Can we eat it? - enchilada edition

February 24, 2014 6:43 AM

We made these vegetable enchiladas last night and accidentally left them in our 60-degree kitchen for about 10 hours. The only ingredient that I'm worried about is the black beans. What say you?
posted by outfielder to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

In case you don't want to scroll down, here's the ingredient list. It cooked for 25 minutes at 400 degrees F:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons ground cumin, divided
1/4 cup All Purpose Gold Medal® Flour
1/4 cup tomato paste
One (14.5-ounce) can vegetable broth
3/4 cup water
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese (or Jack-Cheddar blend), divided
One (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
One (10-ounce) box frozen, chopped spinach- thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup corn kernels (canned, frozen or fresh)
4 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts separated)
16 6-inch corn tortillas
posted by outfielder at 6:46 AM on February 24, 2014

I would, though I'm pretty lax about leaving out non meat things.
posted by brilliantine at 6:48 AM on February 24, 2014

It'll probably go bad faster, but if you eat it in the next day or so I don't think it'll kill you. When beans go bad, you can really smell it...
posted by theweasel at 7:11 AM on February 24, 2014

If you reheat it to sizzling (165F and up), it should be fine.
posted by magdalemon at 7:21 AM on February 24, 2014

I'd eat it your firdge is only 20 or so degrees colder than your kitchen so I wouldn't worry about it at all. If it smelt fine I would eat it no problem.

As with theweasel I wouldn't let it sit around for a long time and I probably wouldn't freeze it but if you want it for dinner tonight I say go for it.
posted by koolkat at 7:45 AM on February 24, 2014

I agree with magdalemon. Maybe its the fact that my mom didn't have a fridge growing up in Mexico but we cook beans and let them sit out (covered) on the stove until the next day when we reheat and eat. Been doing it for all my life.
posted by xicana63 at 7:54 AM on February 24, 2014

I recently got violently sick from what I believe were tainted red lentils. Beans and lentils are notoriously fast breeders of nasty bugs. Let me assure you it isn't worth the risk.
posted by bearwife at 8:35 AM on February 24, 2014

My experience with black beans is that they small Pretty Damn Bad when they're gone off to the point that they'll make you ill--and that takes, even at room temp, more like 3-4 days. I also routinely leave cooked beans to cool on the stove overnight, and have never had a problem with it. I'd eat these in a heartbeat.
posted by MeghanC at 8:54 AM on February 24, 2014

I agree with bearwife; beans are generally no. 2 on the list of sources of botulism from inadequately sterilized home canning (behind meat), and nothing has ever smelled as bad in my fridge as spoiled refried beans.
posted by jamjam at 8:56 AM on February 24, 2014

I have eaten
the enchiladas
that were on
the counter

and which
I was definitely
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so spicy
and so room temperature
posted by Rock Steady at 9:22 AM on February 24, 2014

Beans alone are a different matter from complete enchiladas. Since you've already cooked the enchiladas, everything's combined and you have to look at it all together. Oils from the cheese have mixed with the beans, the high pH of the corn tortillas has interacted with the sauce and run into the vegetables, etc.

Everything's changed, and the heavy flavors might cover up the first off-smells. With that tomato sauce, are you sure you would even be able to tell if the beans had gone sour? Personally, I'd chuck it.
posted by WasabiFlux at 11:54 AM on February 24, 2014

I should have explained what WasabiFlux points out -- my red lentil experience involved deliciously and heavily spiced lentils in takeout from a restaurant. I don't think my nose was able to warn me.

Anyway, the people on this thread saying to eat it anyway may be right, it may be fine, but I promise you that if the beans have gone off, you will be very sorry for several days that you ate this dish.
posted by bearwife at 12:55 PM on February 24, 2014

We chucked it. We had eaten half last night before leaving it out, and it was delicious, so we really wanted the leftovers! But we can afford to make another batch and not worry about food poisoning, so that's what we'll do. Thanks, all!
posted by outfielder at 5:48 PM on February 24, 2014