Hi all,
We processed 12 birds yesterday - not our first time. It was hot and particularly exhausting. We kill, dip, pluck, eviscerate and then put the bird in ice water. We were short on cooler space, so the birds only chilled in the ice water for about 15-20 minutes before we bagged them and put them in the fridge. Exhausted, we cleaned up afterwards and then got on with the rest of the day with the kids and house and the million other things we do. Around 9pm, we checked on the chickens in the fridge and many were chilled to only 45-50 degrees. ARGH!!!!!!!!!! Total neglect on our part. We ramped the temp down and they were chilled down to 40 by midnight. After reading article after article, calling the local butcher, my microbiologist friend and friends who hunt, I have a million mixed opinions on whether these birds are safe to consume. The idea of throwing away all that meat after raising these birds and being so conscientious until this last stupid mistake is heartbreaking, but so is poisoning my family
The opinions are:
Local butcher says unsafe.
Microbiologist friend says cooked thoroughly and handled carefully, they should be safe.
Hunter friend says they should be safe and recommends brining before freezing or when thawing.
An article in the journal food science said they mimicked a power failure and let birds sit at room temp for 54 hours (birds internal temp was 63 degrees after 10 hours), and only saw microbial growth after 26 hours, and recommended continuing processing under 26 hours.
Thoughts?
Thanks for your insights. Feeling incredibly stupid right now.
We processed 12 birds yesterday - not our first time. It was hot and particularly exhausting. We kill, dip, pluck, eviscerate and then put the bird in ice water. We were short on cooler space, so the birds only chilled in the ice water for about 15-20 minutes before we bagged them and put them in the fridge. Exhausted, we cleaned up afterwards and then got on with the rest of the day with the kids and house and the million other things we do. Around 9pm, we checked on the chickens in the fridge and many were chilled to only 45-50 degrees. ARGH!!!!!!!!!! Total neglect on our part. We ramped the temp down and they were chilled down to 40 by midnight. After reading article after article, calling the local butcher, my microbiologist friend and friends who hunt, I have a million mixed opinions on whether these birds are safe to consume. The idea of throwing away all that meat after raising these birds and being so conscientious until this last stupid mistake is heartbreaking, but so is poisoning my family
The opinions are:
Local butcher says unsafe.
Microbiologist friend says cooked thoroughly and handled carefully, they should be safe.
Hunter friend says they should be safe and recommends brining before freezing or when thawing.
An article in the journal food science said they mimicked a power failure and let birds sit at room temp for 54 hours (birds internal temp was 63 degrees after 10 hours), and only saw microbial growth after 26 hours, and recommended continuing processing under 26 hours.
Thoughts?
Thanks for your insights. Feeling incredibly stupid right now.