Eat or Toss?

[AAA]

OK, I know it was under 50F at time of "entry" to the outside... I should have gotten my instant therm. out and checked when I put it in the fridge! -but at 2 AM, what do you expect, -a clear mind?

[Claire]

I, personally, would eat it. Actually, I'd eat a bowl of it and freeze the rest of it. But, that is just me.

[FrankZ]

So the food basically sat out in a range of 50 to 40F?

I, personally, would be inclined to not eat it.

See Food Temperature Danger Zone as well.

[GB]

The general rule of thumb is that food left in the danger zone (40-140 F) for more than 2 hours should be tossed. Of course those are not magic numbers so you could be at 41 degrees and not have an issue or you could be at 38 degrees and have problems. It is not an exact science. The salt will help some, but does not make it bullet proof.

This is going to come down to how comfortable you are with taking a risk. I am a huge advocate of playing it safe and when in doubt throw it out. In this particular case though, I would probably go against my usual advice and take the chance. I would just make sure to heat it thoroughly before eating and I would not serve to guests or children or the elderly or anyone with a less than perfect immune system.

[justplainbill]

Due to all the salt, nitrate, and nitrite typically found in corned beef you should be fine.

[gage]

there was a similar question about food safety a week or so ago.
Why put it outside to cool anyway? You can cool it better by : A-- placing it directly in the fridge. ( EASY )
or better yet -B-- place the cooking vessel in another lower container and put in your sink ,run cold water into the lower sided vessl and stir the product so that it contacts the wall of the product vessel, thus tranfering the heat into the cold water . I do this all the time to save time especially when I make Yogurt . The milk has to go from a holding temp of 82.5 C / 180 F down to 44C/ 112 F before innoculating , I do this to 4 litres/ a US gallon in five minutes more or less. same thing for soup or chilli or any liquid food,18 qt stockpot goes in 27 qt stockpot ,cold water into 27 qt and stir, it is cool enough to go in the fridge or freezer in no time.
I beleive the law of thermodynamics says the greater the difference between the hot side and the cold side the faster the cooling will go. heat travels to cold , cold never travels to heat
Best regards Gage

[ChefJune]

Originally Posted by AAA

OK, after the the pot of corned beef and cabbage was done, I set it outside to cool off...5 hours later, I remembered, and brought it in & put it in the fridge. The temp outside when I brought it in was 40 deg. Should I eat it, or toss it?

Please advise! -AAA

If you have to ask, the answer is NO! Don't eat it.

[froggythefrog]

I honestly think that it would be okay to keep and eat.

[cara]

eat..
I still it many things I left out in the kitchen over night and I'm still alive ;o)

[justplainbill]

Cara, given the average size of home refrigerators in the Germany of the 1950's, a lot did not get refrigerated.