Any way of knowing if my high meats gone bad?

[Josh]

Hi. Got some high meat on the go, and I didn't change the air for 3-4 days. Is there any way of knowing if it's gone anaerobic on me...i.e. gone bad in the wrong way. It doesn't smell like aged meat, it's a much nastier pong...but maybe that's normal.

[TylerDurden]

Hi. Got some high meat on the go, and I didn't change the air for 3-4 days. Is there any way of knowing if it's gone anaerobic on me...i.e. gone bad in the wrong way. It doesn't smell like aged meat, it's a much nastier pong...but maybe that's normal.

If it doesn't taste like normal high meat, ditch it. I found that the taste of "off" high meat was sort of nasty and chemical-like whereas the normal high meat I was used to was fine.(Though I still only like aged kidneys or aged heart, IMO)

[Josh]

This is my first time with high, so don't know what to compare it to. I guess I'll ditch and start again...don't feel getting sick 

[Hannibal]

You have to air it as often as possible (once or twice a day), so that the meat will have constant access to oxygen
I've eaten very high meats with very pungent odour and taste, sometimes covered with fungus - I kept them outside the fridge for several months
and it was ok re my health

[Raw Rob]

Hey Josh I'm sure it's fine.

If you didn't air it out, that's not going to hurt it. It just means you slowed down the bacterial growth. The more you air it out, the faster the bacteria will grow. That's the only reason you air it out, as far as I've understood.

Sometimes I don't air air out my high pieces of liver because they're already quite high. I've been eating them with no problems at all.

[TylerDurden]

I should mention that everyone has different tastes re high meat. For example, I love high meat in the form of aged beef heart or aged tongue but can't stand the taste of high meat in the form of aged muscle-meat or aged fish or aged eggs. So try different varieties. Aklso, bear in mind that any and all high meat will taste absolutely foul on the first few tries, until you get adapted to the taste over some months. Best to get used to fresh raw meats first before trying high meats, if you haven't already done so.

1 trick newbies to high meat use is to cut it into tiny slivers and chase each sliver down with a gulp of mineral water.

[RawZi]

    I have eaten raw meat months old, not using salt, vinegar, nothing like that.  I was fine.  I am curious though, has anyone here ever thrown up or anything from high meat?  I never have, but I'm just wondering if the anaerobic stuff might ever bother me in the future.

    I'm pretty used to high meat.  It's kind of funny.  I opened a jar of slightly high fish recently, and when my son  smelled it, he feared for my health and told me to not consider eating it for that reason.  It smelled good  to me.

[Kokki]

Hmm.. I made big portions of high-meat, from moose which was numb (but not frozen) for 30min, due to extreme weather.

I noticed it didn`t last so long (fresh lasts up to 2 weeks), and the meats are almost "ready", after nine days..  

So, what`s the difference between (quick) normal and artifial freezing? Do you think this is safe anymore?

Thanks!

[PaleoPhil]

    I have eaten raw meat months old, not using salt, vinegar, nothing like that.  I was fine.  I am curious though, has anyone here ever thrown up or anything from high meat?  I never have, but I'm just wondering if the anaerobic stuff might ever bother me in the future.

Ray Audette said the worst reaction he ever got from anaerobic bacteria was mild diarrhea. Mercola posted years ago that he nearly died from it once, though he eats raw dairy and fermented soy, whereas Ray did not, and Mercola still eats raw meat anyway with no further problems mentioned (they both cook some foods and seem to have similar views on trying to minimize the harm from that).

    I'm pretty used to high meat.  It's kind of funny.  I opened a jar of slightly high fish recently, and when my son  smelled it, he feared for my health and told me to not consider eating it for that reason.  It smelled good  to me.[/b][/color][/size]

I saw a video on two American doctors briefly studying the Chukchi people of eastern Siberia. The Chukchi brought out some fermented walrus meat/fat for the doctors to eat. The doctors couldn't stand the smell or taste, whereas the Chuckchi didn't mind it at all, and I assume they like it. The standard reason given for rotten meat smelling bad is that it is a survival adaptation that prevents us from getting sick. Since it's obvious that anyone who eats rotted meat for a time develops a tolerance for the smell, does anyone have an alternative explanation for the smell and for why it smells worse to those who aren't used to it?

[William]

Is there a difference between the smell of high meat made from grass-finished organic beef and the smell of high meat made from commercial beef?

Some have referred to high meat as fermented - maybe to define a difference?

[TylerDurden]

Is there a difference between the smell of high meat made from grass-finished organic beef and the smell of high meat made from commercial beef?

I'd say so. I've eaten aged raw grassfed meat and aged raw grainfed meats, and the taste of the latter was much fouler, same as with raw, fresh versions thereof. I can't understand how a few people on this board can tolerate the taste of raw, grainfed meat - I could never have faced doing this diet without access to grassfed meats, they taste just so much better.

[van]

that's a good guess about respecting the smell of high meat.  But,   then there's durian, and it's smell, and the smell of parmesan cheese.  Both foods that wouldn't get most sick, well except for TD,lol, with the cheese.  I think it could have as much to do with acculteration.  For whiskey kills you more and more each time you drink it, and yet one has to get used to the taste and smell to indulge.

[TylerDurden]

Actually, I love the taste of a smelly raw cheese, I just have to avoid dairy like the plague or face the consequences.

[yon yonson]

so i just got back from vacation (san diego is beautiful!). i had high meat in the fridge while i was gone for 5 days so couldn't air it out until today. does anyone think there is a risk with consuming it now? it smells a little different but not necessarily bad... im mainly concerned about botulism. it's probably fine i guess. any input would be much appreciated.

also, has anyone tried to make high suet? i put some in a jar in the fridge while i was gone and it smells a little funky now. i might just try to 'age' it more

[RawZi]

...  But,   then there's durian, and it's smell, and the smell of parmesan cheese.  Both foods that wouldn't get most sick, well except for TD,lol, with the cheese.  I think it could have as much to do with acculteration.  For whiskey kills you more and more each time you drink it, and yet one has to get used to the taste and smell to indulge.

    Not only can whiskey kill, or listeria or whatever, but durians kill too.

Durian

“What’s that smell?” may be your first question after cracking open the spiky shell of a durian. “Decayed onion,” “Limburger cheese,” “old socks,” and “turpentine” have all been used to describe the odorous flesh of durian. And the controversy doesn’t end there. Health officials in Thailand recently issued a warning against excessive consumption of the fruit because of its high calorie count and after a citizen died shortly after eating four durians. But don’t let the sulfuric odor and calorie count turn you off completely—the custard-like flesh of a durian is high in fiber and folate.

    I think they said he died because of the naturally high potassium content of durians.

[PaleoPhil]

so i just got back from vacation (san diego is beautiful!). i had high meat in the fridge while i was gone for 5 days so couldn't air it out until today. does anyone think there is a risk with consuming it now? it smells a little different but not necessarily bad... im mainly concerned about botulism. it's probably fine i guess. any input would be much appreciated.

I've eaten high meat that had gone over 4 days old without airing without a problem, but if you eat it and die, it's your fault!

also, has anyone tried to make high suet? i put some in a jar in the fridge while i was gone and it smells a little funky now. i might just try to 'age' it more

When my suet has gone a little bad, it has tasted yucky to me, but that's probably because I'm not used to it. The Chuchki, Inuit and other Arctic peoples eat fermented fat, such as fermented walrus fat, without any problems.

[William]

IIRC the original recipe for high meat (by AV) was to keep meat in an airtight jar in the refrigerator, taking it outside the house once per week to air it.
Maybe there's someone here who has read WWTL more recently than I, and can say whether your ears will fall off if you eat it.

[Neone]

not that i would recommend doing this..  But I have had high meat that i never aired out for like 5 weeks, just forgot about it.. My dog ate it and didnt die.

[Kokki]

Many animals eat rotten meat that has been frozen, even many times.

Flesh made from numb/frozen meat rottens in a different way. The smell is more pungent. I strongly believe there`s big difference between natural and artificial freezing.

But how safe it`s to the human body, thoughts?

I`m not sick yet.. 

[Hannibal]

Keeping the meat in an airtight container without airing for a longer period of time is definitely not natural.
Carrion has always had access to air.

[William]

Keeping the meat in an airtight container without airing for a longer period of time is definitely not natural.
Carrion has always had access to air.

True, but AV got the original recipe from Inuit who buried the meat wrapped in fat and rawhide, buried under rocks so the flies and animals would not get it, in a subArctic summer.

Hard to duplicate that without a refrigerator and mostly sealed container.

[Hannibal]

True, but AV got the original recipe from Inuit who buried the meat wrapped in fat and rawhide, buried under rocks so the flies and animals would not get it, in a subArctic summer.

In "Fat of the land" Stephansson wrote about this. The meat has had constant access to air, but it hasn't dried up - that's the perfect option.