My buddy brought over a frozen ham marked 2017

[Tripplebeards]

Well should I just toss it or does anybody think it might still be good? I unwrap the white freezer paper and it was wrapped in plastic. It looks like the face of the ham might have a little freezer burn on it.
I would assume I just need to toss it.

How long does everybody freeze their hams? It was from one of his brothers hogs they have processed a while ago.

[Ford SD]

Well should I just toss it or does anybody think it might still be good? I unwrap the white freezer paper and it was wrapped in plastic. It looks like the face of the ham might have a little freezer burn on it.
I would assume I just need to toss it.

How long does everybody freeze their hams? It was from one of his brothers hogs they have processed a while ago.

Cut off the freezer burn ... cook and eat it

I have eaten older

I found some Moose burger ... lost in the big freezer 5-6 lb
cut off the freezer burn when still frozen
thawed added some hamburger mixed, stuffed into casings and smoked.
Every one got eaten ....(some by people who had never had wild game)

[richhodg66]

Cut off the freezer burn ... cook and eat it

I have eaten older

I found some Moose burger ... lost in the big freezer 5-6 lb
cut off the freezer burn when still frozen
thawed added some hamburger mixed, stuffed into casings and smoked.
Every one got eaten ....(some by people who had never had wild game)

That's what I'd do.

[Traffer]

I'm with Ford SD on this one.
I am used to having people give me their "old" venison. I have had venison as old as 6 yrs. Some of it was like cardboard much was freezer burned (hamburger) Cut off the dry stuff and eat the rest. Might not taste as good but hey? I would make sloppy joes or chili from it. As long as it was frozen well and stayed frozen the whole time I wouldn't see a problem.
That being said, I use my nose to tell me when food is bad. I have seen plenty in the stores that I wouldn't eat. (not frozen)

[shaner]

Trim off the burn and cook it!

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[GhostHawk]

Frozen = ignore sell by date. It is frozen, it is not degrading in any way.

[smithnframe]

I wouldn't trust it!

[762 shooter]

I doubt it will kill you, but the taste will be less than stunning.

762

[6bg6ga]

I wouldn't trust it!

I'm with you. Generally from what I have been told you can freeze meat up to a year. Having had food poisoning before I'm kind of leery.

[Shawlerbrook]

Trim, cook and try it. If it tastes bad you can always toss it but I doubt it will hurt you.

[Wayne Smith]

Pork starts losing flavor after about six months. You can eat it safely but don't expect much flavor.

[jonp]

If this is not from a store, you don't know how many times it may have been thawed and re-frozen. I'd not chance it myself.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Trim off the freezer burn and cook it! Neighbor just brought over some deer meat from 2015. Tastes fine.

[Wayne Smith]

Every meat has a different useful time in the freezer. Ham of the common meats has the shortest. This is to preserve flavor. If you want to know more get a copy of Putting Food By.

[jonp]

My comment was specifically directed towards meat you don't know the history of. I've got stuff in my freezer that I dug out that is from 2016 and 2017. Not the best but certainly edible. Just be careful if you don't know where it came from

[MaryB]

Cut off freezer burn, cook it, grind it and make ham salad...

[yeahbub]

A little freezer burn? No problem. Trim the dried parts off and cook it. I've been going through the freezer of late and found some venison chops and burger that dates back to 2016. The chops brazed up fine. Some had surprisingly little freezer burn due to good packaging, but some of the burger was grey/dry on the outside. I took all that off as it thawed and made venison/pork meatloaf. Delicious. Hey, if arctic researchers can thaw, cook and safely eat mastodon meat frozen in arctic ice for thousands of years, what's the problem? It probably wouldn't pass as prime rib, but no one got sick.

It's true that ham seems to lose flavor over time. I had one frozen and the plastic wrapping was torn open somehow, lots of freezer burn. I cut that off, thawed and was cooking it, but it tasted like . . . . . nothing in particular. That went out to the back fence to be enjoyed by the local wildlife. It didn't last long.

If this is not from a store, you don't know how many times it may have been thawed and re-frozen.

True. But, if it IS from a store, you still don't know. Don't get caught up in the "dictatorship of food dates." There's no standardization of them in the food industry and only some are regulated. Some are optional, many are arbitrary and mean little to the customer, but are the excuse for great amounts of wasted food. All one really knows when something is cooked is does it smell good or bad? If it smells and tastes good, they eat it without question. If it smells or tastes bad, they pitch it and start over. Your senses are your primary indicator of food quality, as it has been since there were people.

[30calflash]

Use it. You could do it in a manner where if the taste isn't as good as fresh at least what you cook it in can give it some flavor. Crockpot can do wonders with items such as yours.

[country gent]

I might consider cooking in crock pot over night low and slow. break some up and make bean soup use the rest for ham salad. Especially if it is bone in. Put the beans on to soak when you put the ham on in the morning break up the ham for soup and add the beans and ham to the broth. A little onion and carrot.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Meat cured with salt shouldn't be kept in the freezer for a long period of time.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation states, "Cured meats such as ham and bacon can only be frozen for a short period of time (1 to 3 months) because the salt in them hastens rancidity."

I've never frozen a Ham, But I have noticed that if I freeze bacon and it stays in freezer too long, the flavor changes, it's tastes like it has more chemicals in it.