Expert: RawPalaeoGuy - 3/13/2004

Question
Hello,
I have just started the primal diet and have some questions on the meat aspect.

#1
How long is raw unrefrigerated(and refrigerated) meat good for?

#2
Does the color change from red to grey/brown for the raw meat mean anything?

#3
What can I use for enhancing the tast of raw meat? (i have tried raw onions but this ended up as being way to strong, also tried extra virgin olive oil but tast just isn't appealing after 1 or two bites)

#4
Where can I find recipes for raw meat and associeated condiments for eating.

#5
I live in an area where raw dairy is extremely restricted (Minnesota) what is a good replacement for raw cream and milk?

Thanks for any help you can give me.
Jeremy

PS: I have Aajonus Vonderplonitz'z "We want to Live" book and have read extensively on the subject online.

Answer
Hello Jeremy,
I'll answer your questions in order:-

1:- It all depends on how the meat is stored. The best way to store meat is in vacuum packs. The people at my farmers' market regularly seal the meat in vacuum packs for customers and it lasts (refrigerated) about 2-3 weeks in that condition without any noticeable difference. Normally refrigerated meat lasts only a week,  and fish lasts for no more than 5 days. If you just leave meat out in the open, then, if it's soft innards, like raw liver or kidney, then it'll take only a day to start smelling a bit, and raw muscle-meat takes the longest(2-3 days) before becoming a bit congealed and jelly-like. Bear in mind, that leaving meats out for 1-2 days is no big deal - it lets in a lot of bacteria which are beneficial for the body - liver/kidney tends to be inedible though after 2-3 days or so.
2:- The colour change simply means that the meat is undegoing oxidation, that's all.

3:- I have found that the more I put sauces on my meats the worse my health becomes. I also had awful experiences using so-called raw,virgin olive oil. This is, I suspect, because manufacturers love pasteurising all their products to prolong shelf-life. According to the law, you can call anything raw as long as you don't cook it for too long. There are now so-called "raw", pasteurised eggs which have been heated to 53.3. degrees Centigrade to kill bacteria, for example.
I assume from what you have been telling me that you are mainly eating muscle-meats. I did the same as you when I first started the diet, partly as a hang-over from my cooked-food days. I found muscle-meats tasteless and constantly tried to find condiments for them. I then found that our Palaeolithic ancestors hardly ate  muscle-meats at all, and instead ate all the innards, including the brain, bone-marrow, liver, kidney, tongue etc. When I switched to those instead, I no longer needed anything with the raw-meat as it tasted great by itself. It's also a good idea to aim only for organic, and, preferably, wild animal innards - the wild animal innards taste wonderful-I often buy such things as wild boar innards or even wild venison liver or wild mallard. In the States you might be able to get bison etc.
I am personally against using sauces for raw meats. I used to pour all sorts of sauces onto my cooked-food meats way back in my cooked-food days, and I think it was because cooked meats have had most of their taste "burnt off", so that I had to compensate by dousing my meats with mustard etc. I recognise that not all Primal Dieters are like that, so I would suggest you buy "The Recipe for Living without Disease" by Aajonus Vonderplanitz. I understand he has literally 1000s of recipes in that book which will be helpful for you. There are 2 Primal Diet e-mail chatgroups on the Internet, which I am sure you are familiar with by now(primaldiet@yahoogroups.com + rawandlivingfoods), where you can get tips on raw sauces etc., as well. Bear in mind, that pretty much ALL condiments these days are pasteurised whether they admit it or not, so it's by far the best if you make them yourself.
Lastly, raw dairy. To be honest,I'm no expert on this as I, like some people on the Primal Diet, have had awful health problems with both raw and  pasteurised dairy, and consider it a non_Palaeolithic food-I prefer fatty meats like liver/kidney/tongue. However, if I were in your position, I would first get in touch with a small dairy-farmer in your area who may be willing to turn a blind eye. I myself had awful trouble gettting animal innards, like brain, here in the UK after the British BSE crisis, and the larger food-producers were useless. The smaller farmers are more interested in making a little cash, and they are less regulated by the authorities.
If that doesn't work, I happen to know that there are a few  states in the US, which allow raw-dairy. California is the only one I know of, which is of course far too far for you. But you may have a neighbouring state which allows raw dairy, so if you're near a state border you may be in luck.
Hope This Helps!
Geoff Purcell