brisket left out to long

golfpro2301 · Oct 10, 2015

I picked up 3 briskets yesterday for a party this week. I had them in my parents refrigerator all day. I put them in my yruck at 10pm to head home last night and forgot about them. Took them out at 6.45 this morning and they were still cold. If they are in cryo pak would they still be ok?

stickyfingers · Oct 10, 2015

I'd eat'em...probably. What was the over night temp where you live?

golfpro2301 · Oct 10, 2015

It was probably mid low 70s

boykjo · Oct 10, 2015

IMHO theres no way to tell.....If they were still cold...................I'd eat em......................

DanMcG · Oct 11, 2015

Might be ok, but I think 9 hours in 70 degree temps is a little to far in the danger zone for me. I don't think the packaging makes any difference.

chef jimmyj · Oct 11, 2015

In the Restaurant Biz, they would be rejected, personally...If there is an issue, you will know right away. The packs will be puffy or leaking and...THEY WILL STINK! The better packers put a lot of effort into being as bacteria free as possible. This is how a vac-pac brisket can last weeks in transit, distributor storage and on the shelf retail. If 1) the vac-pac seal is good, 2) no puffiness, and 3) any off smell is mild and dissipates quickly, wash them well and smoke or rewrap and freeze. Make sure all future handling is by the book. IF you answer No to 1-2-3, I would not use them...This info does not apply to Poultry!...JJ

golfpro2301 · Oct 12, 2015

Thanks J. Yeah if it was poultry it would have gone straight in the trash. I left some pork in a cooler once in a vacuum bag and when I found it that was swollen like a balloon. There is absolutely no puffiness to these brisket packages and the color looks good. Wont be able to smell them until Wed night which could be a problem. If they do smell bad I will have to get more which walmart is the only place to get it at decent price. Anyone every unwrap a brisket 16+ hours before putting on and just left it in the fridge/ What will this do to texture, tenderness? The good thing is that it was a 2 pack case that is put together by avg weight. Well I got 1 16lb and a small one. I planned on using the small one myself and going to get another decent size one for the party. The good nes is the small one was sitting on top of the larger one in the truck keeping it cold. If you guys think it would be ok to open early Wed for a Thurs morning cook I will smell them then and see what I need to do.

chef jimmyj · Oct 12, 2015

I have had 9lb Rib Eyes in a Beer refer with a heavy coat of Montreal Steak Seasoning, unwrapped for a week. Buy before Christmas, dry age 7 days and cook on New Years day. The seperate Refer stayed extra cold from not opening often and the Salt helped inhibited spoilage. Keep the Briskets cold to inhibit further bacterial growth, separate refer if you own one. A wash and Salt rub would not hurt if you want to check the meat tomorrow rather than risking not getting what you want waiting to the last minute. The main concern in this case would be Shiga Toxin from E Coli 0157 growing while at temps over 40°F. This toxin is destroyed at temps over 212°F... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19875188 Don't inject and follow the usual safe handling procedures. If all seems well proceed...JJ

golfpro2301 · Oct 14, 2015

So I finally opened them up. 1 was 18.5lbs and 1 was a little over 10. The little one was aitting dorectly on top of larger one in my truck on floor which helped keep it cool I believe. I checked and temps were low 70s to high 60s that night. Large one smelled normal. Bought a fresh brisket and compared them and both smelled same. No discolorization. Opened the small one and I could tell it smelled a little off. Not a crazy amount but you tell it wasnt fresh meat. My problem is I have to throw these on at 4AM so getting another which I need is out of the question

JckDanls 07 · Oct 14, 2015

but wally world is open 24 hrs .... just say'n ...

chef jimmyj · Oct 14, 2015

You need all three? I don't think I would trust the little one. Even if there was not a bacterial issue, the off taste would likely be noticeable. You can't hide the taste of bad meat and you have to maintain your rep...JJ

golfpro2301 · Oct 14, 2015

Sorry meant to type 2 on first post.would you trust large one? Couldnt even smell it while trimming

chef jimmyj · Oct 14, 2015

I would wash it well and proceed. Look, the biggest risk with Beef is Shiga Toxin from E-Coli 0157. It is a surface beasty and the Toxin is destroyed a 212°F after 5 minutes. The smoker will eliminate any bacterial and toxin issues so it is a quality, taste, thing beyond that. Don't inject anything...JJ

inkjunkie · Oct 14, 2015

JckDanls 07 said:
but wally world is open 24 hrs .... just say'n ...

Closest Wally world is just about an hour each way...and starting to see the 4 legged car wreckers....with antlers...so traveling at that time would be risky for me lol...

jcbigler · Oct 15, 2015

inkjunkie said:
Closest Wally world is just about an hour each way...and starting to see the 4 legged car wreckers....with antlers...so traveling at that time would be risky for me lol...

You can DO IT! :sausage:

Seriously, this is brisket we're talking about here. I have to drive an hour each way to get to work everyday. I would drive an hour for brisket with even thunking about it.

golfpro2301 · Oct 15, 2015

I was gonna go get another but I went to bed at 11 and got up at 3 to start. Pitmaker vault ran like a champ the whole day. Found some monsterous bone in breasts I did on the GMG. Everyone at party loved the brisket

magnus · Jun 5, 2018

This is a very helpful thread. I am in a similar situation with a 7 lb brisket flat. It is a butcher cut, wrapped tightly in butcher paper, not cryo sealed. It was stored in a very cold fridge overnight before being pulled to prep. It sat out longer than intended, approximately 6 hours in my kitchen. I had planned to smoke it overnight but the weather went to hell. So I wrapped the flat in foil and put it back in the super cold fridge overnight. I checked and there is no smell, no discoloration. It looks as fresh as it did when I picked it up.

After checking online whether it was safe, I made the mistake of asking a few friends if they thought it would be okay to cook & eat. It was a 50/50 split decision. My more laid back friends told me to stop being a little b!tch and smoke it, or give it to them and they would. The other group of friends - they acted panicky and told me I was crazy and should throw it away immediately.

I can’t bring myself to toss it. Im gonna smoke it. But I will make sure to wash it and rub it with coarse salt. Are there any other tips you guys can add? If not, wish me luck!

TomKnollRFV · Jun 5, 2018

We once left burgers in a car overnight <they were frozen at the start> and I didn't want to chance eating them, still pretty cold to the touch, but 10 hours in a car when it was 70-90 degree swings? If you got pets, cook it up and if they reject it, then you know it's bad. My dog never got sick from the burger meat.

magnus · Jun 5, 2018

The brisket is on and cooking. I couldn’t see any discoloration and there was no smell. Injected, salt & pepper rub and she looks beautiful. I can understand your reluctance to eat meat left in a car. But this is a little different. The temp inside my house is always 67 degrees or lower. The brisket was wrapped tightly for all but 30 minutes.
After multiple people told me I was being a paranoid wuss, I gave into peer pressure lol. I wouldn’t have even mentioned it if two people hadn’t overreacted when I told them the brisket sat out for almost 6 hours. So this will be a good experiment. I’m confident it will be great. If the finished brisket tastes bad or my internal organs become liquified I will be sure to mention it here, and maybe even throw in a few pictures...

brisket left out to long

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