# 4-40-140 safety



## smokinq13 (Aug 22, 2018)

So I've been thinking about this 4-40-140 rule when it comes to not just smoking food but cooking in general and something came to mind. 

My family has been frying turkeys for probably over a decade now, both for thanksgiving and Christmas, we just love it that much! Our method we have always used was the night before we would rub the bird down with seasoning and inject it as well so the injection gets absorbed into the meat fully. I never recalled my dad ever refrigerating the injection to get the temperature down to the same as the bird but rather just pulling it out of the pantry and injecting. Have we been just dodging bullets all these years with anyone getting sick/ ill from this????


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## oldsmokerdude (Aug 22, 2018)

I wouldn't think so. The injection fluid has been "pasteurized" when it was canned, so unless the seal was broken it should be good to go. Putting it into the cold bird (which has much more mass than the injected fluid) will not create an issue, and because of the difference in mass, the injected fluid temperature will quickly drop once introduced to the bird.

Bottom line: no dodged bullets (at least as far as the injection goes.)


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## nanuk (Aug 22, 2018)

I would still err on the side of safety.

Who knows how that marinade was handled previously.
Was a used then the rest tossed? Or just re lidded and put back on the shelf like you would ketchup?


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## smokinq13 (Aug 23, 2018)

nanuk said:


> I would still err on the side of safety.
> 
> Who knows how that marinade was handled previously.
> Was a used then the rest tossed? Or just re lidded and put back on the shelf like you would ketchup?



It was always a one time use, which we usually never had any leftover... i think for now on we'll start injecting right before we drop the bird in the oil just to be safe. Really injecting is suppose to give you the advantage of not having to let it sit overnight/ for a extended period of time... kind of a "plug n play" type of thing


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## chef jimmyj (Aug 23, 2018)

Don't sweat the injection. As stated above, the small amounts of room temp liquid being injected would be cooled to the turkey's 36° refer temp in seconds . Not to mention in the extremely unlikely event the injection liquid contained bacteria, it does not just explode to a dangerous level. It takes time for the bird to get warm, more time for the bacteria to adjust to the temp change and MORE TIME to grow to dangerous levels. Unless you keep your house at 90°F and leave the bird out of the refer for 24 hours,  there is no possible way injecting the stuff you have been using could make anyone sick following the injection,storage and frying procedure you and Dad have been using...JJ


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## nanuk (Aug 23, 2018)

Yeah, chefJJ nailed it.

if the marinade is sterile, there would be no issues.


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