Unfortunate jambalaya incident

I figured someone would've been all over it. Still, it's a good reminder to wash hands, cutting boards, knives, and to keep stuff at food safe temps. Too dang many people think that because their home-sized pot cools quickly enough, the giant batch will perform in the same way. But my money's on the utensils.....someone stirred in the meats with one spoon/paddle, put it to the side, and another schmo used it on the finished dish, after there was insufficient heat to kill off whatever was on the nasty chicken. It's always the damn chicken.

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t's always the damn chicken.

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Lots of times its onions.

I'm thinking the middle didn't cool and he just left it sitting there. Perfect environment for bacteria. Or it was cooked day before and not cooled properly.

The only risk with onions is using the precut stuff, which may be contaminated during the chopping and packaging.

I head last night they cooked this on Thursday.
Served it Monday

It's a stupid, reactionary, feel good purchase that often hurts the individual.



Farmer's market stuff is great.

Organic branded stuff at a corporate location is probably more harmful for you than the stuff you are paying a premium to avoid due to massive amounts of pesticides used.

Depends on how long you held it in the "danger zone".....did you serve it hot, then quickly cool the remains? Or did it sit out on a buffet for a couple of hours, getting lukewarm? Lukewarm for an extended period is generally what causes bacterial proliferation.

If you ever need to quickly chill a large volume pot, it's good to remember that wide, shallow pans will cool more quickly than a compact volume. Also, your typical home fridge isn't cold enough to quickly chill a large volume of hot stuff (meaning you could make everything inside your fridge spoil). Ice is the way to go....for something like a gumbo, food safe plastic bags (ziploc) full of ice, dropped into the pot (or an ice paddle, buy one at your local restaurant supply house). For something like jambalaya, spread into wide, shallow pans (deep sheet pans) and lay the bags of ice on top. Once it's not blazing hot, you can store in the refrigerator.

How and how quickly was it cooled? You can't just throw a mass quantity of "warm" food in a refrigerator...it won't get it through the bacteria danger zone quick enough.

On top of that Friday to Wednesday is a bit of a stretch to begin with.

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Plan on re-heating via oven plus broth Wednesday.

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Personally, I would never eat that... and not knowing or not having been disclosed the history before getting served would really piss me off. Gut tells me I’m speaking for majority. Better to make some fresh stuff instead of assuming it’s risk free or better yet, assuming that others would be okay with it.