Meat safety

[Odin]

After my bad experience with leaving meat packed in plastic in the fridge too long I was careful to take the meat out of the wrapping and put it on a plate in the fridge.
I've eaten a few slices of it  but it's been there for probably six, seven weeks now.
When I recently wanted to cut off a bit I saw that the meat was quite dried up (which I don't regard as a problem) but the bottom part was moist as I had forgotten to change plates and turn the meat.
Do you think I can just let that dry and it will be ok?
Or should I cut that part off?
Or do I have to discard the whole piece?

And also similarly regarding oysters- how long can they be kept in the fridge?
I've had some oysters in the fridge for a week and ate them with no problem.
But recently I had some after five days. They were quite dried up. They didn't smell weirdly, so I ate them. The taste was not unusual either. But I got sick two days later, but that might have been for a different reason.

[TylerDurden]

My experience is that aged meat is fine, whether dry or wet, though wet aged meat is the only one giving me the special benefits of high-meat.

I used to keep raw oysters for up to 10 days in the fridge. Bad idea, as they die after a few days and every day one leaves them in the fridge, they start shrinking in size. Far better to eat the raw oysters within 2 days of buying them.

[eveheart]

...regarding oysters- how long can they be kept in the fridge?

Because they are alive but have no food to eat once harvested, oysters start living off their own flesh, hence the shriveling. You can see the shriveling along the gills when you open them - it looks like the gills have flattened against the inside shell. Commercially, they say that oysters are "okay" for up to two weeks under humid refrigeration as long as they don't die. That second week is not optimal. If you want them plump, I'd eat them in less than a week.

I can buy 60 oysters wholesale for $1 apiece, or get good fresh ones in seafood restaurants for about $1.50 each. I often pay the slightly higher price to avoid the shriveling, otherwise I split a wholesale order with family or friends. In other words, I don't eat shriveled oysters, and it has nothing to do with the possibility of getting sick. Plump oysters are so delicious.

[Odin]

Thanks for your helpful replies.
The meat should still be ok then. Great. I'll finish it in the next days then.

Interesting info on the shrinking and shrivelling of the oysters. That's exactly what had happened with mine. The guy at the fish shop said that they will die after a few days in the fridge due to not enough oxygen, they'll basically choke.
But they didn't smell or taste weird, just shrivelled and dried. I agree the taste is much better within the first two days.
My sickness must have come from the other food then.

[edmon171]

Is it ok to dry-age meat in the regular fridge with other foods around? I'm worried it will get contaminated with mold or something. Should I get a separate meat-fridge? Also, can organ meats be dry-aged in the same way or should they be eaten fresh only?

[Sorentus]

Is it ok to dry-age meat in the regular fridge with other foods around? I'm worried it will get contaminated with mold or something. Should I get a separate meat-fridge? Also, can organ meats be dry-aged in the same way or should they be eaten fresh only?

Imo it depends in the organ, i found beef tongue to be palatable fresh but aged very badly and even threw the aged part away, then i found that aged liver was ok but that it dry aged bad aswell, it became sticky. Then i found beef heart to age very well in everyway. So it might just be a matter of preference. I also tried it with ground beef and it aged well as long as it was FRESH ground beef, i tried with lean and it was good too and i tried fatty trim and i got terribly sick.

[eveheart]

I use one refrigerator. I hang all animal foods, but I don't actually "dry age" organ meats. It would be more accurate to say that I store them uncovered and hanging in the refrigerator so that they get air circulation. Organs often dry out faster than large muscles, so I decide when they are tastiest to my palate and eat them then.