Turkey Problem - help

[jOUhn]

I apologize if this is a little out of our normal scope of discussion...

Went to Costco yesterday, bought 2 turkeys, one 20 lbs and one 15 lbs. Both were the organic, super fancy, already brined and seasoned, etc. Point is, and I don't know if this matters, but they weren't your $0.89/lb Butterball. They were $4 and some change per lb.

Anyways... put the turkeys in the back seat of the truck, and a bunch of other stuff we bought in the bed. Get home, take everything from the bed of the truck into the house. This is at about 11:30am. At 5pm, making my to do list for the week, including when to start up the smoker on Thursday, I realize I forgot to take the darn turkeys out of the back seat of the truck. It was only about 37 here yesterday, but my truck was parked in the garage. It probably was about 50 degrees in the cab of the truck?

Are my turkeys ruined? I put them in the fridge and figured if they start to smell, I have to suck it up and go by new ones. But maybe I'm alright? Help...

 

[TentHunter]

First and foremost, remember NONE of us here are experts with a degree in microbiology, so ultimately YOU have to weigh the risks and decide what is best for your family's health!

And anyone who knows me will tell you I am Mr. Caution when it comes to cold-smoking and such.



Now having said that... IF the temperature in your garage was below 50°, I think you should be fine.

First, the main bacteria you have to be concerned with in poultry is Salmonella.

Let's be realistic; turkey's have a lot of mass, so even if your garage was at 50°, it would've taken hours for the turkey's to warm up to 50°, and even at that temp Salmonella growth is still very slow.

Another common sense argument is that many recipes call for a turkey sit at room temp for a couple hours or more before roasting (which I think is silly, but that's another argument).


So... Are you certain the temperature in your garage was 50° or below? Did the turkeys still feel really cold when you took them out of your truck? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, then in my opinion, you are OK. Just be sure to roast it in a relatively hot oven/grill and take the internal temp to a MINIMUM 165°.


Hope this helps and makes sense.

 

[scooter]

Ultimately, I would smell it. If it smells like fresh poultry then I would cook it and make sure it hit 165F everywhere on the bird. Cooking it to 165 everywhere will ensure you kill off anything bad that you can't detect through smelling it.
If it smells off, I would chuck it in the trash and go get new turkeys.

 

[Salmonsmoker]

I agree with Tent and Scooter. 165F IT and you should be golden.