# Beef bones: freezer burn, torn plastic bag?



## CathMac (Jan 10, 2006)

Mods,
This is not a dental question but rather a general question about the condition one should expect beef bones to be in when buying from a small local farm.

A little background. I picked up some grass fed beef bones for DD2 in the hopes of trying to remineralize her teeth. Keep in mind that this was the only source I could find in my area. The last time she had them was November and she won't have them again for another 3 months. I took all 14 lbs that she had.

I felt really comfortable with the woman I dealt with over the phone and the barn and refrigerator she was selling out of were about as clean as you would expect. Although I didn't get a look at the inside of the chest freezer she pulled the bones out of. It seemed to be an older one and she had a big blanket on top, probably for insulation value.

I am a little hesitant about the bones only because the four largest ones were in a zip loc type freezer bag but there is a fair amount of freezer burn. The bones in the larger bag (not a freezer type bag but a relatively thick plastic with a knot at the top) seem to be in better shape but the bag had a 1 1/4 inch hole on the top.

I suppose I should have asked her about this when I picked them up but I didn't quite know what to ask. She described getting these bones back from butchering a few days before I first spoke with her and they went right into the freezer so they are probably less than one week old so I don't know why the ones in the freezer bag would have freezer burn but the ones in the larger bag with the hole wouldn't.

Again, I felt really comfortable with her over the phone. She explained that the cows were butchered in a facility that has FDA inspectors present during the process. I just don't know quite what to make of the freezer burn and whether to be worried about the hole in the bag. I don't know if I should be worried about whether she was a little to casual about how the bones were handled once she got them.

My biggest fear going into this was whether they would be properly butchered and whether any pieces susceptible to Mad Cow disease would be excluded. None of these pieces look like they could have come from the spine.

I know I'm rambling here but to put things in perspective if I got food from a friend in this condition I probably wouldn't think twice about it. I've cooked freezer burnt meat before. As I understand it that isn't a safety issue, but a matter of affecting the taste. However, I don't want to be lulled into a false sense of security. I've only got $28.00 and a couple of hours of my time invested into these bones. It's not worth taking a risk if there's any chance they were seriously mishandled.

FWIW, I've transferred the bones from the bag with the hole to zip loc bags. I put the freezer burnt zip loc bag into another freezer bag.

Depending upon any feedback I get here I may work up the nerve to post on my "geographic" tribe about this. I think some of the women there buy raw milk from her but I am posting here first since I don't hurt her reputation unnecessarily. On the other hand, they may be able to reassure me about their dealings with her But I think I would post there as a last resort.

BTW, do you have any suggestions on how to go about boiling/simmering these? They are all about 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick but the width ranges from 1 or so to 3 1/2 inches. Any suggestions on how much water to add to the small bones versus the big ones? And what I might be able to add to draw more minerals out. I think I've read that a certain type of cider is good for that but I don't know what that would do to the flavor. Would tomato juice have the same effect. Any suggestions on how long you need to simmer them?

Thanks in advance,
~Cath


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## littlecityfarmer (Apr 27, 2004)

Not sure if this is helpful, but the bones we use for our bone broth are sold by the grass-fed Bison farmer at our farmer's market as "dog bones". Really, just portions of marrow-rich femurs, sometimes knuckes.

We simmer our bone broth with water sufficient to cover the bones by a few inches, and add maybe 1/2 cup Apple Cider vinegar to help pull minerals from the bones. Cider vinegar isn't crucial, I'm sure a fairly acid tomato juice would work, as well-- just something to acidify the liquid so that the alkaline minerals in the bones can leach into the stock. We top up water when it looks to be getting low, and we leave it to simmer for at least 48, usually 72+ hours (or whenever I get a chance to strain and jar it up...) This makes a really rich, gelatinous stock, especially if you add the knuckles.

I'd imagine that any funny business from mishandling would be taken care of from the long simmer, but if you don't feel comfortable using the bones for your DD, gift them to a friend with a big dog...

Good luck with the reminerilization!


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

It sounds to me like the bones are safe to use- it's just that some of the bags got ripped in the busy process of freezing all the meat from a whole cow.

The ziplock bags can cause "freezer burn" in a short time if they're not sealed properly, or if there's too much (moist) air in the bags when they're sealed. It might affect texture but it's not a food safety issue, and in something like broth the texture won't matter anyway.


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## CathMac (Jan 10, 2006)

Thanks for helping me put this in perspective.

I think my gut reaction was that thorough boiling/simmering would take care of any worst case scenarios except for Mad Cow disease. And the presence of prions that could cause Mad Cow disease depends entirely upon trusting the way the cow was processed which would seem to have very little to do with the condition of the bags they were frozen in.

Maybe I'm simply having second thoughts about buying meat or bones from a small farm. But it's not like you can pick up grass fed beef bones from your local grocery store. You can get grass fed beef at Whole Foods but my impression is that the bones are a much better source of the desired minerals.

ETA:
Does apple cider vinegar complement or "compete with" the taste of the beef? I'm having a hard time imagining those two tastes going together. Does the cooking process kill the apple and/or vinegar taste?

Also, is the flavor neutral enough that you could use this as beef stock for just about any beef soup recipe?

~Cath


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## ChickityChinah (Jul 25, 2007)

I always put AC vinegar in w/ my bones because I think it has a much more mild flavor and mellows out w/ cooking moreso than white vinegar, the important thing is the acid. As the marrow is drawn out, it is SO flavorful that you don't taste the vinegar at all.

Your stock will be gelatinous when cold because of the collagen being released from the bones, it will make a wonderful soup base. Make sure you add some aromatics to the broth as you sim
mer it, like celery, carrot, onion, etc. And don't forget to skim, skim, skim as you do the long slow simmer!

As far as the source of your bones, you are much more likely to get contaminated meat from a larger source than a smaller, local one. I'd trust your gut.


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## CathMac (Jan 10, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ChickityChinah* 
...

Make sure you add some aromatics to the broth as you simmer it, like celery, carrot, onion, etc. And don't forget to skim, skim, skim as you do the long slow simmer!

As far as the source of your bones, you are much more likely to get contaminated meat from a larger source than a smaller, local one. I'd trust your gut.

ChickityChinah,
Thanks for the practical tips. What exactly would I be skimming? Meat particles or "slime"?

Do you think the freezer burnt bones are ok? Is that more a matter of how they might taste?

On the one hand I'd like to use them first if they are good. On the other hand it could be a turnoff if they wound up tasting bad.
Thanks,
~Cath


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