Goofed up while thawing....

[swesch]

With a baby in one arm, I grabbed some meat from the freezer last night.  I set it on the counter, thinking that I'd put it in the fridge once I could set the fussy baby down.  Somehow, I didn't make it back into the kitchen last night, and my husband never noticed it. 

So, sitting on the counter was a 4 pound chicken, 2 sirloin steaks (1" thick) and a pound of ground pork.  They sat there between 6:30pm and 7am at around 68 degrees.  The chicken was still frozen inside, but the steaks and pork were completely thawed.  I put them all in the fridge this morning, but I'm not sure if any of it will be safe to eat.  I hate to waste food, particularly meat (particularly local, organic meat!), but health is our top priority. 

 

[eman]

I hate to say this but ,i would toss it all. You don't know what temps the meat reached overnight. Even though the inside of the chicken still had ice on the inside you don't know what the temps were on the outer surface.

 I allways try to err on the safe side of anything i do . And no matter the cost of the meat the saftey and well being of my family is allways the most important.

 

[rbranstner]

I would agree that the wise and safe thing to do would be throw it. I'll be the first to admit I have done the same thing several times and I have ended up cooking the meat and been fine but is it worth the chance of getting sick? Probably not. When I was young my parents use to thaw out burger or what ever by taking it out of the freezer in the morning and putting it in the sink to thaw until they got home from work that night which was 9 hours later. Not very safe but we did it all the time. Its all fine a dandy until you are sick and its coming out both ends then you will think "Why the heck didn't I just throw it away".

 

[alelover]

I have done it too. It sucks but it's better than the alternative.

 

[richoso1]

In regards to health and safety practices, do not push the envelope. Start over again and feel assured that you'll have some safe food to eat. It's all good my friend.

 

[SmokinAl]

I know you wanted to hear something different, but I have to agree with the above. Better to be safe than sorry. 

 

[swesch]

Sigh.  It's true.  I'm giving all of the meat to my folks to cook up for their dog.  I figure dogs are a bit more accustomed to eating questionable meat.

 

[shooter1]

Been there, done that. My wife was really pissed because she hates waste as well but there was no way I would take the chance. Its a good thing I am the cook in our house because my wife probably would have cooked it and served it to me without telling me. She will eat something out of the fridge that I told her I was going to toss because it was past safe storage time. She has been lucky so far. I usually wait till she's not around to clean out the fridge.

 

[malisaw]

The possum that lives in the wood patch next to my house prays for moments like this.  I have a Collie with a very sensitive stomach - she gets only Blue Buffalo chicken and boiled chicken as treats - but I do have the Southeasts most well fed possum for a neighbor!

 

[fpnmf]

The possum that lives in the wood patch next to my house prays for moments like this.  I have a Collie with a very sensitive stomach - she gets only Blue Buffalo chicken and boiled chicken as treats - but I do have the Southeasts most well fed possum for a neighbor!

Hahahahaha..I too have a few animals out there that love me. I throw all food stuff off the balcony into the brush. Gone in moments.

They are gonna miss me when we move to Fl and there we will be having a compost pile.

  Have a great day!!

  Craig
 

 

[scarbelly]

I have to agree with the others - no way I would take a chance. Food poisening is going to cost a lot more than replacing the food