How long can I leave out cooked meat to cool down?

[terestrife]

I make my cats 10 lbs of meat and cook it in water. It takes hours to cool down. What is the longest I can leave the meat out? I was tempted to cook it tonight and then put it away in the morning. Google says two hours, but at that point the pot is still boiling hot.

I cant add the powder until the meat cools down or the vitamins are degraded.

Know Better Pet Food | Healthy Homemade Pet Food Products

 

[maggie101]

Since the meat is cooked,it ahould be fine. Which is why I never give raw meat. I will forget and leave it out!

 

[lisahe]

I make my cats 10 lbs of meat and cook it in water. It takes hours to cool down. What is the longest I can leave the meat out? I was tempted to cook it tonight and then put it away in the morning. Google says two hours, but at that point the pot is still boiling hot.

I cant add the powder until the meat cools down or the vitamins are degraded.

Know Better Pet Food | Healthy Homemade Pet Food Products

Oh is this a familiar question! I only cook small amounts of meat but it still takes time to cool down. terestrife , do you have a place outside where you can put the meat? We're fortunate enough to have a deck where we can put the cooked meat to cool... if only in cold weather.

That said, what maggie101 says here...

Since the meat is cooked,it ahould be fine. Which is why I never give raw meat. I will forget and leave it out!

...is what I've read about chicken stock.

I'm just like maggie101 with raw meat: "forget and leave it out" was a problem when we fed commercial raw that the cats didn't love enough to finish immediately.

 

[terestrife]

Since the meat is cooked,it ahould be fine. Which is why I never give raw meat. I will forget and leave it out!

Thank you! I'm trying it tonight to see how it goes.

Oh is this a familiar question! I only cook small amounts of meat but it still takes time to cool down. terestrife , do you have a place outside where you can put the meat? We're fortunate enough to have a deck where we can put the cooked meat to cool... if only in cold weather.

That said, what maggie101 says here...

...is what I've read about chicken stock.

I'm just like maggie101 with raw meat: "forget and leave it out" was a problem when we fed commercial raw that the cats didn't love enough to finish immediately.

I live in Miami so i don't think leaving it outside would help. Lol we also have lots of flies and rain since it's warming up.

 

[maggie101]

Or under a bag of ice cubes

 

[lisahe]

I live in Miami so i don't think leaving it outside would help. Lol we also have lots of flies and rain since it's warming up.

Well, there you go: the key difference between Maine and Miami!

 

[terestrife]

Or under a bag of ice cubes

This worked. lol I was able to finish putting away their cat food Friday night. thank you! this weekend was hectic so it helped save me time.

 

[Caspers Human]

The USDA "Danger Zone" for food is between 140º F and 40º F. Food is not supposed to be allowed to sit out in the Danger Zone for more than two hours. Honestly, I think that is too broad. I think 100º F and 50º F is more like it. I also think that it depends on what the food is. Milk or fish would, obviously, be more sensitive than cooked meat.

The way I've always done it is to let the food sit out until it's warm to the touch then put it in the fridge. You don't want food to be boiling hot when you put it in the fridge because that will cause the inside of the fridge to get hot and spoil the other food. You don't want to wait until the food is cold because it might spoil in the mean time. I just put food on the counter or the back of the stove and wait until food is no longer hot to the touch then put it in the fridge.

Food can still be warm when you put it into the fridge. Just try to keep it separate from any sensitive perishable items like milk and stuff.

 

[Alldara]

I make my cats 10 lbs of meat and cook it in water. It takes hours to cool down. What is the longest I can leave the meat out? I was tempted to cook it tonight and then put it away in the morning. Google says two hours, but at that point the pot is still boiling hot.

I cant add the powder until the meat cools down or the vitamins are degraded.

Know Better Pet Food | Healthy Homemade Pet Food Products

As per proper food safety protocols food can ONLY be left out for a maximum of 2 hours at room temperature. This includes: defrost time, prep time and cooling time before putting it in the fridge.

So the answer is, it depends on your defrost method, and how long it takes to prep the meat before you begin cooking.

You can spread it out thinly (such as on a baking sheet) to cool it faster, especially over some ice.

 

[terestrife]

The USDA "Danger Zone" for food is between 140º F and 40º F. Food is not supposed to be allowed to sit out in the Danger Zone for more than two hours. Honestly, I think that is too broad. I think 100º F and 50º F is more like it. I also think that it depends on what the food is. Milk or fish would, obviously, be more sensitive than cooked meat.

The way I've always done it is to let the food sit out until it's warm to the touch then put it in the fridge. You don't want food to be boiling hot when you put it in the fridge because that will cause the inside of the fridge to get hot and spoil the other food. You don't want to wait until the food is cold because it might spoil in the mean time. I just put food on the counter or the back of the stove and wait until food is no longer hot to the touch then put it in the fridge.

Food can still be warm when you put it into the fridge. Just try to keep it separate from any sensitive perishable items like milk and stuff.

It's hard because the pot gets so hot and it feels hot to the touch hours later.

As per proper food safety protocols food can ONLY be left out for a maximum of 2 hours at room temperature. This includes: defrost time, prep time and cooling time before putting it in the fridge.

So the answer is, it depends on your defrost method, and how long it takes to prep the meat before you begin cooking.

You can spread it out thinly (such as on a baking sheet) to cool it faster, especially over some ice.

I defrost by putting it on the fridge 3 days before. It makes cooking it faster.

 

[Alldara]

It's hard because the pot gets so hot and it feels hot to the touch hours later.

Yes. Hence the tip to transfer to a baking sheet over ice
You definitely don't want to leave it in the pot you cooked in to have it cool. That would mean waiting for the pot to cool before the meat even begins to cool.

Many cities have some basic food safety courses. If youre cooking for your pets, I 100% recommend taking one.

CIFS Food Handler Certification

 

[3KittensLostMittens]

Since the meat is cooked,it ahould be fine. Which is why I never give raw meat. I will forget and leave it out!

Leaving meat (whether cooked or raw) at room temp more than a couple for hours is a recipe for food poisoning. Breaking down a large piece of meat and spreading it in a thinner layer will help it cool quicker so you can get it into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking.
I hope folks will be careful and check out safe food handling advice from places like USDA:
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safe...ation/food-safety-basics/steps-keep-food-safe