# is this hamburger still good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911 "2020-01-04T01:45:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/1 "2020-01-04T01:45:51Z")
Made a couple of patties last night and wrapped in aluminum foil to put in the freezer. Found them just about 24 hours later in the cabinet beside the canned tuna. Another senior moment. I would say the temperate in the kitchen was about 60 degrees, although for about an hour I was seasoning a cast iron pan with the oven at 375. The meat is still read and doesn’t smeill, but I’ve read that the smell test is not always reliable. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/2 "2020-01-04T01:55:09Z")
When in doubt, throw it out. You want a senior moment? I brought a couple of 16" pizzas (not frozen) home from the store last week, and left them on top of the washer in the laundry room. THEN, I went through the room a few more times during the evening and kept wondering why the room smelled like pizza. Meanwhile, my wife and I are scratching our heads as to where the damned things went. Found them the next afternoon. The laundry room is roughly 5’ x 5’, half of which is taken up by appliances. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/3 "2020-01-04T02:18:59Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > When in doubt, throw it out. > > You want a senior moment? I brought a couple of 16" pizzas (not frozen) home from the store last week, and left them on top of the washer in the laundry room. THEN, I went through the room a few more times during the evening and kept wondering why the room smelled like pizza. Meanwhile, my wife and I are scratching our heads as to where the damned things went. Found them the next afternoon. > > The laundry room is roughly 5’ x 5’, half of which is taken up by appliances. I got a bunch of them, one of which I posted in MPSIMS. In that one I put the Lysol in the refridgerator ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/4 "2020-01-04T02:45:36Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > Made a couple of patties last night and wrapped in aluminum foil to put in the freezer. Found them just about 24 hours later in the cabinet beside the canned tuna. I’m very liberal with this sort of thing when it comes to this stuff (just feeding myself, of course) but an entire day is simply too long, especially for ground meat. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/5 "2020-01-04T02:48:59Z")
^ Where’s your **Senior Moment**? Price of admission is a Senior Moment! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/6 "2020-01-04T02:51:25Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > ^ Where’s your **Senior Moment**? Price of admission is a Senior Moment! 😉 They forgot to include one WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/7 "2020-01-04T02:52:25Z")
If you have to ask if you can eat it, you probably shouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/8 "2020-01-04T03:10:10Z")
I wouldn’t eat it, or feed it to a pet either. Better safe than sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/9 "2020-01-04T04:55:39Z")
Throw it out. IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/10 "2020-01-04T06:10:00Z")
The general rule of internet questions… Is this a scam… yes. Is this safe to eat… no. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/11 "2020-01-04T10:22:57Z")
Don’t eat it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/12 "2020-01-04T13:09:06Z")
I wouldn’t feed it to our dogs, but I’m ashamed to say I’d eat it myself. I’ve done pretty much exactly what the OP describes. I immediately pan fried the burgers and ate them for breakfast. No problems. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/13 "2020-01-04T14:38:09Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I wouldn’t eat it, or feed it to a pet either. What if your pet is a maggot? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/14 "2020-01-04T20:11:13Z")
I can beat that. I bought a box of ice cream cones at CostCo and carried it, along with a couple other frozen goods, out to the non-kitchen freezer. It being bulky, I put it on the table opposite the freezer and opened the freezer with the other items still in my arms. I rearranged the stuff in the freezer, put in the couple items, then closed the freezer to saunter off without another glance at the table. More than a day later I go out to fetch something from the freezer and there the box is on the table. I didn’t care if it was _safe_ to eat, or not. Into the trash it went, unopened. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/15 "2020-01-04T22:07:17Z")
Two hours at or above 40 degrees or one hour at 90+ is a hard limit for meat, so 24 hours at 60 is entirely out. Aside from the “If in doubt, throw it out” adage, ask yourself - Can I afford a trip to the ER and/or a day or two off work if I get severe food poisoning from this and can’t stray more than fifteen feet from the toilet? ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/16 "2020-01-04T22:35:17Z")
If I don’t see growth and it doesn’t smell bad, I’m optimistic. Pan-frying under a tight lid kills almost everything. It’s worked so far. \ ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/17 "2020-01-04T22:38:24Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > What if your pet is a maggot? LOL! I do know people who keep poultry and toss their leftovers into a maggot bucket, after which the chickens, ducks, geese, etc. eat it all. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/18 "2020-01-05T03:30:06Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > If I don’t see growth and it doesn’t smell bad, I’m optimistic. Pan-frying under a tight lid kills almost everything. It’s worked so far. \ I’d be nervous about this if I were me (which I am). While all those little bacterialisms are feasting on your room-temperature raw meat, they are contaminating the meat with their metabolic waste products. That might not necessarily be noticeable. When you cook the meat properly, it will kill all the little buggies (which wouldn’t necessarily thrive once you eat them anyway). But cooking won’t necessarily destroy the waste products that are already there, and those may be toxic. That’s what’s going to get you. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hamburger-still-good/845911/19 "2020-01-05T03:34:21Z")
Anyway, our OP is worried about these senior moments. I say, if you’re putting stuff in the fridge that doesn’t belong there, and NOT putting other stuff in the fridge that DOES belong there, then on the average everything is fine with you. Quit worrying and be happy (for a few more years anyway).