Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

2

I put a roast in the crock pot at 6 this morning and cooked it on high until 11. I accidentally turned it off (thinking I was turning it to low) and left the house to do stuff with my kids. Got home at 4 and realized it was off. The liquid/roast was still warm, but not hot (just measured -- liquid is about 100F and roast about 95F).

If I turn the heat on low and finish cooking it, will it be safe to eat? I don't want to make the family sick, but I also don't want to toss a huge grass fed beef roast!

flag	asked Nov 30 2011 at 22:03 Paleo-ish 591●2●8

thanks for responses. still wavering between cranking the heat up for a while and tossing. ARGH – Paleo-ish Nov 30 2011 at 22:34

2

Use your nose. If it smells fine, it probably is. If it doesn't, don't eat it. – Dave S. Nov 30 2011 at 22:38

Have no idea how to edit my own question, but if I go on the better-safe-than-sorry route, then as a corollary, could I use it in soup if the liquid comes to a boil for a while??? – Paleo-ish Nov 30 2011 at 22:39

1

Yes, you can. In that scenario I'd do the boil then slow-cook the soup to maximize/restore tenderness and flavor of the meat. Since the added ingredients wouldn't be overcooked that could work really well. – Nance Nov 30 2011 at 22:50

thanks everyone! Leaning towards heating on high and eating, but will leave it up to the husband. But if we don't do it as a roast, soup, it is :) – Paleo-ish Nov 30 2011 at 23:25

show 2 more comments

Matt · Answer 1 · 2011-11-30 22:42:36Z UTC

Normally I'd err on the side of caution. But because you probably didn't keep opening it and recontaminating it with air, the whole thing should be pasteurized. Since it only got down to around 100 degrees, you're probably be fine. Cook it to death if you're still concerned.

Thanksgiving was last week, I'm sure 1000s of roast turkeys sit out longer and got down to more dangerous tempertures than your roast did (not to mention didn't get dozens of people's hands picking over it). I'm talking myself into eating your roast, when is dinner? ;)

NewPaleoMamaAz · Answer 2 · 2011-11-30 22:18:27Z UTC

1

I, too, would hate to throw it out...but honestly, it's probably the safest thing to do. I wouldn't risk possible food poisoning, it's just not worth it.

answered Nov 30 2011 at 22:18

NewPaleoMamaAz
803●2●9

Thumper · Answer 3 · 2011-11-30 22:27:18Z UTC

1

I think that it would be fine. Why wouldn't it be?

What else was in there?

answered Nov 30 2011 at 22:27

Thumper
12.3k●2●10●48

	carrots, potatoes, onions, water and some gluten free soy sauce – Paleo-ish Nov 30 2011 at 22:33
	then it would be fine - there would be no reason that there would be any harmful bacteria in a grass-fed beef roast to start with and since there is nothing that you have added that would innoculate your roast with any nasties, then you are fine. Finish that baby off and enjoy! – Thumper Nov 30 2011 at 22:37

Sandra Brigham · Answer 4 · 2011-12-01 02:38:21Z UTC

1

Holding time is 4 hrs and that is cold food kept cold, hot food kept hot. I would not serve it to anyone except the dog. Spoken as the wife of a chef.

answered Dec 1 2011 at 2:38

Sandra Brigham
670●1●7

JayJay · Answer 5 · 2011-12-01 03:03:48Z UTC

1

Eat it...............

answered Dec 1 2011 at 3:03

JayJay
18.6k●6●28

Tom R. · Answer 6 · 2011-12-01 03:13:16Z UTC

1

No questions whatsoever. Eat it. That pot was still very hot for a couple of hours and then it "rested" for another couple. Heck, it was probably perfect by the time you got to it.

answered Dec 1 2011 at 3:13

Tom R.
3,682●1●5●16

andrew · Answer 7 · 2011-12-01 09:25:26Z UTC

I would eat it. I am a great one for cooking a meal, leaving it overnight and then reheating it when it tastes better still. And to do that, it has to be cooked, cooled down then refrigerated.

After 5 hours on high it would have been cooked anyway, so I wouldn't worry.

Nance · Answer 8 · 2011-11-30 22:31:29Z UTC

I'm admittedly paranoid because I've survived several incidents of food poisoning and don't want to EVER do it again. :-))

If the roast was still warm, and the room was cool enough that it wouldn't have stayed warm for an excessive time (think maximum bacterial growth) I would keep it but I would deliberately bring the whole batch to a high simmer (low boil) for at least 20 minutes. On my crockpot, that would be the high setting for 1-2 hours.

My purpose would be to beat back the growth that might have occurred.

Kewpie · Answer 9 · 2011-11-30 23:32:41Z UTC

I'm usually a better safe than sorry kind of girl, but I really think it would fine. Crock pots hold heat very well, so it wasn't at 100F the whole time you were gone--probably only for the last hour or two. It would have been much hotter before that, especially since you were cooking it on high. Also, the fact that it was covered the whole time as Matt mentioned makes a difference, too. I would eat it.

Is this roast safe to eat?

9 Answers