Funky ground pork.

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darwin101

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Jun 16, 2013
283
20
I bought a pound of ground pork from the local market to test a breakfast sausage recipe. Once it started cooking it smelled like stinky feet and tasted like it smelled. I am thinking the pork was from an old boar or had a poor diet. Is there a way to avoid this or is it a craps shoot? The sausage was unfit for consumption and I would hate to waste more in the future.
Thanks in advance.
 
Is it possible that an ingredient you used or combination of could be the cause? Did it smell OK on its own?
 
The store probably takes out of date meat and grinds it for burger... Get an electric meat grinder and buy butts to grind... FRESH BUTTS.... You can even make country style ribs from some of the butts.... or Buck Board Bacon.....

Dave
 
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Once you have your own grinder, you'll never buy pre-ground meat again.
 
Pork has an odor to it, but it is not a fowl smell..... it is a lightly sweet smell to it....... Ground pork should NOT smell like feet, it sounds like it is bad...... bring it back or throw it out......... If the store has a meat/butcher department they will regrind old meat with fresh meat to try to save $$..... One way to tell if they use this practice is to buy regular ground beef, when you break the loaf of meat open and it is brown in the middle it  has been re-ground.....Meat turns brown due to exposure to light and oxygen, so why would it be brown in the middle were there is little exposure to light and oxygen????? Because the inside meat was on the outside of a package of meat yesterday.........A bit of mix/regrind magic and it looks good as new....... Repackage it and we can sell it tomorrow.......MMmmmmm.......... ShoneyBoy
 
I have a dedicated meat grinder but I only wanted 1 pound to experiment with.  I never buy ground meats because of many of the expressed concerns and I prefer to pick my cuts of meat to grind. I just did not want to have more than I needed.   The meat did not smell strong when I opened the package, just once I started cooking.  I know pork in sealed bags will often have a "ripe" odor, but this was not the same.  I will write this one off as being old meat in one form or another...  

thanks guys.
 
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Ok guy's I really have to respond to this.  In over 35 years as a butcher, I have heard this thing about ground beef red on the outside and brown on the inside.  I have even had some customers tell me that we take old ground beef and wrap fresh ground beef around it.  It takes all I can do to not laugh out loud.  Where do they get that stuff from LOL.  Do people really think we have time to do that?  Grinding old meat mixed with fresh meat was done many years ago, but I dont know any place that does this.  The reason ground beef is red on the outside is because oxygen can still get to the surface creating a "bloom".  Does not take long for that same fresh ground beef when packaged to turn a brown color on the inside. This is NORMAL.  This is because all oxygen is cut off.  This is also why you see in a meat service case, butchers put paper between layers of steaks for example.  If steaks were layered on top of each other, the steaks underneath would turn a dark color and not appetizing.

Great care is taken in grinding meats these day's.  The ground beef that is freshly ground right now and wrapped for the counter usually has a two day code date.  Doesn't mean it will be bad on the third day, just a way for the butcher to know that on the second day, he will reduce the price.  That is when I jump in and buy it.  Up here if a grocery store sold out of date ground beef [on purpose] or mixed old beef with fresh to grind, they would get fined and there is not one store that I know of that want's that kind of publicity.  

Watch your code date's on any products for that matter.  Commercial ground beef is all processed under federal inspection and all ground beef must be ground fresh.  The pork in question in this thread from what I read was bad.  It should not have any oder as stated.  Once meat is ground bacteria can grow faster than meat left whole like a roast for example.  So when you buy ground beef, pork, or chicken you should use it or freeze it, even if you grind it at home on your own.  Sure grinding at home can save you some money at times, and can be better for you can grind the cuts of your choice.  However also don't be afraid to buy ground meats at your favorite store.  Reinhard
 
Last edited:
Ok guy's I really have to respond to this.  In over 35 years as a butcher, I have heard this thing about ground beef red on the outside and brown on the inside.  I have even had some customers tell me that we take old ground beef and wrap fresh ground beef around it.  It takes all I can do to not laugh out loud.  Where do they get that stuff from LOL.  Do people really think we have time to do that?  Grinding old meat mixed with fresh meat was done many years ago, but I dont know any place that does this.  The reason ground beef is red on the outside is because oxygen can still get to the surface creating a "bloom".  Does not take long for that same fresh ground beef when packaged to turn a brown color on the inside. This is NORMAL.  This is because all oxygen is cut off.  This is also why you see in a meat service case, butchers put paper between layers of steaks for example.  If steaks were layered on top of each other, the steaks underneath would turn a dark color and not appetizing.





Great care is taken in grinding meats these day's.  The ground beef that is freshly ground right now and wrapped for the counter usually has a two day code date.  Doesn't mean it will be bad on the third day, just a way for the butcher to know that on the second day, he will reduce the price.  That is when I jump in and buy it.  Up here if a grocery store sold out of date ground beef [on purpose] or mixed old beef with fresh to grind, they would get fined and there is not one store that I know of that want's that kind of publicity.  





Watch your code date's on any products for that matter.  Commercial ground beef is all processed under federal inspection and all ground beef must be ground fresh.  The pork in question in this thread from what I read was bad.  It should not have any oder as stated.  Once meat is ground bacteria can grow faster than meat left whole like a roast for example.  So when you buy ground beef, pork, or chicken you should use it or freeze it, even if you grind it at home on your own.  Sure grinding at home can save you some money at times, and can be better for you can grind the cuts of your choice.  However also don't be afraid to buy ground meats at your favorite store.  Reinhard

Thanks Rein..... Good info

I highly doubt a local market would be allowed to sell ground wild boar. If you dont have a grinder I'm sure youu can get good fresh ground pork from a chain store. Looks like Fry's is a local chain out that way. I would try there next time

my 2 cents

Joe
 
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