, it is also possible to get a smell that is similar to a fart when eating turkey meat, and more often than not, this does not mean that the meat is spoiled. Whatever the case might be for you, you can rest assured that any time a tart odor of spoiled meat is noticed, it is most likely going to make everybody then not enjoy the turkey smell. If you continue to prepare that type of turkey meat, then it is possible you could get salmonella. Remember to avoid sloppy, discolored meat that has an off-putting odor, to keep the meat at a safe temperature (below 40 degrees F. or above 140 degrees F.), and to keep it in the freezer as soon as possible so that you will not have to explain why your turkey smells like a Sulphur pit.
By the way if you are interested in How Long Can You Freeze A Turkey Breast, then check out my another article.
In some cases, the strong smell that comes with a rotten, raw turkey can smell like sulfur breath, or like rotten eggs. It is not strange that ground turkey can smell like feces, but for instance, strong sulphur or rotten egg odors are red flags when it comes to turkey. While you can detect the smell of a raw turkey, a fresh ground turkey, for instance, might not smell anything at all until you begin cooking. When taking a fresh ground turkey out for cooking, make sure you smell it just a bit, and if your nose picks up a strange scent, that does not seem right.
You will want to defrost your ground turkey, and then carefully inspect it for color, texture, or smell changes. You can tell when the ground turkey is not good if, upon sniffing, you detect foul smell; another trick is to feel the texture. If you suspect the ground turkey is going bad, then one of the first things you can do is to test for odors in the ground meat.
To learn about Can You Freeze Ground Turkey Meat, then check out this article.
If you are still unsure if the ground turkey is bad, then try to examine the meat surfaces with a bare hand, the bad meat will look slimy and gooey. Turkey that has gone bad will have a slimy, sticky texture, so keep your eyes peeled for this.
| How to identify a spoiled turkey | Shelf Life |
| If you suspect the ground turkey is going bad, then one of the first things you can do is to test for odors in the ground meat. | 1-2 days (In refrigerator) |
| A spoiled turkey also have blemishes; colors such as gray, black, green and brown. | Frozen raw turkey has a shelf life for about 9 months. |
Bad turkeys can also have blemishes; colors such as gray, black, green, and brown are seen when a turkey part goes bad. Your turkey will have developed a darker color since the time it first came out of the oven, and other discolorations can include yellow, green, or gray spots on the surface of your turkey. In addition to an overall color shift, if you notice the color of your turkeys skin is duller than it was when you bought it, there might be a problem.
If the cooked turkey looks darker than it was when you roasted it, then it might be going bad. If ground turkey looked fresh when you bought it, with a light pink color, and it is now a dull, dull color, and is not bright, and shows any other signs, it is a good indication it is going bad. If the smell of your ground turkey has a stronger smell than the average meat, which is either sour or stronger, at any time when checking, the meat has likely been sitting too long and has become spoiled.
If you have just bought some turkey from the store, and it seems to be doing fine with the scent/texture, you may wonder just how long it is going to keep well in the freezer. Let us say that you do end up with a few turkeys in your freezer, and you are hoping you can put them into a freezer so they can last as long as possible. If you are keeping the turkey cooked (as opposed to uncooked), according to The Globe and Mail, it should keep well for up to two to three months in the freezer.
Cooked turkey also keeps well in a refrigerator, where it can stay for up to four months without bacteria building up. You can wrap a cooked turkey with foil for storage, and if you have lots of leftovers, you can keep it there for an additional 3-4 months. Thawing it in the fridge is best, but you can also thaw a turkey in cold water for 30 minutes per pound.
Fresh turkey does not smell much like anything, so an off-putting, stronger odor is your warning sign that it is going bad. The shelf life for a turkey can be anywhere from a couple days to several months. Poultry always has a certain smell, in smaller degrees, but the difference between smelling fresh, raw TURKEY that is going bad is pretty easy to tell if you know what to look for. Turkey, just like any other meat, can smell mild, but egg-like smells are not common to taste in turkey meat.
According to Hanes, the skin of turkey can get gooey, and odors are often described as being akin to the smell of rotten eggs or sulphur. Some turkeys, especially those packed in vacuum packs, can initially smell awful, and this can fade after cleaning and drying the meat.
Sweet-smelling turkey, particularly when cooking the meat, or when it is still uncooked, can be a red flag. If you cannot tolerate the smell, it is almost always best practice to avoid eating the meat, since buying a new, fresh turkey is far safer. When poultry meat goes bad, it gives off that signature sulfur-like smell caused by spoiled meat from harmful bacteria.
If your turkey has retained much moisture since cooking, then it will likely exhibit a bit of mold growth as it goes rotten. When you eat bad turkey, at worst, it can cause stomach pain, vomiting, or food poisoning.
How long does it take for the turkey to spoil?
Cold cuts can keep for up to five days in the refrigerator when adequately stored, while raw turkey can survive for one to two days. If you have prepared turkey leftovers, you can anticipate keeping them in the fridge for 3–4 days.
Does spoiled meat smell when cooked?
After cooking, the easiest method to tell whether your meat is bad is to smell it. The color and appearance of the flesh are also crucial clues, even if decaying meat may smell bad. Get rid of it and search for another variety if it’s gray or appears moldy. A pink-gray-white hue is appropriate for pork and poultry.
Is it OK to eat meat that smells a little?
The simplest and quickest method to tell whether meat has been ruined is probably this test. Both fresh and cooked ground beef fall under this. While the odor of fresh beef mince is scarcely detectable, the smell of rotten meat is acidic and disgusting. It is no longer safe to consume once it has gone rotten.