Cooler ice only after process

[Mike Conowingo]

Processed 20 x today. Finished 8:30 am added more ice and never added water.I did add ice to all cavity packing full of ice. I go and check 12 hours later and ice didnt really melt enough to submerge birds. I checked temp on 4 birds near the top and all about 47°. I just filled with water and more ice. Should I be concerned with bacteria as it was probably a slow cool down? Should I add salt to water ? I really dont want to lose everything now. I also dont want anyone sick. Birds are stiff too. Ones at bottom were alot colder closer to 35°. There isnt a foul smell. I would imagine this is a similar method to refrigerate after butcher where the cold air helped.

Any thoughts?

 

[Molpet]

40 would be better but I used to have a fridge that wouldn't go below 50... cooking will kill bacteria anyway.

Also when people age wild game birds some hang pheasants at 50f undressed.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Also when people age wild game birds some hang pheasants at 50f undressed.

That's what I was going to mention.

You've run into an issue that comes with doing a bunch at a time. It takes time to cool them and time to freeze them. In the meantime they can warm a fridge or freezer up above where it should be. I think you are OK but treat it as a learning curve. Maybe add some water next time, spread them out into more coolers, or maybe stir them up after a few hours. Not sure what would work best for you. But lots of ice. Much ice.

 

[Mosey2003]

Yeah, you need some water so that the heat will transfer out, ice alone really doesn't cut it. I'm sure they're fine, but next time add some water

 

[Mike Conowingo]

Thanks for the all the replies.

It was my son and I first time. We started saturday morning at 5:30 and finished last bird at 8:30. I added more ice and stuffed all the cavities with ice. We cleaned everything up and I wanted to add water to cooler but completely slipped my mind. As we were in full clean up mode and disposing of all the waste. My wife bringing me a 2nd cup of coffee and being soaked from the process and a nice hard rain for over 40 mins. All we talked of was a shower and then a nap. When I woke I never thought to check the coolers as they were in shade. Figured they are doing their thing. Well after 12 hours I wondered if more ice was needed. I opened the cooler to see plenty of ice but no water... Yikes.. so I added water and checked temps of some birds.. I really think I got lucky by stuffing the cavities with ice.

I will most certainly remember the water next time for sure.

I did heat shrink the birds yesterday and weighed the birds. Average weight was 7 pounds. Birds were 9.5 weeks.

I will cook 1 tonight that I let rest in the fridge. I sure hope it taste good.

 

[Parront]

You can use some rock salt to make your cooler cooler. Layer of birds. Layer of ice, sprinkle the salt, I never measured. Add more birds, add ice add some salt. It is not salty enough to brine the birds, but it melts the ice into super cold water like you use in an ice cream maker. Do not need to add water this way, water warms up the cooler, salt makes it colder. Here is a little link explaining the Physics: https://sciencing.com/freezing-point-water-compared-salt-solution-16047.html

 

[Parront]

Thanks for the all the replies.

It was my son and I first time. We started saturday morning at 5:30 and finished last bird at 8:30. I added more ice and stuffed all the cavities with ice. We cleaned everything up and I wanted to add water to cooler but completely slipped my mind. As we were in full clean up mode and disposing of all the waste. My wife bringing me a 2nd cup of coffee and being soaked from the process and a nice hard rain for over 40 mins. All we talked of was a shower and then a nap. When I woke I never thought to check the coolers as they were in shade. Figured they are doing their thing. Well after 12 hours I wondered if more ice was needed. I opened the cooler to see plenty of ice but no water... Yikes.. so I added water and checked temps of some birds.. I really think I got lucky by stuffing the cavities with ice.

I will most certainly remember the water next time for sure.

I did heat shrink the birds yesterday and weighed the birds. Average weight was 7 pounds. Birds were 9.5 weeks.

I will cook 1 tonight that I let rest in the fridge. I sure hope it taste good.

Waiting to read your results!

 

[cajuncluckerswla]

While it is very true that there is a method for storing pheasants at a higher temperature, it is still wise to err on the side of caution with chicken. If I were in your situation the over-temp birds would have been cooked and fed to the other slaughter critters with a whole lot of cussing and tears..... and I probably would have sampled some and complained even more about not eating such delicious meat. But, my husband worked for several years at a Popeyes when he was in high school so he's a major stickler for freshness and sanitation with chicken meat and he wouldn't have touched them with a ten foot pole after 12 hours sitting over temp.

My suggestion is this for next time:
Make an ice bath in a cooler OR a big pot. Submerge your birds completely and stir them around occasionally, taking care to open the wing pits and thighs on them a few times. once their cavity temperature drops into the 30's you can transfer them to a second ice bath cooler --more ice than water is ok in this one and salting can also be used to temp drop further as others have suggested-- and layer them with a small air gap (1 inch between layers is usually sufficient. cookie racks work well for this part if you have some). You will also want this air gap to stay for the first 24 hours of freezing if at all possible. This ensures each bird has an even rate of chilling. Once they're frozen solid you can stack them tighter and give yourself some more room for other foods.

Movement in the ice water increases the rate of heat transfer. This is why in commercial kitchens they will use an ice paddle to quickly cool soups/ large pots of prepped food. It helps to eliminate the hot spots that you will see in thicker areas and drops their temperature quickly to quell the chances of rapid bacterial growth.

And I do understand that not everyone has a lot of freezer space to get the absolute ideal conditions. We are a hunting family so we have more freezer space than most families of 10-12. And we also have readouts at multiple levels in each chiller and freezer.... the fallout of working in food service coming home to roost I'm afraid.... lol!!

I'd say the bottom line is really this.... don't give away or sell any of the high temps to protect your reputation with friends/ customers, and consume them QUICKLY if you're going to eat them. I hope you enjoy your hard work because it's most definitely worth it!!

 

[bag12day]

40 would be better but I used to have a fridge that wouldn't go below 50... cooking will kill bacteria anyway.

Also when people age wild game birds some hang pheasants at 50f undressed.

I own a restaurant and without going into the food science part of it there are several bacteria resultant toxins that are not killed from cooking, once they're there they're there and no amount of cooking renders them safe.
So please don't make your family sick believing that cooking something makes it safe. I agree with the Pheasant comment and I do quail too but always guts out and as I stated below 50F basically stops growth. Wild game birds are different than poultry however; as a deer is different from a pig.

Thanks for the all the replies.

Well after 12 hours I wondered if more ice was needed. I opened the cooler to see plenty of ice but no water... Yikes.. so I added water and checked temps of some birds.. I really think I got lucky by stuffing the cavities with ice.

I will most certainly remember the water next time for sure.
I will cook 1 tonight that I let rest in the fridge. I sure hope it taste good.

Almost all bacteria growth is a function of time and temp and dealing with in both cooling ( 12 hours at 110-75 degrees is much worse than 12 hours at 60-47 degrees) and Cooking.
I will eat black bear meat (which is known for Trichinosis) cooked Sous vide at 130 degrees for 3 hours. It takes approx. 1 hour of 130 degree heat to kill it vs 1 second at 150 degrees. and the same principal is true for salmonella from the chickens and turkey I raise here I will eat cooked at 138-140 for 2 hours.

Basically if you told me your chickens were 47 degrees for 2 days after passing from 80-60 in 4 hours, I would have no problem eating them as bacteria growth basically stops at 50F but the Govmt recommends 40F for long term storage. But if you told me they were like that for 7 days welllllll….I would also be more concerned if you were puncturing guts or had crap on them while cleaning but if your processing was clean then no worries at all from my end!
In the end you learned a lesson and I will echo what several others have said re Ice, water and bit of salt to bring temp down some and it makes a nicer bird that has been pre-brined IMO. The ice water serves the same function as a fan in moving the "warm" more rapidly from the surface by covering 100% of the surface with 30F temp vs ice only touching 10% of the surface.
If you and your son did 20 birds in 3 hours my hat is off to you

 

[Molpet]

there are several bacteria resultant toxins that are not killed from cooking, once they're there they're there and no amount of cooking renders them safe

I am curious as which these are... so I know what symptoms to look for. .. the only food I have gotten sick from was restaurant food, and it sickened most people that ate there that day..... salmonella