One man is at his wit’s end after spotting the ‘horrifying’ array of products being left out on his neighbour’s balcony, with fellow neighbours equally disturbed by the ‘gross’ items
A man was furious after spotting an unusual habit his “terror” of a neighbour was getting up to each day – hanging raw meat on their balcony. Keeping things peaceful and amicable among neighbours is a desire many of us share – nobody wants to be living in awkwardness or under the threat of potential confrontations.
Still, with so many varying personalities sharing a small patch of turf, some disagreements can feel inevitable. One man was at his wit’s end over his neighbours’ habit of hanging raw meat on a clothing rack on their balcony. It could be the neighbours were dry ageing their meat, though this typically requires a specialist ageing cabinet or cold room where the temperature, airflow and humidity can be fully controlled.
Meat is then hung up on racks – unpackaged – to allow air circulation and moisture to prompt microbial and enzymatic action which will tenderise the meat, enhancing its flavour.
When attempting this at home, it still requires a similarly controlled environment to ensure the food remains safe for consumption.
The man didn’t believe this was possible on the balcony of the building he lived in, where his neighbours had taken to hanging an array of unidentifiable meat produce on a clothing rack.
Fed up of this, he reported it to the building management but then worried he may have overreacted.
The man took to Reddit with a series of images of the offending meat produce and asked: “[Am I overreacting] to a neighbour hanging raw meat on their balcony?”
He then explained: “Finding out my neighbour was running a little home butcher shop and hanging raw meat was one of the final straws compelling me to take action which I am generally not inclined to do, getting my neighbours work together.
“I was also chatting with a neighbour and he happened to be complaining about liquids coming over the edge of their balcony and onto him, his head and his furniture out there but he didn’t know what it was, but it smelled.”
The man “made the connection” between both their “grievances” and showed his neighbour the photos he’d taken of their meat rack.
He said his neighbour “almost lost it because he thought it was just dirty water coming over” which was “gross” but he felt much stronger after realising it was “raw meat juice”.
After he and his neighbours joined forces and complained, “the meat was all gone” and the balcony was “sanitised within a few days of reporting it”.
In the comments section, fellow Reddit users shared their thoughts. One person said: “Zero chance that flies aren’t laying eggs in that meat. It’s supposed to be dried in a controlled environment.
“Not just out in the open air outside without even a bug net. You should report this to the health department, if this person is selling the meat.”
Another posted a string of ‘vomit’ face emojis and simply said: “Nearly threw up!”
A third commented: “That’s horrifying but I don’t think that’s a hornets nest I would have poked at. Random raw meat cuts dangling from the balcony and loud noises: I watch too many murder documentaries.”
While a fourth said: “Being dirty with food prep and noisy to the point it affects your neighbours isn’t acceptable. I think you did the right thing and it’s not an over reaction at all.”
In a follow up comment, the man confirmed: “They were definitely selling meat, so many people [were] leaving with disposable turkey trays covered in foil.
“Thank goodness these guys left. They were terrors and their children were even worse.”