Ugh, I can't eat this, can I?

December 22, 2024 2:05 AM

I was going to make a turkey tomorrow. I just checked the temperature with a thermometer and it was at 46 degrees. My guess is that it has been at this temperature for something like 4 to 6 hours. Turkey is fucked? Or would you cook it?

The turkey was not frozen when I bought it yesterday. I dry-brined it and put it in the refrigerator yesterday, and this afternoon I temp-checked it at 38 degrees. But I thought, I'm going to be cooking today, opening the fridge, closing the fridge, why don't I set the temperature control down a couple notches?

Well, friends, I misunderstood the temperature dial, and I accidentally turned the temperature up instead of down. ("Min" is identified as 1, and I thought that meant "min temp," but it meant "min cooling." So on a scale of 1 to 9 I had it at 3 for several hours.)

So anyway, the turkey has been 46 degrees or so (47 in the wings) for several hours. Would you toss it? You would toss it, wouldn't you?

posted by kensington314 to Food & Drink (17 answers total)

Yes, that will be perfectly safe to cook and eat. II wouldn't worry at all. Actually, I'd do this deliberately for better roasting results. Obviously, a turkey always needs to be cooked through regardless.
Merry Christmas!
posted by mumimor at 2:14 AM on December 22, 2024 [13 favorites]

Eeesh, I would toss it and be really annoyed about it for weeks, sorry. Maybe, if the turkey was vacuum sealed, I’d take the risk if everybody eating it was definitely not immunocompromised, but considering you probably poked at it while taking the temperature and it’s been in the danger zone for more than a couple hours after said poking, it seems like a no-go. That is fairly cautious of me but also a wasted turkey is way less of an issue than an ER visit or a ruined holiday spent in the bathroom.
posted by Mizu at 2:34 AM on December 22, 2024 [2 favorites]

Oh, but I will say that if you’re cooking turkey tomorrow you should totally be able to pick up fully thawed birds and bird parts from most grocery stores. And you probably want to refresh a bunch of your other fridges stuff while you’re at it anyway.
posted by Mizu at 2:37 AM on December 22, 2024 [2 favorites]

It's absolutely fine to eat even if you hadn't covered it in salt.
posted by night_train at 3:30 AM on December 22, 2024 [5 favorites]

Apparently, at that temperature, salmonella will reproduce (assuming it was there in the first place). Obviously, that is not ideal.

However, my understanding is that it's not like botulism where toxins are produced that cooking does not get rid of. Fully cooking the turkey ought to kill the salmonella and then it would be safe to eat.
posted by demi-octopus at 4:26 AM on December 22, 2024

As long as you fully cook the turkey to safe temperatures, the risk will be very, very small. It's not like all the bacteria are sitting around checking their watches and going to work the instant the clock hits 2+ hours. Some guidelines even say you don't have to worry until it hits 50F. If you'd left it in there for half the day or longer I'd say toss it to be on the safe side, but 4 - 6 hours at most, in a mostly temperature controlled space? I wouldn't worry too much, and I'm paranoid about these things.

Just be vigilant about cooking it properly and enjoy it!
posted by fight or flight at 4:40 AM on December 22, 2024 [8 favorites]

I would cook it now, as soon as possible, and enjoy it. It was out of the safest zone briefly, but I'd accept that risk.
posted by theora55 at 5:28 AM on December 22, 2024 [1 favorite]

Isn't solid meat much less risky than ground? I thought the whole thing was that bacteria tended to be on the surface, and when meat is ground they get all mixed in, but they don't just sit there in the middle of the meat lurking.

If no one with a bad stomach were going to eat this, I'd cook it right now and eat it tomorrow. Having meat at this temperature and then cooking it would not have been weird in pre-refrigeration human history, so my usual feeling is that while I will not be leaping to do without refrigerators if I can help it, I'll err on the side of "things got slightly warm" as long as only people with strong stomachs and no other health problems are eating.

I left a piece of hard and crumbly cheddar (sealed) in my backpack for two days because I missed putting it in the refrigerator, could not bear to throw it out, opened it, found that it looked and smelled fine, ate a little bit (refrigerating the rest) and waited. I have now finished the piece, it's been several days, and no bad consequences resulted. Would I have done this at high summer, if someone with a sensitive stomach were going to eat some of it or if it were brie? No, but I figured that the whole point of hard cheese is to preserve milk and decided to try.

My point being, I'd cook this turkey.
posted by Frowner at 5:47 AM on December 22, 2024 [4 favorites]

I'd cook and eat it too, probably settling for a more thorough cooking and possibly drier bird to err on the side of safety. Please let us know how it goes!
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:32 AM on December 22, 2024 [1 favorite]

Roast the turkey today! I do this often to lessen the hectic rush and open oven space on the day or two before a holiday. Let it rest after roasting. If you wait to carve till it's close to room temperature you will preserve most of the moisture because it won't be lost in steam as you carve. Remove legs, thighs, wings, and cut the breasts off the bone. Pick off remaining pieces of turkey from the bones for soup and then submerge all the bones and any crispy skin you don't want to eat from the carcass in a large pot with water and a few aromatic veggies and make turkey stock for soup or gravy. There - turkey's done and it's ahead of time! You can refrigerate for a couple of days at the proper chilling temperature until a couple of hours before serving and then reheat covered loosely with foil. Arrange on a nice serving platter, garnish, and enjoy! It is amazing how much stress carving a hot turkey at the table I avoid by doing this!
posted by citygirl at 6:57 AM on December 22, 2024 [11 favorites]

Would cook and eat as planned without a second thought. A few hours at slightly above fridge temperature would increase bacterial growth only slightly.
posted by ssg at 9:09 AM on December 22, 2024 [3 favorites]

...and cooking the bird will kill off all that stuff.
posted by Rash at 9:28 AM on December 22, 2024 [2 favorites]

I would definitely eat this, especially since it's been covered in salt.
posted by coffeecat at 9:58 AM on December 22, 2024 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Alright folks, I put this dang bird back in the fridge and it spent the next day brining at 38-39 degrees. I cooked it, and it was a little bit oversalted which I guess bodes well in the universe of bacteria and pathogens and toxins.

I'll let you know if anyone's bowels seize! Thanks for the advice. I thought it was a no-go for sure, but AMF gave me a 10-1 green light vote. Extreme appreciation from my home to yours.
posted by kensington314 at 9:07 PM on December 22, 2024 [4 favorites]

It sounds like you did well.

Later in the day, yesterday, I started thinking about the open top, refrigerated cases in which meats are displayed in supermarkets. What temperature do you suppose the top layer of meat is after sitting out for a day?
posted by SemiSalt at 5:13 AM on December 23, 2024 [1 favorite]

Thanks for posting the update.
posted by theora55 at 5:31 AM on December 23, 2024

What temperature do you suppose the top layer of meat is after sitting out for a day?

The meat doesn’t go back to a different cooler at the end of the day. Once it is stocked out, it stays there until it is sold. The coolers maintain appropriate temperatures, even the open freezers. The vertical open coolers have pull-down shades to conserve energy.
posted by Hex Wrench at 10:47 AM on December 23, 2024