Left fridge cracked last night

[adamjs83]

I salted two racks of short rib last night to smoke this AM. When I went out to garage I noticed the fridge door was slightly cracked. Meat temped at 47-50 deg. Looks fine. What do you guys think? Smoke or toss?

[JakeT]

My thought is to toss, unfortunately. Nasty stuff can grow in that temp range. But I'm sure plenty of people have cooked and been fine

[adamjs83]

Yea that’s what I’m thinking. I hate to toss good meat but I don’t want to put the family at risk over $75.

[Ahumadora]

Use your nose. It will tell you straight away.. With the salt on it it maybe ok.

[FireMan]

👍 Smoke it.

[Troutman]

Make sure you roll it first......

[texastweeter]

between the salt and the smoke, you will be fine as long as it doesnt smell funky.

[jfmorris]

Hey, I would smoke it. I smoked a brisket that was wet aging in the cryovac for this exact same reason - fridge was cracked overnight, and the brisket was up to almost 50F when I woke up on a Thursday. Brisket was great, and I just pushed the temp after the crutch to get it done by dinner.

You are cooking those to 200-ish. Unless you feel you had botulism spores floating around in your fridge, I don't think anything else could survive the temperatures you are finishing the meat to.

[FireMan]

👍 Smoke it!
Plus the time element, it’s only a few hours not 36 or 24 or more.

[Troutman]

To be fair, cryovaced meat and raw meat uncovered are really two different animals. The rapidity of bacteria growing in a cryo atmosphere versus in the air is quite a bit different.

[Steve B]

You should be fine. I would run my temps higher, maybe 275-300 just for safe measure. As jfmorris said getting your meat temp up into the 200* range I would think all bad things should die. Let us know if you do your cook and how it turns out. With pics of course.

[Spinaker]

These are tough decisions to make. Remember, not all things are kill at higher temps, Bot, for instance can survive into the 300's. I doubt your meat is covered in Bot, but all I am saying is that there is always risk.

As Meathead says, "When in doubt, throw it out."

[texastweeter]

bot is anerobic, so it should be fine unless you crosscontamunated.someone who canns a lot, chime in.

[Spinaker]

True. texastweeter

[adamjs83]

It was painful but I just threw two prime short rib plates in the trash.

Im sure it would have been fine but I dont think I would be able to enjoy food that I was worried was going to poison everyone.

[Skip]

RIP short rib plates. So sorry for your loss.

[surfdog]

Good call...I know that I would be second guessing throughout the entire cook & meal.

[bardsleyque]

what no pics?

[jfmorris]

Yeah, I guess your case is different. When I had this happen, the USDA Prime brisket I cooked was still in the cryopac, and vacuum sealed. I just didn't get to brine it like I normally would, but it came out great. Yours was unwrapped, and I guess slightly more suspect.

[Attjack]

I would probably cook it if it passed the smell test. I hate it when the fridge or freezer doesn't shut properly.

[Steve R.]

I hate it when this happens. My fridge in the garage, the freezer and refrigerator doors tend to pop open slightly when one or the other gets closed with a little too much force (think: kid grabbing a Capri Sun and slamming the door). I had a bunch of leftovers of quite possibly the best ribs I have ever made sitting in there recently. I was day dreaming about them all morning, planning to have some of that for lunch, then my heart sank when I saw that door open. The Thermapen confirmed my worst fears when it told me the meat was about 60 F.

[Troutman]

Yep same problem here Steve. I had about $300 worth of meat thaw on me when they accidently popped mine open. I now have a sign on the door, CHECK or STAY OUT !!

[Buck Flicks]

Hmmm... I think between the salt and the smoke (mostly the salt,) you'd probably be ok.

BUT... only probably, and that uncertainty is enough for me to toss it. Especially chicken, pork, or fish. I'd probably be more willing to take the chance on beef steaks that get a high heat method, but only just.

[adamjs83]

This experience has pushed me to the point of ordering some kind of fridge alarm. I keep the defrosted meat in a hotel pan in the garage fridge which just fits in the fridge enough for the door to close. One out of place water bottle in the door and this is what happens. I always make a point to test the doors after I close them if any mear is in that fridge. My wife has admitted that she got a water bottle last night before going to sleep so she is the culprit. Not much I can do about that without any alarm.

[Steve B]

So knowing who the culprit is. You are taking full responsibility for this aren’t you? 😎😬

[Spinaker]

This happened to my stand up freezer one time. I lost about 200 lbs of meat. Including a whole hog leg that I was going to smoke whole. You are not the only one who has done of of these DOH! moments.

[Polarbear777]

Given how common the is, the fridge/freezer should annoyingly alarm anytime and the entire time it is open. Would keep selection time shorter as well.

[Spacecase]

I had a similar incident and ended up throwing out the entire contents of the freezer. The next day I bought a wireless fridge and freezer alarm from Acurite for $22. Cheap insurance.

[gcdmd]

Let's go to Jerod, the professional food safety guy.

Jerod Broussard

[Bogy]

I don't know how our ancestors survived to produce us. I think about my grandparents who at best had "refrigeration" by way of hunks of ice, or kept in root cellars. My mother remembers her mom making fried chicken and potato salad to take to the State Fair, 3 hours away, with temps in the 90's. Wrapped up in a picnic basket, no fancy ice chest. Me, I would have cooked the ribs.

[Bogy]

Ahumadora, furthest south I've been is Tijuana, but I've seen that there.

[surfdog]

Well...sure enough a lot of our ancestors did survive...and many didn’t make it past thirty. And now that we understand pathogens, I’m in the camp of "no need to pass those around if I can help it." ;-)

Truth be told, thirty years ago I probably would have cooked them...but since then there was culinary school and working in professional kitchens. That changed everything.

[Spinaker]

He speaks the truth. I've seen similar in Honduras. I got sick in Oaxaca eating that was served by a roadside vendor. You would have though I learned my lesson. Nope. Same thing happened to me in India. (Thought I didn't see any meat hanging anywhere, it was something far worse.)
Ahumadora Bogy