Can I Eat It - Prime Rib Edition

March 30, 2018 6:48 AM

Asking for a friend. 2 x 5lb prime ribs, already bagged for sous vide today. Something happened last night - either 2 quarts of hot stock or a cracked door - and the fridge warmed up, and the prime rib temped at 50 F at 9am today. She immediately put the prime ribs in the hot bath. Can They Eat It?
posted by ftm to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

Was the prime rib warmer before you put it in the fridge and cooling over time, or was it cold and slowly warming over time?
posted by bbqturtle at 7:04 AM on March 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

I wouldn't, especially not from a sous vide that isn't gonna really put the spurs to any potential bacteria, and also trap any toxins they left behind. Potentially many hours at +45 F is something that would make me buy new meat.

Doubling down as this sounds like a party meal, and food poisoning guests would be something I'd worry about enough to not have fun whilst said guests were over.
posted by French Fry at 7:05 AM on March 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: It had been cold for a good long time prior to The Incident.
posted by ftm at 7:06 AM on March 30, 2018

Is the edge of the meat colder or warmer than the core?
posted by bbqturtle at 7:08 AM on March 30, 2018

I might eat it myself, but I wouldn't serve it to guests. I'm assuming the "two quarts of hot stock" were in the fridge? So there's a possibility that the fridge was warmer than 50F at some point?
posted by lazuli at 7:09 AM on March 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

Unfortunately, assuming that overnight, the edge of the meat is closer to 65 degrees and the center is closer to 50 degrees, I would cook it up and eat it but not serve to guests.
posted by bbqturtle at 7:13 AM on March 30, 2018

I would cook it, eat a sample, and wait 12 hours. If you don't get sick, it's probably okay. I would be wary of serving it to guests - if I was okay after eating some, I'd freeze the cooked meat for meals and make fresh for guests. I got very ill from undercooked beef once. Fortunately, beef seems to be cheap right now, so you might not need a 2nd mortgage to replace it.
posted by theora55 at 9:34 AM on March 30, 2018

I had a very similar issue recently, where my sous vide bath turned off some unknown number of hours too soon. I did some back of the envelope math to determine approximately how long it had been at an insufficient temperature. It was right on the edge. I concluded that I would eat it, but I would not have served it to guests, or anyone with a generally higher health risk of any kind.
posted by reeddavid at 10:03 AM on March 30, 2018

Concurring that I wouldn't sous vide this now nor serve it to guests...but I would roast it up in the oven for myself and see what it does to my system.

I came to say that I always set hot stock or soup into a cold sink bath for about 15 minutes before placing it in the fridge.
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:27 AM on March 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: So they disclosed to everyone (it was a family event) and they are all a bit more casual about food safety than us and everyone ate it and ended up fine. Thanks for all the input!
posted by ftm at 7:17 AM on April 2, 2018