natalie Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 I cooked two crockpots of chicken yesterday - 6 pounds each. I turned one into shredded taco filling and put it away. The other I was going to stick in the refrigerator and package in the morning. I was letting it cool a bit before putting it away, while I cleaned up the kitchen. Ds then needed some help with his online geography class, so I stepped away to do that. Unfortunately, I forgot to step BACK! The chicken sat out, cooked and sitting in its juices, uncovered, from 9:00 last night until 6:30 this morning. I stuck it in the refrigerator at 6:30, but I'm thinking it needs to be pitched. What do you think? [if it makes a difference, my husband can seemingly eat ANYTHING without a problem. On the other hand, I have two little girls (youngest has rather bad reflux) and my ds8 and ds7 have rather sensitive stomachs] Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Wilhelm Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 I live by two food rules: Never fear your food. If in doubt....throw it out. I'd throw it out..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 I hate the thought of wasting all that food, but I would throw it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 I'd toss it. No amount of money spent on food is worth my family or I getting sick. I'm sorry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcyB Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 Even cooked, it spent way too long in the danger zone for comfort. Toss it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 I'd toss it...and I'm not super rigid about time something sits out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 You know what I'd do? Eat some myself. Then wait a while and see. In the meantime keep it in the fridge. We leave fried chicken out all the time and never have any ill effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 When in doubt, throw it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 You know what I'd do? Eat some myself. Then wait a while and see. In the meantime keep it in the fridge. We leave fried chicken out all the time and never have any ill effects. This is what I would do as well. Remember, refrigeration is a relatively new luxury. If I ate it and was fine by evening I would probably use it in dishes that would be cooked again for the rest of the family (soups, pot pie, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 You know what I'd do? Eat some myself. Then wait a while and see. In the meantime keep it in the fridge. We leave fried chicken out all the time and never have any ill effects. I would do this, or have my husband eat some and see what happens. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 I'm sorry--that chicken is absolutely unsafe, and you should throw it away. (FWIW I took a food course in college, the first unit of which was food toxins--aka food poisoning. Meat in particular just cannot sit out at lukewarm temps for that many hours.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 (edited) I believe the rule of thumb is to never let leftovers sit out for more than two hours before refrigerating. There's no WAY I'd eat or serve chicken that had been left at room temperature all night. NO WAY. Your post said the chicken sat out for 9 1/2 hours at room temperature. That would be like if the chicken finished cooking at 8:30 in the morning, then you left it sitting out on the counter all day until you served it for dinner at 6 that evening. There's no way I'd ever do that. Edited September 15, 2010 by bethanyniez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in KY Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 You know what I'd do? Eat some myself. Then wait a while and see. In the meantime keep it in the fridge. We leave fried chicken out all the time and never have any ill effects. :iagree: This is exactly what I'd do. Time overseas and the lack of refrigeration there made me realize we Americans are sometimes too cautious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 What was the temperature inside the house? In the summer time I just cannot leave any meat outside of the fridge. In the wintertime, especially at night, yeah,sure. I wouldn't freak out. Right now the house probably went down to 55F at night. That's inside the house. So, yeah, not quite fridge temperature, but not as dangerous as 80F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natalie Posted September 15, 2010 Author Share Posted September 15, 2010 I'm going to ask dh if he wants to give it a try ... I'm guessing the answer will be yes. (He's eaten three-week-old leftovers before with no ill effects. His choosing, not mine; I strongly advised against it.) If he wants to, I'll reheat it thoroughly. Hopefully you won't find a post from me in the morning saying that dh is in the hospital from food poisoning ... lol. If he feels okay, I think I'll turn it into all of dh's favorite chicken dishes and freeze them for lunches to take to work. He would be thrilled ... hot lunches everyday! I just don't think I want to take a chance on giving it to the children, even if it doesn't bother him. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natalie Posted September 15, 2010 Author Share Posted September 15, 2010 What was the temperature inside the house?In the summer time I just cannot leave any meat outside of the fridge. In the wintertime, especially at night, yeah,sure. I wouldn't freak out. Right now the house probably went down to 55F at night. That's inside the house. So, yeah, not quite fridge temperature, but not as dangerous as 80F. House temperature was probably 68. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 There is no way my husband would want me to throw that away. So, I'd let him eat some and see how he handles it. :001_smile: If he did fine with it (which I suspect he would), then I would eat some before giving any to the kids. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaAkins Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 That would be a definite throw-it-out in our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted September 15, 2010 Share Posted September 15, 2010 Please give us an update on your dh tomorrow. As for me, I would DEFINITELY throw it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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