If frozen pork is left out for 8 hours is it still cookable?
That would depend on the conditions the pork was left exposed to during that time.If pork is taken directly out of the freezer and placed on the counter the outer surface would come up to room temperature first. Eventually the entire piece of meat would reach room temperature. But once the surface temperature is above 40 degrees bacteria would begin to bloom. It would probably have roughly six hours to multiply. The bacteria of course would be killed when the meat is cooked. But the toxins the bacteria produce when growing would still be left behind. It is very probably that the result would be, at a minimum. a mild case of food poisoning.So yes it is cookable, but that does not mean it is safe to eat without health risks.
If frozen chicken is left out for 24 hours, is it still cookable?
Raw chicken is usually highly contaminated with Campylobacter and Salmonella, and in addition, MUCH greater numbers of ordinary spoilage organisms that do not cause illness but will cause decomposition. The spoilage organisms grow rapidly (some even at refrigeration temperatures (0-5C or 32-40F). So here is the answer: Forget for a moment about controlling pathogens in raw meats; they are ALWAYS there, whether frozen or not! The spoilage organisms are growing exponentially, and will turn the colour a bit greenish, the smell a little sour, and the texture a little slimy. IF any of these are detected, you may want to throw it out because it wouldn't taste as you would expect. (But this is a quality issue, not a health issue). This is likely to happen if the chicken has become too warm in the 24 hrs. If it is still cool, even for several days, check colour, smell, surface and interior texture (especially near the vent)- and if it passes - go ahead, cook and eat. Talk of "toxins" are incorrect in this context. Toxin-producers are NOT going to able to grow in uncooked meat. None of them. In most areas in the world, poultry is hung up on display at ambient temperature as a normal procedure. No refrigeration for raw meat, and people are not falling down with fatal infections! The meat simply goes "bad" and is rejected at some point. Having passed the smell-touch-visual test, if you go ahead, NOW BE CONCERNED ABOUT PATHOGENS! How? COMPLETE cooking (at least 166'F or 75'C), and sterilize the board, knives, cloths, thawing-dishes, etc., using 1-2 capsfull of chlorine bleach in the washing and wiping water. That's it! Throwing perfectly good raw meat out just because of imagined 'pathogen growth' or 'toxin-production' is simply a waste. After 30+ years investigating, lecturing, researching food borne illness, I can safely report that illnesses due to poultry are always (A) inadequate heating/cooking all-through, and/or (B) contamination from raw to ready-to-eat foods, or (C) dangerous holding/storage temperatures AFTER cooking. What happens BEFORE cooking really doesn't play a direct role in illness, (other than contaminating something else).
Does Hunters Sausage need to be kept refrigerated?
General rule for sausage is if you have to cook it before you eat it, you have to keep it in the fridge.
A sealed frozen dinner sat in my warm car and thawed to room temp on a hot day. Can I still cook it and eat it?
I’m going to agree with John Thompson that it’s probably okay to eat, and also expand on his answer a bit.The key issue here is that the dinner remained sealed. This is not a fail-safe way to know your pre-cooked, frozen dinner is okay to eat, but it’s certainly preferable to food sitting out exposed to air. Most of the kind of processed food you’re likely talking about (unless it’s a dinner you prepared and then froze yourself, in which case you already know exactly how safe it is to eat) is so packed with preservatives that it will last an astonishingly long time in the so-called “danger zone.” (And by the way, this “danger zone” business is largely the product of a litigious society. If it weren’t for the fact that certain Americans love to sue each other as an alternative to earning a living, there would be lot more realistic treatment of food handling on TV and in cookbooks and magazines.)But more fundamentally, I’d like to throw a question out there, maybe more directed at the “danger zone” true-believer crowd than at the OP: If you’re really so convinced that the food you’re eating is a few hours at a few degrees away from killing you, why are you eating it? Surely it’s possible for you to find a food source that isn’t so potentially deadly. And if you believe that all food is naturally super-dangerous and can’t be left alone at warm temperatures for any real length of time, then you might want to ask yourself what people did in the days before widespread refrigeration.
Is it safe to leave raw beef on the counter for hours prior cooking?
Please note that the precaution about not leaving food in a growth temperature zone APPLIES TO READY-TO-EAT foods, usually described as “potentially-hazardous foods”.RAW meats look after themselves. They usually have a large population of “spoilage” organisms which will quickly prevent pathogens from growing. IF you were going to eat the steak RAW, then yes, try to reduce the growth by keeping it cool. Otherwise, you can forget the “2-hours max” advice. If you leave your steak out it will slowly change colour to a brownish shade (a complex oxidation of the myelin protein), and after a day or so, depending upon temperature and initial load, develop surface slippery/slimy feel, and a sour smell.At this stage it is still edible and if properly cooked will be entirely safe. Many people prefer to age their meat to a “gamey” state of early decomposition. This is personal preference and has never harmed anyone. (Most butcher stalls in the developing world have never used refrigeration, and people remain healthy!)Cooked meats, on the other hand, especially moist/wet, are extremely vulnerable to growth of pathogens (because the spoilage organisms have been destroyed by cooking). They DO need refrigeration or eating very soon.
How long can frozen beef last after being put out of the freezer and into the normal fridge to defrost?
Depends on two things….and ALWAYS follow two additional, cardinal rules! First, the two cardinal rules, 1) always freeze maximum of ONCE when raw, and ONCE once cooked. NEVER freeze and thaw twice raw or cooked!!! As you will always read in my posts, 2) ALWAYS use the sight, touch, smell test. Break apart ground beef or pieces of meat after thawed. Thoroughly inspect meat for unusual color, anamolies, foreign material, and bad odor. Recognizing good meat takes practice and experience. If you're not sure, run it by someone else. If you're still unsure, it is probably best to return the meat to the market or throw it away. If you believe that it was mishandled or stored improperly after you obtained it, throw it away.Now, I'd answer your question based on two rules of thumb, in combination with the two cardinal rules above. How long you can keep beef in the fridge after defrosting depends on:If raw, up to 5 calendar days total from "Sell By" date, and if cooked, 5 days in total (before and after freezing)Remember, record how many days meat had left prior to freezing and subtract this from total when you thaw. Many people don't take the time or care to properly place meat in ziplock, airtight bags made for the freezer and record the dates.For example, if you already had the meat in your refrigerator for 3 days from the market's Sell By date when you decide not to use it right away, be sure to record the date you froze it or indicate that you have 2 more days left. When you take it down days or weeks later, I'd use it within 24–48 hours and also follow the cardinal rules above.Happy, Healthful, and Safely Cooking!!!
Is it OK to eat a ready meal left out overnight?
There are a number of factors that go into this. I must admit, I am notorious for eating things that others would toss. My basic rule is: if it smells like food, eat it.This is not to be construed as legal advice, but a few things would go into my decision whether or not to eat the Tikka Masala:Was the package sealed? If there is an intact seal, it is less likely there are noxious critters reproducing on the food.Is it spicy? Part of the reason really spice food tends to come from tropical (hot) locations is that spices help to inhibit the growth of dangerous bacteria that spoil food.What is the ambient temperature in your kitchen? If you are where it is sweltering and hot, then the food is less likely to be safe. If you are where it is cool or cold, then the food would not spoil as quickly.
Is uncooked beef left out overnight safe to eat?
If it's not ground beef, the bacteria will be on the surface. If you cook the surfaces well, maybe fry in 1/2 in. of oil, it will be fine. In fact, the bacteria may give it a better flavour.Hunters and farmers regularly "hang" their beef and venison for a week or 10 days, usually, they rub it with a rag soaked in vinegar and salt every few days. There are traditional aged beef dishes in the UK that use beef, aged for up to a couple of weeks, until it is "high". I have cooked some of these recipes. The meat smells rotten. A sensible person would throw it away. When it starts to cook, it smells pretty bad. Once it reaches a point in cooking, the aroma changes, the meat starts to smell good, and, when it's done, it's absolutely delicious.