left meat out to thaw overnight

[brooks hatlen]

So I bought some boneless pork shoulders for a saturday bbq.  Two 13.5 lbs shoulders from costco, each is still in the original sealed plastic packaging.  I put them in the freezer for two days, then pulled them out last night to thaw.  I intended to put them back in the fridge before I went to sleep, but I forgot.  So they were thawing outside of the fridge from about 7 pm to about 8 am.  The middle of each shoulder is still frozen hard as a rock, and they are still sealed in the original packaging.  I would say only about an inch depth is unfrozen.  To the touch they felt as cold as if they had been in the fridge.  They should still be good to eat right?

When you guys are going to smoke meat that has been in the freezer, how long does it take to dethaw in the fridge?  Do you ever let it dethaw outside the fridge?

 

[pc farmer]

They should be still good.  I have done it myself.

I would use them.

 

[okie362]

You can either use them or put them in a cooler with dry ice and ship to me.  I aint skeered! 

 

[brooks hatlen]

Okie whats your address?  Just kidding.

From my minimal research on the internet, it seems that thawing on the counter is only a problem if you let it thaw completely or almost completely.  If most of the meat is still frozen, it seems unlikely that the exterior went about 40F.

 

[crankybuzzard]

Good to go.  Like C Farmer, I, and many others have done it before.

The bad thing is when you fall asleep and let them sit on the smoker for an extra 8 hours...  That usually doesn't end well.