Could Sous Vide Rescue my Chicken Thighs?

[AZRaptor]

So last night I put some boneless skinless chicken thighs into some marinade and used a quick marinate feature on my vac sealer, but accidentally left the container sitting on the counter for about four hours. The chicken thighs were refrigerated right up until I put them in the marinade so they wouldn't have been in the danger zone for four hours but it could be pretty close. The container was still slightly cool to the touch but my plan was to just throw it away and play it safe, which I will probably do anyways but it made me wonder...

Wouldn't cooking them sous vide so they pasteurize all the way to the core kill anything in the meat, and therefore save tonight's dinner?

 

[Fwismoker]

Not worth the risk....ain't no way. In the trash

 

[Bill-Chicago]

This won't help, but when I do that I cook the snot out of the item and give it to the dog.

 

[Yendor]

I'd cook and eat, people are way to sensitive. It's not like we are cooking chicken and hoping to get a little pink in the center of it.

 

[Fwismoker]

I'd cook and eat, people are way to sensitive. It's not like we are cooking chicken and hoping to get a little pink in the center of it.

I've heard bad things about people leaving chicken out too long and getting bad sick even though it gets cooked well.

 

[4ever3]

That chicken would already be in the trash if it were mine...

Not worth the risk after two hours, but that's just me.

 

[Mdboatbum]

It's not necessarily the pathogens themselves you're dealing with here, but the toxins they leave behind. Yes, any remaining pathogens will be killed off by 165°f. However, in the unlikely event that botulism made its way into the mix, the toxins it leaves behind won't be eradicated by normal cooking temperatures. To add to the fun, botulism thrives in a warm, low oxygen environment, much like the environment created by leaving vacuum packed chicken on the counter. Is it a huge risk? Probably not. But the risk is definitely there and in my opinion not worth a few bucks' worth of chicken.

 

[Bludawg]

Through that bird in the trash!!!!!!!

 

[Stingerhook]

Circular file.

 

[AZRaptor]

Yeah, it's in the can. Guess I'll just have to grill some steaks tonight. :wink:

 

[CakeM1x]

It's not necessarily the pathogens themselves you're dealing with here, but the toxins they leave behind. Yes, any remaining pathogens will be killed off by 165°f. However, in the unlikely event that botulism made its way into the mix, the toxins it leaves behind won't be eradicated by normal cooking temperatures. To add to the fun, botulism thrives in a warm, low oxygen environment, much like the environment created by leaving vacuum packed chicken on the counter. Is it a huge risk? Probably not. But the risk is definitely there and in my opinion not worth a few bucks' worth of chicken.

^This
And chicken is cheap, into the can it goes.

 

[Ribeye Republic]

Not worth the risk. Throw that crap out.

 

[Yendor]

I do have a question, what was the marinade that it was in?

Botulism is very hard to get, 145 cases a year and if there is an acid in the marinade then botulism can't live there. http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/botulism/

People don't die that easy.

 

[AZRaptor]

I do have a question, what was the marinade that it was in?

Botulism is very hard to get, 145 cases a year and if there is an acid in the marinade then botulism can't live there. http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/botulism/

People don't die that easy.

It was just a simple bottle of Lawry's Zataran's Cajun marinade from the grocery store. May have been fine, but as others have said, chicken is cheap and my wife is already overcautious about stuff like that, so the last thing I need is to take a gamble and get someone sick. If that happened, I'd have to start pitching everything once it gets to less than a week before it's sell by date.

 

[4ever3]

Yeah, it's in the can. Guess I'll just have to grill some steaks tonight. :wink:

Wait a minute....

Chickens in the trash and steaks are on the grill?!?

WIN!!!!

 

[scrub puller]

Yair . . .

Seriously folks, there was life before refrigeration.

Cheers.

 

[pga7602]

Beef > Chicken

 

[michael.spearman]

Yeah maybe the trash, I would think that cooking it would kill all the bacteria but it is your call.