re: Left St Louis Style Ribs Out All Night

How strong is your digestive system?

I would caution against eating the ribs, but more than likely you’ll be fine.

What we know,

* They were in oven at 350°F for two and a half to three hours wrapped in foil.
* The oven was turned off around 5pm yesterday evening.
* Just remembered they are still in there. Posted at 7:06 am.

Factors to consider

* Ribs cooked at 350°F for 3 hours will reach an internal temperature between 195-205°F.
* On average, it takes an oven 1 hour to cool down from 350°F to room temperature.
* St. Louis style ribs cooked at 350°F for 3 hours that reached an internal temperature of 200°F and have been left out at room temperature, will take 2-3 hours to cool to 135°F or below. Your ribs were left in the oven so add 1-2 hours to that cooling schedule.

According to your statement, 14 hours elapsed between the time the oven was shut off to the time you discovered you left the ribs in the oven. According to food safety guidelines, 4 hours is the maximum time cooked food should be held without temperature control. (135°F-41°F is the unsafe temperature range to hold food). The ribs had a 65°F cushion before they fell below 135°F. 121

Considering the final cook temp, the oven temp, oven insulation, rib temp, kitchen temp, and cooling rate, I think the ribs were in the unsafe temperature for a maximum of 6-8 hours (2-4 hours past the 4-hour threshold). Of course, these times and temperatures are all theoretical so exercise discernment when evaluating this information

You need to ask yourself: are the ribs worth the risk of getting gastroenteritis? More than likely, if you eat them nothing will happen, however, there’s always a risk associated with eating food left out overnight. If it happened to me, I would reheat and eat a couple of ribs and stay near a toilet.

Always remember the best rule of thumb. When in doubt, throw it out.

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The "science" is best practices. It isn't guaranteeing that dangerous bacteria will form. boo

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No, the science is actual facts and that science dictates best practices. You use the factual science to determine best practices.

The science doesn't guarantee the dangerous bacteria will form because the science cannot guarantee the dangerous bacteria is there to begin with.

What the science does do is guarantee that IF the bacteria is there, then the environment is suitable for growth and the time may be suitable for substantial growth. That is indisputable fact backed up by science. But keep arguing against it, boo!

You mad, bro? Sorry for talking about food on a food board.

It was Vodka for me yesterday.

Drunk possibly but not stoned

On Sunday night I cooked some pork tenderloins in the air fryer and accidentally left one in there overnight.

I ate several meals with those leftovers this week with no issues. I did microwave first.. not just eat it cold.

They were still tasty and juicy... not ideal but didn't have to waste a thing.

Mine were out about 5 hours less than OP though.

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If you have ever had food poisoning which I have, risking it to save a few bucks isn’t worth it. Just make another batch they aren’t expensive.

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After all the back and forth pissing contest, someone finally posts the simple correct answer.

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Isn't 200 degree meat free from bacteria?

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No. It takes a certain amount of bacteria to make you sick. Temperature only kills enough to make you not sick, it doesn’t always kill all of the bacteria. There may still be small amounts of bacteria present which can grow in 14 hours.

It’s highly unlikely, but you cannot say it’s not possible.

It’s also not guaranteed that harmful bacteria will be present to begin with, but since it’s possible, you always assume it is there.

You can eat a piece of raw chicken 100 times and you may only get sick once. But you cannot say that there’s no chance of you getting sick when you eat raw chicken.