Hi. I am new to SV and love it. I cooked sausage according to the recipe but forgot give them and ice bath when done. Did however put unopened package into the fridge about 20 minutes later. Will they be safe to brown/reheat and eat?
I would think so if the meat was cooked all the way through. I don’t know what the purpose of the ice bath is but I’ve cooked sausage in SV and never had an issue. The only reason I know of to do an ice bath is to quickly stop the cooking process I can’t think of a reason why it wouldn’t be unsafe. Plus, 20 minutes doesn’t sound like enough time for significant bacterial growth. Just my 2 cents though, I’m not a microbiologist or anything.
Copetown, the purpose of ice bath chilling is to rapidly and thoroughly reduce food temperatures below the Food Danger Zone. As long as the sausages are completly cooked they should be safe with refrigerated cooling because they are realtively thin as compared to other meats.
The generally accepted standard is to have potentially hazzardous foods’ temperatures in the Danger Zone for a cumulative time of no greater than 4 hours. That length of time includes all pre- and post-cooking times.
Food processers are required to monitor and record those times and temperatures as proof of safe food. At home you just want to cultivate a general awareness of the time and temperature foods that are in the danger zone.
Achieving Pasteurization would be better if the sausages are destined for lengthy cold storage which i define as beyond 72 hours after cooking.
Thanks, I really appreciate your responses. I too felt as long as the meat was cooked through and the refrigerated properly there should not be a problem. I have cooked chicken many times in the SV, cool it at room temp and then refrigerated with no problem.
Copetown, that should have been, “- with no problem yet.”
Cooling at room temperature isn’t cooling, it’s the deliberate holding in the Food Danger Zone, a potentially dangerous practice. It’s like driving through stop signs and saying it should not be a problem because you haven’t been in a crash, - yet.
When a healthy person has a Backache, Chills, Constipation, Stomach cramps, Diarrhea, Fatigue, Fever, Loss of appetite, Nausea or Vomiting especially if not overly severe they rarely attribute these symptoms to a food related infection and rarely go to the doctor. I was in my younger days very cavalier about food safety. Now that I m older and I hope a little wiser I pay more attention. I think most people have gotten sick from food at some point but have not always made the connection.
So is that just from cooking sous vide or is it all cooking methods
Copetown, potentially all cooking methods.
That’s because food bourn illnesses are often the result of errors in the chain of food handling and cooking. Improper cooling can be just as hazzardous as improper cooking.
There’s increased risk with the SV cooking technoque due to the significantly lower cooking temperatures employed. That the reason you need to use more precise times and temeratures with SV cooking. It can be more safe than conventional cooking with superior outcomes, you just need to know what you are doing and be familiar with the risks.