Guys -
I messed up last night and fell asleep with ribs in FTC. Are they goners having been in the cooler over night? Or can I still grill them up and kill off any bacteria that may have formed?
They were in there for about 8 hours and are now in my fridge.
Thanks!
Troy
I'll yield to the opinions of those more knowledgeable than me(which is pretty much everybody) but I think you're still good to go. I don't think it would scare me if the ribs were foiled well, wrapped in towels and the cooler remained closed the entire time.
Others will come along shortly to guide you.
Did you happen to take the temp before you put them in the fridge?
My cooler will keep four butts over 140F for 8 hours, but I don't know about yours.
If you dont want them send them my way, I'll eat 'em..... Seriously, I think your fine, throw 'em on the grill and sauce 'em. I have also ftc'd butts for 8 hours and they were still very warm to the touch.
No i didn't check the temp, I was half asleep and all I could think of is get them in the fridge now!
I'm going to finish them on the grill tonite - i figure 25-35 minutes in the grill with the temp between 400-500 - that should help kill everything, right?
This raises an interesting point to my "big cook" this weekend. I'm cooking 120# of butts on a big rig. I'm planning to serve around noon on Sunday. If I start Saturday and finish sometime Saturday night, how long can I ftc safely - and can I ftc and then put in foil pans w/ apple juice and hold with the grill still ~ 225 degrees?
The FTC probably had them holding good for quite a while, but ribs don't have the MASS that butts do.
Therefore, the temp probably dropped to an unsafe level during that 8 hours.
However, any bacteria (over that period) would have formed on the outside of the ribs...
Just heat 'em up on the grill, and get them up to a high temp 500+ for a short period of time.
That should be all you need.
Uhhhh, 30 minutes at 500 -- that's too long -- could turn 'em into toast .
I often use my Bradley as a warming oven, but in your case that is not pratical. In the past I have place one (sometimes two) heating pads in the cooler if the temperatuer inside the cooler drops below 150°.