How long does meat last?

Reviewed by the MyListResort team · Data from the USDA FoodKeeper · Updated July 30, 2026

Meat is high-risk, so the refrigerated window after opening is short and the freezer is your friend for anything you will not cook soon. Color, smell and texture cannot establish safety. Follow package directions and official time-and-temperature guidance, and discard food kept outside those limits.

What are common spoilage signs for meat?

• A sour, sulfurous or plainly off smell, which is a common spoilage sign but not a safety test.
• A sticky or slimy film on the surface.
• A change to gray or green. Dull browning can result from air exposure, but appearance alone cannot establish safety.

Storing meat

• Keep meat on the coldest shelf, usually the bottom, and sealed so juices cannot drip onto other food.
• Freeze what you will not cook within the fridge window; it keeps far longer frozen.
• Thaw in the fridge, never on the counter, and cook promptly after thawing.
• Cured and canned meats keep in the cupboard while sealed, at the window above. Once opened they are ordinary refrigerated cooked meat, so seal them, chill them and use them within a few days.
• This one is cured and ready to eat, so it needs no cooking. Keep it sealed and cold, and expect the surface to darken as it dries rather than to spoil on a schedule.

Meat shelf life, food by food

Tap a food for its once-opened window, full shelf-life table and storage tips.

• Bacon
• Bacon, fully cooked
• Bacon, uncured
• Beef
• Beef, chuck roast, brisket
• Beef, ground
• Beef, rib roast, bone-in
• Beef, rib roast; boneless, rolled
• Beef, round or rump roast
• Beef, short ribs
• Beef, steaks
• Beef, stew, cubes
• Beef, tenderloin, half
• Beef, tenderloin, whole
• Bison, ground
• Bison, whole
• Bratwurst, fresh
• Bratwurst, smoked and processed
• Chorizo, fresh
• Chorizo, smoked and processed, cooked
• Chorizo, smoked and processed, uncooked
• Corned beef, in pouch with pickling juices
• Goat, ground
• Goat, less tender whole cuts (stew meat, riblets, shanks)
• Goat, tender whole cuts (legs, ribs, shoulder, loin)
• Ham
• Ham, canned (“keep refrigerated” label)
• Ham, country ham (whole or half)
• Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, arm picnic shoulder, boneless
• Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, bone-in, half
• Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, bone-in, whole
• Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, shank or butt portion, bone-in
• Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, shoulder roll (butt), boneless
• Ham, fresh, uncooked, half leg, bone-in
• Ham, fresh, uncooked, whole leg, bone-in
• Ham, fresh, uncooked, whole leg, boneless
• Ham, fully cooked, arm picnic shoulder, boneless
• Ham, fully cooked, bone-in, half
• Ham, fully cooked, bone-in, whole
• Ham, fully cooked, canned, boneless (refrigerated)
• Ham, fully cooked, slices, half, or spiral cut
• Ham, fully cooked, vacuum packed, boneless
• Ham, shelf-stable cans
• Ham, uncured, fresh, cooked
• Ham, uncured, fresh, uncooked
• Hot dogs
• Jerky, commercially dried
• Jerky, homemade
• Lamb
• Lamb, breast, rolled
• Lamb, chops, ribs, or loin
• Lamb, crown roast
• Lamb, cubes for kabobs
• Lamb, ground
• Lamb, leg steaks
• Lamb, leg, bone-in - large
• Lamb, leg, bone-in - small
• Lamb, leg; boneless, rolled
• Lamb, shanks
• Lamb, shoulder roast or shank leg half
• Lamb, stew meat, pieces
• Meat products, canned
• Pastrami
• Pate, meat
• Pork
• Pork roll
• Pork, crown roast - large
• Pork, crown roast - small
• Pork, ground
• Pork, loin chops, bone-in
• Pork, loin chops, boneless
• Pork, loin roast, bone-in
• Pork, loin roast, boneless
• Pork, loin, cubes
• Pork, ribs
• Pork, shoulder
• Pork, tenderloin
• Pork, tenderloin medallions or loin cubes
• Prosciutto
• Rabbit, whole, fresh
• Raw kabobs with vegetables
• Retort pouches or boxes
• Sausage, fully cooked smoked links, kielbasa
• Sausage, hard, dry (pepperoni), sliced
• Sausage, raw bulk type or patties
• Stuffed, raw pork chops
• Variety meats, liver, tongue, chitterlings, etc.
• Veal
• Veal, ground
• Veal, leg rump or round roast, boneless
• Veal, loin roast, bone-in
• Veal, shoulder roast, boneless
• Venison, round, rump, loin, or rib roast

Shelf-life windows come from the USDA FoodKeeper, published by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (public domain); we vendor the FSIS FoodKeeper dataset and refresh it in place. These are quality estimates, not food-safety determinations or guarantees: actual condition depends on storage and handling, and harmful bacteria may not have obvious signs. Follow package and official guidance; when in doubt, throw it out. See our food safety notice and terms.