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Another "would you eat this?" question:


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Last night I took a whole chicken out of the freezer and set it on the counter, then forgot about it. It sat there all night but this morning it was still quite cold to the touch.

 

Think it's still okay to cook it well and eat it? It's a tough old rooster so I was going to cook it all day in the crockpot and turn it into soup anyhow.

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Nope. The outside of the chicken is WAY warmer than the inside.

 

This is why you're not supposed to thaw meat on the counter; the outside gets thawed, but then it sits at the 'danger zone' temp for WAAAAAAAY too long waiting for the inside to get thawed.

 

And while the outside of the chicken is in the danger zone temps, it's growing bacteria. And your cooking could kill the bacteria, but it won't kill the toxins that the bacteria have had plenty of time to produce.

 

The rule of thumb is no longer than 2 hours at temps between 40-140 degrees F.

 

Longer than 2 hours oustide those temps, your starting to play with the possibilty that there are toxins in the food.

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Last night I took a whole chicken out of the freezer and set it on the counter, then forgot about it. It sat there all night but this morning it was still quite cold to the touch.

 

Think it's still okay to cook it well and eat it? It's a tough old rooster so I was going to cook it all day in the crockpot and turn it into soup anyhow.

 

Yes, I would eat it. That's how I usually thaw things (despite official warnings to the contrary). I take meat out of my freezer in the morning, let it sit on the counter during the day. If it's small/thin, I put it in the fridge when it seems to be thawed.

 

I've got a flat iron steak out on my counter right now.

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Nope. The outside of the chicken is WAY warmer than the inside.

 

This is why you're not supposed to thaw meat on the counter; the outside gets thawed, but then it sits at the 'danger zone' temp for WAAAAAAAY too long waiting for the inside to get thawed.

 

And while the outside of the chicken is in the danger zone temps, it's growing bacteria. And your cooking could kill the bacteria, but it won't kill the toxins that the bacteria have had plenty of time to produce.

 

The rule of thumb is no longer than 2 hours at temps between 40-140 degrees F.

 

Longer than 2 hours oustide those temps, your starting to play with the possibilty that there are toxins in the food.

 

I'm with you. I wouldn't chance it.

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