Can I eat this? SHOULD I?!
August 2, 2022 10:33 AM Subscribe
Delicious pork chops left in the air fryer overnight, are they still safe to eat?
Made six pork chops in the airfryer last night, ate two, leaving the other four for the roommates. However, the roommates had gotten carryout, so they only ate the sides I had made to go with the chops, but not the actual pork chops. They wanted to save the meat for tomorrow (aka today) and said they'd put everything away and clean up the kitchen. Which they did!
Except for refrigerating the pork chops in the air fryer.
So, these delicious and cooked pork chops sat in the air fryer overnight, in a climate controlled environment, for close to 16 hours before they were noticed. Instinct says to trash'em, but is there a chance that they would still be safe to eat?
Made six pork chops in the airfryer last night, ate two, leaving the other four for the roommates. However, the roommates had gotten carryout, so they only ate the sides I had made to go with the chops, but not the actual pork chops. They wanted to save the meat for tomorrow (aka today) and said they'd put everything away and clean up the kitchen. Which they did!
Except for refrigerating the pork chops in the air fryer.
So, these delicious and cooked pork chops sat in the air fryer overnight, in a climate controlled environment, for close to 16 hours before they were noticed. Instinct says to trash'em, but is there a chance that they would still be safe to eat?
Best answer: I eat almost anything but I would not eat those chops.
posted by Dr. Wu at 10:42 AM on August 2, 2022
posted by Dr. Wu at 10:42 AM on August 2, 2022
Best answer: I, too, as a legit raccoon about food, would consign these pork chops to the trash.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 10:44 AM on August 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 10:44 AM on August 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
Best answer: 16 hour room temperature meat? Zero chance I would eat that.
posted by primethyme at 10:44 AM on August 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by primethyme at 10:44 AM on August 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Pork? At room temperature/well within the danger zone for probably 15 of those 16 hours because the air fryers I know don't "keep warm" above 140F for longer than an hour?
Oh god no no no.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 10:45 AM on August 2, 2022
Oh god no no no.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 10:45 AM on August 2, 2022
Best answer: I, too, eat almost anything, but I wouldn't eat those pork chops.
Not even with a fork.
posted by box at 10:54 AM on August 2, 2022
Not even with a fork.
posted by box at 10:54 AM on August 2, 2022
Best answer: 16 hours at room temp? Absolutely not. That’s an invitation to serious food poisoning.
posted by Roger Pittman at 11:01 AM on August 2, 2022
posted by Roger Pittman at 11:01 AM on August 2, 2022
I'm not sure why you think the air fryer is "climate controlled" in a way that might protect food from bacterial growth. It's not a vacuum, devoid of oxygen. It's more like an .... incubator.
posted by Dashy at 11:24 AM on August 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Dashy at 11:24 AM on August 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: For future readers, it's recommended that meat sit out of refrigeration no more than 2 hours. 3-4 hours might be ok, depending on circumstances, but 2 hours is what's considered safe.
Thanks all! Was pretty sure eating them would be unwise, but needed talking down off the ledge, they still smelled so good.
2 hours max.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:25 AM on August 2, 2022 [11 favorites]
Thanks all! Was pretty sure eating them would be unwise, but needed talking down off the ledge, they still smelled so good.
2 hours max.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:25 AM on August 2, 2022 [11 favorites]
Best answer: I'm not sure why you think the air fryer is "climate controlled"
I think he meant that the room it was sitting in was climate controlled, i.e. not outdoors in 100 degree heat.
posted by primethyme at 11:32 AM on August 2, 2022
I think he meant that the room it was sitting in was climate controlled, i.e. not outdoors in 100 degree heat.
posted by primethyme at 11:32 AM on August 2, 2022
I am late and looks like a small minority, but a COOKED pork chop left out overnight? I would at least try it for taste. Reheat it, put some sauce on it and give it a shot. Disclaimer: I have an iron stomach. Years of eating spicy, spicy like ghost pepper spicy foods. YMMV.
Raw chops? Hell no.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:11 PM on August 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
Raw chops? Hell no.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 12:11 PM on August 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
Best answer: For future readers, JohnnyGunn will be deeply missed by this community should he sample a cooked pork chop left out overnight between now and when you view this. As explained in roughly 1 million articles on the interwebs, including the source for the excerpts below, even a taste for ghost peppers is no shield against potentially deadly bacteria.
... pathogenic bacteria thrive between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Room temperature usually falls in this temperature range, known as the danger zone. In this temperature range, pathogenic bacteria can sometimes double in number within a span of 20 minutes.
If bacteria can double in just 20 minutes, imagine the numbers if the meat has been left out overnight. The USDA states that any food that has been left out at room temperature for over two hours should be discarded. If the temperature is above 90 F, the window is one hour.
Since pathogenic bacteria doesn't affect the taste, smell or sight of food in any way, you have no way of knowing whether it's there. You may feel bad about throwing away meat that looks perfectly fine, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:53 PM on August 2, 2022 [10 favorites]
... pathogenic bacteria thrive between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Room temperature usually falls in this temperature range, known as the danger zone. In this temperature range, pathogenic bacteria can sometimes double in number within a span of 20 minutes.
If bacteria can double in just 20 minutes, imagine the numbers if the meat has been left out overnight. The USDA states that any food that has been left out at room temperature for over two hours should be discarded. If the temperature is above 90 F, the window is one hour.
Since pathogenic bacteria doesn't affect the taste, smell or sight of food in any way, you have no way of knowing whether it's there. You may feel bad about throwing away meat that looks perfectly fine, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:53 PM on August 2, 2022 [10 favorites]
Best answer: METAFILTER: they still smelled so good.
posted by philip-random at 4:49 PM on August 2, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 4:49 PM on August 2, 2022 [9 favorites]
Best answer: Well, the air fryer was opened to retrieve 2/4 chops, then closed.
I'd eat it, and I'd have zero problems eating it if the fryer wasn't opened after cooking.
USDA guidelines are for the lowest common denominator.
posted by porpoise at 5:19 PM on August 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
I'd eat it, and I'd have zero problems eating it if the fryer wasn't opened after cooking.
USDA guidelines are for the lowest common denominator.
posted by porpoise at 5:19 PM on August 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
Best answer: USDA guidelines are for the lowest common denominator.
I have eaten in tons of places that just leave food out all day under the hot sun and I'm not dead yet. I did end up with a mouth full of maggots from inside a rotten boiled duck egg once though.
posted by Literaryhero at 12:37 AM on August 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
I have eaten in tons of places that just leave food out all day under the hot sun and I'm not dead yet. I did end up with a mouth full of maggots from inside a rotten boiled duck egg once though.
posted by Literaryhero at 12:37 AM on August 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 10:39 AM on August 2, 2022 [15 favorites]