Bought two 12lbers at sammy's yesterday. I would like to wet age but after doing a little reading online, it seems I should have tried to find the "packed on" date. The sell by date is 2/28. What should I do? They are in the basement "beer" fridge and I have a therm in the an bringing the temp down to 35f.
Thanks all.
If they are still in the cryovac package, I would say they are wet aged long enough. The sell by date would mean that you can still hold them in your refrigerator no more then 3 - 4 days after that date; to be on the safe side. If you can't smoke/cook them within that time, they are still safe to freeze, that is if you have handled them properly - such as not letting them sit in temperatures above 40°F for any length of time.
I have wet aged vac-packed brisket and beef ribs for over three weeks at 34* with excellent results, even though my wife was convinced we were all gonna die since she'd never heard of such nonsense. I actually had to eat a sample of each during the FTC process (I know; what a sacrifice) to prove that I wasn't cooking The Last Supper.
Since I do not know the packed on date I am going to play it safe. Threw one in the freezer and smoke up the other in the morning. 2 butts on now. This will be a very happy weekend. Thanks for the advise.
Two butts and a brisket = a very happy weekend indeed! Enjoy!