Here’s my clear dilemma this morning: Chicken left out overnight? Eat or toss?
Ya see, just like you, I’ve gone thru flu season. And who knows why? But my immune system wasn’t enough to fight whatever this was. So in my recovery, I’m doing quick and easy chicken soup.
I go to Jimbo’s, get a couple of cooked chickens, bring them home and throw them into a pot with water. PH balanced water, I should say!
I bring to the boil, and simmer for hours. Then I take the meat out, de-bone it, skin it and then cut it into portions and stick those individually into the fridge. (Nothin’ like doing your own portion control, if you’re single)! And actually if it’s too much? I take half, use a foodsaver and suck out the air, putting it into my freezer for next month!
I usually separate out the breast to make a nice chicken salad for the week (veganese, celery, roasted red peppers diced or pimento which is a chili pepper that has a very little ‘kick’ to it, salt, pepper, mustard or sometimes prepared white horse radish).
Then I go back into the soup with the bits of chicken from the bones. On a separate burner, I caramelize onions, celery and carrot, a mirepoix (meera-pwah) or medley that they use in France quite often, and “You’ve Got Flavor”!
After dumping that into the soup, I usually add slivered garlic, about two or three cloves…. sometimes quinoa, sometimes brown rice or anything that gives bulk the way pasta does…. And there I have it! Chicken Soup!
But last night, I was really tired and went thru that process, carefully separating out those chicken breasts for my salad. And this morning? I woke up and there they were. On the counter. Shooooot! You know I’m bad, I’m bad… you know it. Thank you Michael Jackson!
Smells good. Looks good. So,I quickly go to the web…(something you might do), to see if I brought the heat over 140 degrees, would that kill all the bacteria?
Well, the answers are far and wide. Many people say ‘cook it and eat it’, or ‘might change the texture and flavor but it’s still ok’, but the one I am going to go with is (and I’m paraphrasing here)” ‘re-heating doesn’t guarantee all the bacteria will be killed, chicken is one of those things that after a couple hours on counter immediately starts growing bacteria, and once it goes in bad? There’s only two way for it to come out and it ain’t pretty’.
So that’s the bit of information I’m taking. Disappointed to have wasted but happier to not have that possible experience of food poisoning!
Happy Eating,
Chef Marian