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Chicken Question

Lit
Lit Posts: 9,053
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Did "The Chicken" last night and put in a cooler to rest for 45 minutes in foil and towel. Then I put the whole cooler in the fridge over night. When I woke up this morning the chicken was still warm in the cooler. Is this still safe to eat since it was warm for that long? Just wondering about bacteria. Thanks.

Comments

  • Wait, back up. You put a closed cooler in the fridge? Why?
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    Cause I started late and it was midnight by that time and I was lazy. Had never done it before so I didn't realize it would keep it warm that long. Obviuosly wont do it again.
  • Fair enough.

    What's the current temp of the meat?
  • my question too.
    in that case it wasn't a cooler, it was a warmer. :laugh:

    little known cooking fact: you need to tell a cooler whether you want it to keep something warm, or to keep it cool. it doesn't know these things by itself.

    my mom always had two thermoses. one was for keeping things hot, and the other for keeping things cold. one day i mixed them up on her and couldn't tell which was which. luckily we guessed right, because the soup we put in one stayed hot. had a 50/50 chance of picking the right one i guess.
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    It was about 12:30 am when I put them in the fridge and around 6 am I realized they were still warm and iced them in the cooler. Would they have gone bad in 5 and a half hours?
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    The outside of the foil was still hot to the touch this morning at 6 am. Currently it is cold as I iced it for an hour and a half then put in the fridge.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,657
    i would eat it. ive left things like that sitting on the counter overnight forgetting to get it in the fridge.
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • At the risk of getting smacked down by people with more knowledge in this area than I...

    The "danger zone" of 40-140 degrees F is the temperature range at which most bacteria tend to reproduce the fastest. So if your chicken was still hot (a relative term...my hot might be 120, yours might by 140), it's possible it was only back in the "danger zone" for a brief period of time. Your hot-cooked chicken was probably also relatively bug-free when you took it off the egg, so you're starting with a low number of bacteria to begin with. I'm guessing you're safe...

    Don't know that I'd feed it to my 2-year-old, though.
  • i just told someone offline that although it would be iffy even for me, i grew up in a house where the holiday turkey didn't fit in the fridge. and we didn't waste food. which leaves one to conclude....

    part of me says it is just too much, and should go in the trash. the other part of me wonders exactly what is wrong with it, assuming it was done to 160+ or so, and not handled or cross contaminated. (the warnings about food being served or left out assume cross contamination or reinfection. the food doesn't magically grow new bacteria).

    but still. warm chicken in the fridge?

    >URF< :sick:

    i guess, though, if it was truly still hot (over 140), there'd be no risk
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,657
    we always left the turkey out and ate from it for a day or two before making soup. the chicken is coated with vinegar and salt, i think its fine though its probably bad advice on an open forum :laugh:
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    Thanks for the input. I did "the chicken" recipe posted on here alot. The chicken was cooked at 350-370 for 90 minutes so all pieces were well over 160. It was then dipped in boiling hot sauce and wrapped in 2 layers of aluminum foil and put straight into the cooler. I am gonna eat it and cross my fingers.
  • I would guess it's still ok to eat but it depends on your food tolerances (and perceptions)...

    Case 1: My Grandma (like the post above) used to leave the turkey she made on Christmas Eve out and we would eat it the next day, it never bothered us but I can remember my brother in law getting violently ill one year, guess it's in the genes.

    Case 2: I had a roommate that was attending the U and he was from the Philippines and one day I threw out some rice he left on the stove for 3 days in a pot. He got mad and said that in his country they leave it out like that for days with no ill effects (throw it out when it smells "vineagary"). Now I have done the same and it actually tastes a bit better after a few days, not dry and still good.
  • i missed, too, that it was "the" chicken, not simply chicken.

    if it was still truly hot, and had all that acid in it (as pointed out to me via email by mr.-afraid-to-post-it-himself), then i would eat it too.
  • Man, you're killing me!!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    It would have been much more reassuring if you had taken the temperature. I'd expect that it cooled at a steady rate, and if it was still 120, would most likely not have been in the "danger zone" more than 2 hours. And, as above, the sauce is really acidic, and would greatly inhibit any bacteria.

    I'd guess pretty safe. If I was 10 years younger, I doubt I'd give a minutes thought.
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
  • AZRP
    AZRP Posts: 10,116
    How was it? -RP
  • Hee hee...I guess we'll have our answer if he posts again tomorrow. :evil:
  • Wait... i have to think about this one. No, nevermind!!!
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    It was really good. I was worried about it being too spicy when I tasted the sauce but it was really good when it was on the chicken. Simple recipe too. I made 12 quarters so I will be eating it for a day or 2.
  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    That I was very very busy today! ;) Lit, hope all is well with you, and your household. Definately a gamble I would not have been willing to take. Please....DON'T do that again... :sick: ...please? :blink: :huh: