Is this going to kill us all?

[HolidayDjinn]

DH is flapping.

On busy days when no one is going to be home until 18:30 I sometimes make up a tray bake and put the oven on timer so it will be ready just as we walk in the door. The ingredients come out the fridge about 6am and oven comes on about 17:45 so that’s nearly 12 hours at room temp. Today’s has no raw meat but does have chorizo. Sometimes I do sausages. Have done chicken thighs before. I feel like this is probably fine but DH is convinced we will contract food poisoning. NB his worries don’t come with an offer to sort dinner.

YABVU and this is so, so grim. You need to find another solution.

I wouldn’t.

its funny what peoples consideration of “doesn’t make us ill” is too. My mum was very lax with food, we often ate off food, chanced it, sniff test etc, ate whatever was left because there was nothing etc… looking back I often felt a bit iffy the next day, had a mild tummy ache but not enough to grumble, had really bad wind, loose stools, burping up a little bit of sick.

i have never these symptoms since moving out.

I thought that too, but Rice is quite dangerous if left out when cooked. Bacillus cereus and even Botulism.

No that's just whoever's using one not knowing what they're doing.

On days like this I either have something I've batch cooked and frozen or have something easy like pasta and sauce.

I wouldn't eat meat that had been sitting around all day out of the fridge.

Do the tray bake on a day someone is home earlier or just eat later and leave it in the fridge.

Absolutely not. Far too risky. #teamdh

Veg and chorizo I'd eat. Not fish. Maybe meat.
Personally I'd cook the night before then reheat in the microwave if it was meat.

I totally agree with you on slow cookers. I tried, and everything was grim. And didn't even save any time. I sold mine on.

Ps I'd be much more tolerant on cold days than hot.

I wouldn't eat that.

I'd be fine with, but I'm a grotty cow who eats food that gets dropped on floor, and scrapes mould of stuff.

My DH would never eat meat that was left out for 12 hours. He's the sensible one. He's probably right.

No. It’s not the bacteria that cause the problems but the toxins they produce as they grow which cause the problem. Cooking will kill the bacteria but it will not affect the toxins they have already produced when they have grown during the day, hence why you could still get food poisoning. Don’t do it.

I'd do it with frozen chicken.

Meat is defiantly NOT safe left out of the fridge all day.
An oven should never be left on when you are not in. A few years ago my electric fan oven started making a horrible noise when I turned it on. I opened the door to find flames at the back where the fan goes round! Scared the life out of me. Can you imagine if I had left it on and gone out?
Never ever leave you oven on when you are not home!

It has only been the norm to have a fridge at home since about the 1980s.

@BertieBotts 😂How old are you?

I thought you'd made a typo there and means the 1880s.

My parents had a fridge in the early 1960s. I was working in the early 1970s and everyone had fridges.

People who say either -

1. We’ve done this for years and never had any issues or 2) what do you think people used to do before fridges etc?

A serious case of food poisoning is a traumatic thing to go through, and worst case fatal (as i’m sure everyone knows). I wouldn’t wish severe food poisoning on my worst enemy, it is agony, frightening, awful for loved ones and have long term health implications. You could be ok 2 million times but on the 2 million and 1st time not be so lucky. If you choose to take that risk thats up to you but I personally don’t think its right to offer advice to others that go against guidelines that exist to help prevent food poisoning. You could be quite capable of fighting off bacteria for years, but you get older, run down, stressed etc, it leaves you more vulnerable.
The guidelines about food prep are simple, continuously researched and updated when needed.

People did used to live without fridges etc, but more people died of bacterial infections caused by raw meat and fish. The development of fridges and scientific research leading to a greater understanding of bacteria has saved countless lives.

The temperature inside a oven is cooler than the outside temperature, when it’s switched off.
I would keep doing as you have been. Have you thought about putting fresh vegetables in and say frozen meat, sausage etc by the time the oven timer comes on the meat etc will be thawed.

Agree with the majority on this thread. I batch cook on non-busy days food to eat on busier ones - things like spaghetti bolognese can be ready in 15 mins once you get in. If I wanted to use the oven timer, I’d put jacket potatoes in to be ready to eat then warm up a topping on the hob.

Also agree that you may need new recipes as most slow cooker food I’ve eaten is delicious.

I wouldn't eat it, there are far better ways to get a quick decent meal after work than going down that route surely.

Equally I would just sort my own dinner when I got home (and do) - DP cooks his own unless we have agreed we are having the same in which case we leave the other person half. If you're both out at work why does it fall to you to arrange meals? I've never cooked for him and never plan to start doing it as a matter of course, I'm not his mum.

YABVU to feed other people chicken that's been sat at room temp all day.

@Betahydroxybutyrate
The fact that it’s cooked after being out of the fridge will kill any potential nasties.

Its not just the bacteria that cause food poisoning, but the toxins they secrete before the cooking kills them. If it were a case that cooking prevents all food poisoning then we wouldn’t need refrigerators or freezers and our ancestors wouldn’t have needed cold stores in spring houses or ice houses.

I wouldn't eat it.

What about using a slow cooker and leaving it on all dAy?

I don't understand why ovens are a fire risk if you are out but not if you are in? If I'm in I just leave the oven to do it thing and it never catches fire.

I wouldn't eat meat that had been out of the fridge that long before cooking.

How old are the kids, could they help prep?

I just cook something quick and easy on busy days, like pasta or pizza, and give the kids a snack if we're going to be eating later.

There’s a fire hazard too if no one is home when the oven is on. Just give your dc a snack when they come home from school and then feed them at 7 or 7:30pm. Use a slow cooker (you need to season your food and not use loads of liquid so it isn’t bland and watery) or make something quick like a stir fry or pasta.

If you are in and a fire starts you are far more likely to be aware of it quicker and either prevent it turning into a big fire or alert the fire brigade quicker.