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Another Food Safety Question - esgunn - 11-12-2008
My oven has a delay bake function. I had never tried this until last night, I had always wondered on the safety - health wise on this one.
But last night we decided to try it. I have to leave the house at 3:30 for Gym twice a week and we get home about 7:50 pm with tired hungry kids. I have been utilizing my crock pot a lot more, and when hubby is home he usually throws a casserole in, but when he is gone I am limited to what I can get on the table in 10 minutes. And you can only eat from the crock pot so much.
We bought a Stoufers Frozen lasagna family size. Put it in the oven at 3:30, set to start baking at 6:30 for 75 minutes. So it sat - frozen and very slowly thawing for 3 hours. It worked great. But I am wary on the safety of this. If I could do this with homemade frozen casserole type dishes it sure would open up some options for me.
I would set it up at 3:30 to start cooking at 6:15 or 6:30 Maybe even 6:00 since cooking from frozen I'd have to add some additional time. So it would be sitting frozen in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
What if I limited it to dishes that only contain cooked meat or eggs before being frozen - no raw meat products...
I just wanted to get the feeling of those of you who know a lot more about food safety on this one. I'd sure hate to give my kids food poisining.
Re: Another Food Safety Question - chef_Tab - 11-12-2008
I am no food safety expert, but I have done this a lot and we are all still alive and well. I just love that delay timer.
Re: Another Food Safety Question - Harborwitch - 11-12-2008
My mother used to do that - only she'd start it in the morning before she went to work! When I got old enough she'd just have me put the casserole or whatever in the oven when I got home from school.
Re: Another Food Safety Question - cjs - 11-12-2008
We've all done this and close to this (probably) all our cooking lives and we're still here to tell about it. I can even remember the days of putting the meat out on the counter to defrost!!!
I think you'll be fine putting a frozen casserole in the oven and pre-setting it, Erin. Not because I think there is not danger, but because so many folks do this...which is probably not what you wanted to hear.
Re: Another Food Safety Question - HomeCulinarian - 11-12-2008
I would guess that food that is fully cooked would still be very safe. I used to use the delay start pretty regularly and lived to tell.
Mainly, I used delay start for ribs. I would put frozen ribs in the oven on a rack, pour beer over it and then sprinkle with garlic. Seal the pan with foil and bake it about 6 hours at a low temp. Then the ribs would cool in the oven so when I got home from work they'd be ready to finish off on the grill.
Re: Another Food Safety Question - BarbaraS - 11-12-2008
Quote:
We've all done this and close to this (probably) all our cooking lives and we're still here to tell about it. I can even remember the days of putting the meat out on the counter to defrost!!!
What?? I always defrost on the counter by the fridge.
This is wrong?
Barbara
Re: Another Food Safety Question - esgunn - 11-12-2008
So good to know! Thanks! And I am glad we are all still standing!
Barbara - I do this to, but you really should defrost overnight in the refer. We use a piece of aluminum - makes defrosting really quick - transfers the heat away or into or something like that. Not sure - just know it works.
Re: Another Food Safety Question - Lorraine - 11-12-2008
"What?? I always defrost on the counter by the fridge"
Folks do it, and live, but you sure don't want the Health Dept seeing you do that.
That was a good question. When I put the butt in the crock pot on low yesterday morning, I wondered just how long it would take to get up to temp. I got scared and turned it on high for a few hours.
Re: Another Food Safety Question - chef_Tab - 11-12-2008
My mother in law leaves her food on the table for cleanup the next day sometimes. Makes me crazy and it doesn't happen when I am there. She also takes her mayo and lunch meat out of the fridge in the morning for lunch because she does not like things cold. She is still alive, but I would never do any of this.
Re: Another Food Safety Question - Gourmet_Mom - 11-12-2008
Now that's scary Theresa! But you know, my grandMIL used to wrap up food from a big dinner, like Thanksgiving, and put it on a table on the porch overnight instead of taking up room in the fridge. It used to be standard practice. But I wouldn't do it today.