Thawing different meats [duplicate]
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I was in a hurry, put a pork butt and beef brisket in the sink with water and ice to thaw. (overnight) they were still cold this morning. Is it completely unsafe to try and smoke/cook on the grill? Or, can I still cook them just make sure they cook to a higher temp to ensure all bacteria is killed?
Best Answer
When it comes to "is it safe" questions it is difficult to give you a simple, direct, reliable answer...most often (as is the case here) you can't provide all of the information needed to 'give you a straight answer' (which is, of course, what you really want).
If the meat was 'safe' to begin with, if it was just left in the sink with cool water and ice overnight (~8 hrs) and if it is still cold to the touch...it is "probably" perfectly safe.
Then comes the question of "What is 'safe'?" Will eating this meat 'kill you'... highly unlikely. Will you want to remain near a toilet for a day or so? 'possibly' (but still very unlikely). Will eating this contribute to a stroke in 20 years? Your mileage may vary.
It is highly unlikely that this method of thawing has introduced any significant risk to your meat.
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Can you defrost different meats together?
The mixing doesn't really change anything, any more than adding raw beef and pork to the same pan does. You just end up with a combination of the unsafe things from both, and then you cook them both to render them safe.Can you thaw meat out twice?
The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) advises: Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods.Why is it bad to thaw and refreeze meat?
When you freeze, thaw, and refreeze an item, the second thaw will break down even more cells, leaching out moisture and changing the integrity of the product. The other enemy is bacteria. Frozen and thawed food will develop harmful bacteria faster than fresh.What meats can be thawed and refrozen?
In other words, raw meat, poultry and fish can be refrozen as long as they were thawed safely in the first place. Raw frozen goods are also safe to cook and refreeze, as well as previously frozen cooked foods. Thawing meat in the refrigerator requires a little foresight.Top 5 Myths About Defrosting Meat BUSTED!
More answers regarding thawing different meats [duplicate]
Answer 2
The main question would be: Were they fully submerged in water?
If yes there is very low probability bacteria could develop in cold (assuming refrigeration cold)
BUT to make sure when preparing such meat I usually put it on high temp for short time. First to keep moisturize in meat and second to drastically change temperature to kill any surface creatures.
It can be frying without oil (on very very hot pan) or just grilled on open blue flame for a few seconds. Then proceed with meat as you desire.
Hint: Acidic marinates had the same purpose to kill bacteria and remove any odd flavour/smell the meat could get in storage.
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