Brisket spoilage concern

[SeaBrisket]

We've been having an issue with our fridge and have a new one on the way Saturday. The bottom frame of the fridge has bowed inward and there's a small gap between the bottom of the fridge door gasket and the frame where condensation has been leaking out onto the floor. We have not had a problem with anything in the fridge going bad prematurely.

So, perfect time to buy a packer brisket, right? Alright, I screwed up. On Saturday I went down to the local butcher and picked up a 12lb brisket intending to put it on overnight this Friday. So, I threw the brisket in the fridge Saturday and immediately started to worry about my fridge temperature. I turned the temp down, placed a glass of water next to the brisket so I could later stick my instant read in it and warned my wife not to stand with the fridge door open for long over the next week.

Then Sunday happened. Seems like we were going into the fridge all day cooking. I checked the temp of the water glass a few times and it was always reading 43-44. Not good but is my water glass method reliable? Monday morning we host friends for breakfast to watch the eclipse, once again going in and out of the fridge. Glass of water is still measuring in the low 40s.

Monday evening I ran a piece of foam weather stripping along the gap in the fridge gasket. Tuesday my wife complains to me that the glass of water that she was keeping herbs fresh in had frozen but I don't recall checking my glass' temp. Today, Wednesday, I get home from work, check my water temp and it's down to 36.

So, what should I do? Assume my meat has gone bad and toss it to be safe? Can I somehow examine it for spoilage? I have no idea if my method of tracking the temperature was at all reliable and I don't want to toss a $60 brisket just because I'm being paranoid.

[Jerod Broussard]

Well there is the whole when in doubt.....

1. I have fridge/freezer thermometers, you can get them at Wal-Mart. They have blue lines indicating the ideal ranges

2. I don't see brisket as bad as chicken or pork.

3. I would definitely handle with care. I handle all my raw meat like Kryptonite. Careful not to cross-contaminate.

4. Bruce Tompkin did a lot of Microbiology research the industry uses today. Best to keep under 40, but even at 46.0 or less there isn't significant growth. But they stll like to keep the time product remains 40.1-46.0 at 2 hours or less in processing plants. It's referred to as Staged Product.

[SeaBrisket]

Thank you. My wife thinks there's nothing to be concerned with. I actually intended to hold this until Labor Day weekend to let it age more but grew worried over the temp.

[HorseDoctor]

When you open it to dry brine, give the surface a quick rinse, wipe it dry and then smell it. Your nose will tell you if it's good to go...

[dustbuster]

I have no biology background or extensive culinary experience to speak of, but I would be more concerned if it was ground beef or a steak I was planning to cook to medium rare. If it's a brisket/pulled pork I'm planning to cook to 203F, that feels safer to me. A brisket it going to get good and cooked for a long time.

[Jerod Broussard]

Medium-rare steak is no big deal since you should be killing what is on the surface during the cooking process, unless the steak was needle tenderized.

[SeaBrisket]

I appreciate the freewheeling opinions of the forum. I pulled the brisket out of the fridge and saw that it's still a lovely pink, no graying around the edges, and I've decided to take a gamble. I'm going to go ahead and keep it aging until next weekend. Putting it on this weekend was never my favorite idea as I have a lot of running around to do, a fridge being delivered, and just thinking about the timing of it all was stressing me out.

The brisket came to me very fresh. The butcher packed it for me on Friday and I picked it up Saturday. My wife has spent years on the finer side of the food service industry and she thinks I'm nuts for being worried. Hell, I've done a bit of traveling and have eaten meats that never even saw the inside of a fridge and I'm worried about a brisket that I've paid such close attention to.

Thanks for the advice. I'll handle it carefully when I do give it a go next weekend and look (and smell) for anything that might be off but I'm feeling like I'll be just fine. I'll set it out in the sun for a bit and let the UV light cleanse those micro-bugs (JUST KIDDING OF COURSE).