Quick Advice--Meat Gone Bad?

[mildlyironic]

I put some Hare Today in a water bath this morning to defrost it, but forgot to put it in the fridge before I left for work. It's now been in a water bath for 12 hours, and the water is around 50-60 degrees. Should I just throw it all out or still use it and see if my cats are OK with it? Normally, I'd be tempted to make it and see if my cats eat it (since they normally have a very good nose for anything slightly off), but it's duck, which they're generally loathe to eat anyways, so the fact that they kind of hate it doesn't necessarily mean it's bad.

The con, of course, is if I throw it out I won't have anything to feed them for 3 days when another shipment can come. (Also money, but the money lost on 2 weeks of H-T is pittance compared to the possible vet bill.)

 

[sophie1]

FDA would say no, and of course there are no guarantees but chances are it's ok.   I assume you'll refreeze it, just then take care to use it as soon as possible after defrosting.

If it started out frozen, then it was at fridge temp (< 40 degrees) for the first few hours.  For around ~8-10 hours, it's been doing the equivalent of sitting out in a chilled bowl.  And 50 degrees is not too far off what your fridge is.  I leave food in chilled bowls all day, every day and my cats eat the food with no problems.  Your cats might not be used to this though...and are they healthy?

If your cats aren't healthy or you think the water was actually room temperature when you got home, or if your cats won't eat the meat, then you probably want to err on the side of caution and throw the meat out.  Your cats can eat store bought chicken for a few days, or break out the emergency canned food stash.