Bounty & Rules for Meat

So, my good buddy Steve and I have a Thursday ritual. We go see the revival film at The Charles Theatre, maybe go out afterward for a bit, then dumpster. On one such evening, we went out to a friend's DJ night, danced our booties off (Johnny Blaze is an amazing Baltimore Club DJ in case anyone was wondering), then headed home to the dumpster once the party had shut down. We arrived to Trader Joe's around 2:30am. Unfortunately, the dumpster was already emptied by the trash men. This confirmed earlier suspicions that this particular TJ's dumpster is usually emptied by a private contractor around 12:30 or 1am. So, we made our way over to Food Lion.

The pickin's were unfortunately slim, especially in terms of produce. It was obviously a meat and dairy garbage day, as there were animal fat trimmings interspersed with other boxes and produce. It was pretty gross. I actually DIVED head-first in the dumpster in order to reach some yogurts, which I slightly regretted later. It was too dark to take a picture, but I'm sure I looked really weird.

In winter you don't have to be as worried about meat, dairy, and fish going bad. Generally dairy won't spoil until a week after its sell by date, so if you eat it quickly it's still fine. Meat is a little harder to tell - I have a multi-pronged approach to telling if meat and fish is worth taking:

1) Look at the sell by date. If it's up to a few days past the sell by, you're probably still fine.
2) Is the meat or fish discolored? How much? If it's too discolored, don't take it. If you're unsure as to how meat or fish should look, make a point of taking a tour of those sections next time you're in the grocery store instead of at its dumpster.
3) If the protein is plastic wrapped (it usually is), is it puckered out like it's about to burst? If it is, that means it's probably not good.
4) What does it smell like? Does it smell rotten? If it's fish, does it smell incredibly fishy? If so, then it's probably too old.
5) Is it summer? If so, don't take fish EVER and meat and dairy rarely unless it's still frozen or cold to the touch (you can be a little more lax with cheese and eggs since they can be stored at room temperature anyway). Even if it's winter, the touch-test is a good one. If it's room temperature or warmer, it's a no-go.

It's always better with meat, dairy, and fish to err on the side of caution. If you have even a slight doubt in your mind as to the edibility of what you're looking at, DON'T eat it! I've never gotten sick off of dumpstered food, and I don't plan to.

Steve ended up with a little more food than I did (including an avocado, more dairy, and some brownies), but I was pretty happy with what I got:

1/26/12:
- 1 small pkg Greek 2x protein strawberry yogurt
- 1 lb chicken gizzards & hearts
- 1 lb grilling salmon
- 5 white mushrooms
- 1 plantain
- 1 pkg strawberries
- 1 can biscuits
- 1 roll pork breakfast sausage