Huh! Interesting. My parents never cooked pork when I was little (I come from a Jewish family) -- even though we're not kosher, it just wasn't something we made at home. Thanks for teaching me something new, Faith!

http://operagirlcooks.com

I'm not sure if I agree with freezing and then thawing. Meat that has never been frozen has a much better texture and I've convinced myself, butter flavor as well (although it's hard to find never frozen meat). Freezing to rapidly cool and then refrigerate seems fine to me.

If it is really rotting after a of days maybe it's been sitting around in the butcher case too long?

Odd that the high-end steak joints age beef for a remarkably long time to encourage 'enzymatic' activity (AKA rotting) and there is some kind of duck preparation the French do that goes even farther.

Pork is purportedly free from the parasites that gave it the reputation of being dangerous in days gone by, at least, the commercial pork that we see in the markets. Perhaps this cannot be said about some of the boutique, free-range, animal products that are popping up.

Be advised, the literature suggests that nematodes in fish and trichina in pork are NOT eliminated by home freezing. The temperatures required for this are lower than the home freezer and more than a brief time is required. Turns out the little devils are quite hardy and tolerant of low temperatures.

I think you guys may be misunderstanding this advice. All meat begins rotting as soon as the animal is killed. You can slow this process by freezing or chilling the meat. We prefer to eat some meats a little more decayed than others (it's gross, but true... for instance, game pheasants are traditionally hung until they are so rotten that they fall off the hook - that's how you know they're "ready" to eat).

I'm pretty sure OP's butcher isn't recommending that she freeze the pork - just that she use the freezer to bring it back into the "safe" zone as quickly as possible. (Better still would be to bring a cooler with freezer packs to the butcher shop - some butchers even will give you ice bags for this purpose when you buy meat.)

@marisab, thanks! I confess you said it better than I did! It is just a good idea to put any and all meat into the freezer for a few hours after you bring it home. It just happens to be a little more necessary or beneficial with pork and chicken.

My mom always puts meat into the freezer when she gets it home, because she rarely cooks it fresh. Hehe. Maybe if she picked up some steaks or fish it might just be in the fridge until supper. In the summer she keeps a cooler filled with huge ice packs in the trunk.

When I shop in the summer I bring an insulated bag and put it right in my shopping cart to hold meat and cheese. Then, I put the whole thing on the treadmill during check-out and take things out and hand them to the clerk and as soon as that's done, I run to the other side to put them back in the bag. Also, on the way home I keep the bag in the passenger seat away from sun and close to the AC.

This works for ice cream, too! I just make sure it's the last thing I grab before I check-out! One could also plan ahead and put ice-packs in the insulated bag... but for me it's a miracle I remember it at all so I usually also buy a pack of frozen veggies, too, to put on top!