Christmas dinner sitting in car for hours - WWYD?

[Bilingualspingual]

My DSil has offered to cook Christmas dinner at my elderly PILs this year. Very kind, we said.

Our worry is, she is insisting on bringing a turkey roll (or crown, I’m not exactly sure) with her from their home town on a minimum six-hour drive, which could turn out to be seven or eight if traffic is bad two days before Christmas). She’s determined to bring it from her local butcher, plus partly cooked sides, rather than simply order it from the large city where our Christmas meal is taking place.

My DH and I are really worried that the temperature of a car in motion plus the long journey time, would cause bacteria to multiply like crazy. But would they all be killed off by cooking anyway?

I find her difficult and controlling in general and that could well be colouring this for me, so if any food hygienists or experts are able to convince me this is safe, rather than a recipe for food poisoning, I’d be grateful!

Are they trying to persuade you to travel to them?

Beryl this is exactly how I feel. My MIL is disabled and can’t really leave the house which is why we’re all descending on them but in-laws aren’t cooking, Snuggy. Dh and I would have loved to have cooked the dinner - we both enjoy it. The ins and outs aside (as they say, a whole other thread), it’s the sheer unnecessary stress of it all that’s pissing me off. Dh has spoken to his dad and I think he agrees with us, but is rubbish at confrontation and just wants everyone to get on so it may be up to us to insist it doesn’t happen.

Why don't you go on Boxing Day and cook for them if that's what you want to do?
Have you got to go on Xmas day itself?
Or go the day after that?

Thus Helping out the parents over a longer period of time or whatever...

Fawn we’ll be going there for about six days in all so we’ll be there anyway. I’m also worried about PIL getting ill. We’ve decided we’ll insist it’s bought at location city.

Good - hope it all turns out ok.

In a cool box with plenty of ice packs in December will be fine

I wouldn't eat that. It's the being warned slightly and then put back in the fridge for a few days that seals it for me. Plus even if it turned out fine it would ruin the enjoyment for me as I'd be worried about eating it

Can you buy a similar looking turkey and surreptitiously swap it in the middle of the night and bin the other one?

It may well be fine with plenty of ice packs in a cool box but it won’t be me doing it so I won’t have a say in how well it’s packed.

And yes, the worry and annoyance of having to worry about it has already taken the shine off it when it just doesn’t have to be this way.

I wonder if my SIL is shagging the butcher and gets a massive discount. Would explain it.

The swap idea is building up some steam

Maybe he just does a good sausage stuffing.

I vote for swap if necessary... but what about the half cooked sides? Are any of them meat based?

Hazard God, yes. Pigs in blankets as well. Why? Why??

Beryl now you've put me off the stuffing too...

Pork? Half cooked, well traveled, sat in the fridge for 2 days pork?

Yeah you need to say something.

Also why the hell would anyone do that?! Sure they're not just getting the ready made Xmas dinner from m&s and passing it off as their own?

Pork? Half cooked, well traveled, sat in the fridge for 2 days pork?

What could go wrong, eh?

Update: we said we just weren’t happy with the meat safety aspect of it and now the whole Christmas lunch has been passed on to us. We’re secretly thrilled! And relieved. Now to make sure we don’t poison anyone.

Hooray!!!

Oh do we think DSIL was playing games? "Yes - let me offer them half cooked rotting meat that's been in the car for days and see how soon they offer to cook instead"

Probably! I’m going to use the half-cooked rotting meat offer to get me out of literally everything in life from now on.

I'm glad its been resolved. I'm two months into an environmental health degree and I'm sure the course will see me turn vegetarian, then vegan. I'm already eyeing up the lidls nut roasts

I don't see what the issue is. As long as it's raw, cool in transit, hygienically handled and thoroughly and sufficiently cooked at the time people are eating it it'll be ok.

People hang turkeys in briney buckets longer than that, grouse has traditionally been hung in cool houses. In a cool box for six hours then back in a fridge for a day or two wouldn't bother me.

Turkey is horrible though so I wouldn't enjoy it on that basis

We believe our ex SIL nearly killed 2 of our elderly relatives by bad food storage and preparation. It all tasted fine but we suspect it was the part-cooking to blame.

OP don't be an arse. If it's packed cold with cool blocks and appropriately insulated it will be as cold as refrigerating. Then it will be cooked.
Basically you don't like you SIL/her DH and are making this all about you.