Should I cook this?
December 2, 2015 5:10 PM Subscribe
Turkey defrosted for Thanksgiving. Sat in the fridge until yesterday, when it was re-frozen. If it safe to cook and eat?
We served multiple Turkeys at work this Thanksgiving. One Turkey wasn't cooked due to lack of oven space, and left defrosted in the fridge until yesterday evening (~6 days). I was planning on cooking it today and serving it in a stew tomorrow.
However someone cleaning the fridge in out kitchen put the Turkey back into the freezer yesterday. Is it safe to defrost in the fridge and cook it later? Or should I throw it out? The Turkey wasn't ever in the danger zone, it was in the fridge for about 6 days and then back into the freezer.
Was it even safe to cook in the first place after 6 days in the fridge? I was going to throw it out but my co-workers convinced me it would be fine.
My gut says no but the main reason untrained staff are messing around in the kitchen is to stretch a miniscule food budget (and feed ~30 people a night) so a whole Turkey goes a long way.
(SO excited for my first can I eat this question!)
We served multiple Turkeys at work this Thanksgiving. One Turkey wasn't cooked due to lack of oven space, and left defrosted in the fridge until yesterday evening (~6 days). I was planning on cooking it today and serving it in a stew tomorrow.
However someone cleaning the fridge in out kitchen put the Turkey back into the freezer yesterday. Is it safe to defrost in the fridge and cook it later? Or should I throw it out? The Turkey wasn't ever in the danger zone, it was in the fridge for about 6 days and then back into the freezer.
Was it even safe to cook in the first place after 6 days in the fridge? I was going to throw it out but my co-workers convinced me it would be fine.
My gut says no but the main reason untrained staff are messing around in the kitchen is to stretch a miniscule food budget (and feed ~30 people a night) so a whole Turkey goes a long way.
(SO excited for my first can I eat this question!)
Oh, I got poisoned at a Thanksgiving Work function by turkey/stuffing combo.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:13 PM on December 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:13 PM on December 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Because I worry what people on Metafilter think of me, I want to clarify that I was gone all of last week and wouldn't have left the Turkey uncooked in the fridge in the first place, I'm just in charge of the regular meals and have to stretch the food we have left until mid-december.
posted by kittensofthenight at 5:24 PM on December 2, 2015
posted by kittensofthenight at 5:24 PM on December 2, 2015
Nooooooo, you have to cook before you refreeze. That is the first law of thawing things I ever learned. And this is from someone who occasionally defrosts meat on the kitchen counter!
No. No no no.
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:28 PM on December 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
No. No no no.
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:28 PM on December 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, 6 days was not ideal, but would probably have been ok absent other factors. It took my turkey 4 days to defrost in the fridge (we did not help the process along with water). The issue is 100% the refreezing.
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:31 PM on December 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by chainsofreedom at 5:31 PM on December 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
Refreezing after thawing is ok if the meat was thawed in the fridge and it hasn't been in there sitting there too long. But you're only supposed to keep thawed poultry in the fridge for 1-2 days before cooking or refreezing it.
Was the turkey pulled out of the freezer on Thanksgiving or was it thawed and ready to go for cooking on Thanksgiving? If the former, it's close (assuming it took ~3 days to defrost) and giving 30 people food poisoning doesn't seem worth the risk. If the latter, definitely don't do it.
posted by radiomayonnaise at 5:59 PM on December 2, 2015 [9 favorites]
Was the turkey pulled out of the freezer on Thanksgiving or was it thawed and ready to go for cooking on Thanksgiving? If the former, it's close (assuming it took ~3 days to defrost) and giving 30 people food poisoning doesn't seem worth the risk. If the latter, definitely don't do it.
posted by radiomayonnaise at 5:59 PM on December 2, 2015 [9 favorites]
Poultry is the devil. I usually camp in the "I would so eat that!" camp but nope no nuh-uh.
posted by rtha at 6:17 PM on December 2, 2015
posted by rtha at 6:17 PM on December 2, 2015
Nope.
posted by OrangeDisk at 7:00 PM on December 2, 2015
posted by OrangeDisk at 7:00 PM on December 2, 2015
6 days is too long to leave raw poultry in the fridge. I play fast and loose with food safety but I wouldn't cook it after 6 days and I certainly wouldn't cook it for consumption by others.
posted by Aranquis at 7:10 PM on December 2, 2015
posted by Aranquis at 7:10 PM on December 2, 2015
Nooooooooooooooooooo.
6 days raw in the fridge? NOOOOOOOO. It was gone at day 4, IMHO.
Technically, it might be fine if it was not fully thawed for 6 days? Was it unpacked? Handled by human hands??
Screw it. NO.
Lentils are inexpensive, filling, healthy, and DELICIOUS! Cook lentils instead.
posted by jbenben at 7:12 PM on December 2, 2015
6 days raw in the fridge? NOOOOOOOO. It was gone at day 4, IMHO.
Technically, it might be fine if it was not fully thawed for 6 days? Was it unpacked? Handled by human hands??
Screw it. NO.
Lentils are inexpensive, filling, healthy, and DELICIOUS! Cook lentils instead.
posted by jbenben at 7:12 PM on December 2, 2015
Leaving safety entirely aside, all that freezing and thawing plays hell with your bird's texture, and will result in meat that's prone to unpredictable drying and mushiness.
In answer to your other question, the US guidelines recommend no more than 2 days of home refrigeration of poultry, and the Australian ones no more than 3 days. Those are conservative estimates to keep you safe, but you are talking about 2-3 times longer than that. I wouldn't eat poultry that had been in the fridge for 6 days - even if the pathogens were inhibited entirely by the low temperatures, bacteria that spoil (rot) food do fine, and the eyewatering smell of rotting poultry puts me right off my feed.
posted by gingerest at 8:18 PM on December 2, 2015
In answer to your other question, the US guidelines recommend no more than 2 days of home refrigeration of poultry, and the Australian ones no more than 3 days. Those are conservative estimates to keep you safe, but you are talking about 2-3 times longer than that. I wouldn't eat poultry that had been in the fridge for 6 days - even if the pathogens were inhibited entirely by the low temperatures, bacteria that spoil (rot) food do fine, and the eyewatering smell of rotting poultry puts me right off my feed.
posted by gingerest at 8:18 PM on December 2, 2015
I eat basically everything and don't worry much about refrigeration. But eating that turkey would probably end badly.
posted by congen at 10:38 PM on December 2, 2015
posted by congen at 10:38 PM on December 2, 2015
Response by poster: Its in the garbage. Thanks MEFI!
posted by kittensofthenight at 12:22 AM on December 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by kittensofthenight at 12:22 AM on December 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
It's not even going to taste good.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:13 PM on December 2, 2015 [8 favorites]