How long can meat stay out at room tempature?

Question

I left a ham roast out on the counter at 9pm to thaw out and forgot it was there till morning. Assuming it was probably frozen for a bit but thawed out completely by 1am or so. Not sure if it is still good does anyone know?

Answer 1

You should NEVER leave meat out at room temperature. If you do, not any longer than 2 hours. Bacteria grow rapidly in these 2 hours. If you need to thaw meat, plan ahead and place it in the bottom of your refrigerator.

Answer 2

Animal flesh is dangerous for humans.

We're not meant to eat it.

We have to handle it very carefully and sterilize it with high heat just to be able to consume it at all.

Leaving it out that long is an example of NOT handling it very carefully.

The bacteria in the meat will have multiplied a great deal after leaving it out for so long.

If you cook it really, really well, you can kill all of the bacteria.

So, as long as you don't mind eating piles of dead bacteria with your pile of dead animal, you could probably still eat it.

Answer 3

Well, they say not to leave food at room temperature for longer than two hours, but I have seen cases where, after family dinners, food is left out for HOURS without packing it up, and no one gets sick or dies from eating it. Heck, my parents used to pull the turkey from the freezer and just leave it in the kitchen sink overnight to thaw out.

As long as you're heating that ham up to above 165 degrees fahrenheit, (above fifty degrees celcius, )it should be just fine. I assume you're going to cook it at a higher temperature for long enough to at least heat it through? You should be just fine.

For what its' worth, I'd eat it, I have foodsafe training. and I've worked in restaurant kitchens for eleven years.  

Answer 4

It can sit out quite awhile, especially a cured ham. Just chill it back to 40 degrees F, and the when reheating make sure it gets above 140 to kill any salmonella that may have came along.

You'll survive.