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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2013 8:06:20 GMT -5
Someone said early, and I'll repeat it, but you can just put frozen right in the crock pot.. In fact, for those who always seem to over cook while out, it might be better to start with frozen...
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Oct 22, 2013 8:38:44 GMT -5
Yeah, and maybe learning to organize/clean more effectively while you're cooking. It's about thorough cooking and hygiene in your kitchen really! Washing fruits and veggies, not cross contaminating (you know, not plopping your raw steak on the counter then cutting your lettuce on the counter without sanitizing), that kind of stuff. It sounds like duh, who would do that, but you'd be surprised, people just don't think sometimes. But I did always know that, and I was always pretty anal about it.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Oct 22, 2013 8:48:05 GMT -5
I got a nasty case of food poisoning in March. And it had to come from a restaurant because I was traveling for work and eating 3 meals a day in restaurants. It was probably my fault for having salad the day after eating nothing all day because of a food allergy. Heck of a crash diet, I lost 10 pounds in a week.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Oct 22, 2013 9:48:11 GMT -5
I got a nasty case of food poisoning in March. And it had to come from a restaurant because I was traveling for work and eating 3 meals a day in restaurants. It was probably my fault for having salad the day after eating nothing all day because of a food allergy. Heck of a crash diet, I lost 10 pounds in a week. Food poisoning will do that to you and turn you a pretty shade of green ~ BTDT
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Taxman10
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Post by Taxman10 on Oct 22, 2013 10:00:41 GMT -5
we generally defrost in the kitchen sink overnight...as in DW saying, just before I get into bed, "can you run downstairs and get some hamburger/chicken/sausage/etc out for tomorrow"
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Oct 22, 2013 11:43:29 GMT -5
I got a nasty case of food poisoning in March. And it had to come from a restaurant because I was traveling for work and eating 3 meals a day in restaurants. It was probably my fault for having salad the day after eating nothing all day because of a food allergy. Heck of a crash diet, I lost 10 pounds in a week. I spent 5 days in the hospital from something eating nothing and pooping (mostly blood) every half hour to 4 hours. I only lost 5 pounds darn it! All that misery and only 5 pounds down...that I have now put back on due to stress eating. Anyway, I can't for the life of me figure out where I got it. It actually wasn't the bacteria or bug that made me sick, but once they left my system the doctors said they "left behind a poison" and that was what was making me sick. Nice.
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imawino
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Post by imawino on Oct 22, 2013 11:43:34 GMT -5
I refuse to eat dryed out meat. I would rather risk having a case of the 24 hour shits. My sweetie always lets the steaks get to room temperature before grilling - something about not drying out? I have no idea. And I like my steaks rare to medium rare. I'm amazed I have not gotten violently ill. The alcohol in my GI tract must kill the bacteria.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Oct 22, 2013 11:45:40 GMT -5
I've always thawed meat in the kitchen sink.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Oct 22, 2013 12:00:55 GMT -5
Ok, the food safety rule of thumb is no more than four hours between 40 degrees F and 140 degrees F. This is the temperature range that allows bacteria to multiply very quickly. Limiting the amount of time food is in this danger zone keeps bacterial contamination to a level that isn't a problem for almost everyone. Although if you are feeding someone whose immune system is not very robust, such as a young child, elderly adult, or person who has a compromised immune system, you need to be especially sensitive to following safe food handling practices. Limiting the amount of time food products spend in the danger zone is the concept behind defrosting things in the refrigerator. A cool water bath is probably is the next best bet, because the cool water keeps temperatures lower and because water is a much more effective heat transfer medium than air, which reduces the defrost time dramaticaly. Counter top defrosting is probably the most dangerous of the available defrost methods.
I'd also exercise some caution with putting frozen foods into a crockpot for defrosting and cooking. Crockpots don't have very powerful heating systems compared to an oven, so it could take several hours for the food to defrost and to reach safe temperatures. Since crockpot meals are generally not attended and stirred during cooking, to even out the temperature of the crockpot contents, frozen food in the middle of the pot may take an unusually long time to reach safe temperatures.
Ground meats tend to be a bigger food safety problem than whole muscle meats, such as steaks, roasts, turkey, chicken breasts, and the like. The reason that ground meat is an issue is that virtually all meat has a small amount of bacteria on the outside. When you grind the meat, you spread the bacteria throughout the meat. When you cook a whole muscle piece of meat, the temperature of the surface with the bacteria, the outside, rises very quickly into the temperature range where bacteria can't survive. Not so with ground meat, where the bacteria has been spread throughout the meat. It may take more than an hour or more for the temperture in the center of a large mass of ground meat to reach a temperature where bacteria can't survive. And, the 4/40/140 rule of thumb does not apply just to the defrosting time. The four hours begins when the food is exposed to temperatures over 40 degrees and ends when any potentially contaminated areas reach safe temperatures. So, for something like a meatloaf, the clock starts when the meat comes out of the fridge and ends when the center of the meatloaf has reached more than 140 degrees.
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greeniis10
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Post by greeniis10 on Oct 22, 2013 12:30:25 GMT -5
I do not eat meat, but I cook it almost daily (for DH and if the kids stop by). I NEVER defrost meat on the countertop or sink. I just plan ahead and let it fully defrost in the fridge.
Safety is the #1 reason I do that, but secondary reason is for flavor: I brine or marinate or somehow season whatever I'm cooking prior to cooking it. You can't do that if it is frozen first. Example: I brine chickens before roasting them so I'll take it out of the freezer 3 or 4 days prior to cooking so that it is fully defrosted and can brine for 12 hours or so. Beef or pork I always either marinate or dry rub. Again, you can't do that to frozen meat and get the same flavor. Personally, I think defrosting in the microwave ruins the meat.
I also don't put frozen meat in the crockpot. There's too much of a time frame when it is at way too low of a temperature and can breed bacteria. Maybe I just put way to much effort into something I don't even eat?!
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Oct 22, 2013 13:48:22 GMT -5
I just stick it in a bowl in the fridge the day before. unless it is a whole chicken it is done by dinner the next day. Anyone else reading this think of Jay Leno's yearly PSA the night before Thanksgiving?
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