Martin Fisher

This sort of rapid chilling can cause cold shortening which can lead to tough meat. Genetics can also play a significant role in meat toughness.

Same here.

The texture does change with time but I've never had the meat go 'mushy.' I've made dozens and dozens of batches over many years.

I want!!!!! Where can I order one?

Never met a sandwich I didn't like!* *Same with almost any food.

My pickled sausages, pickled heart, etc. marinades are quite acidic and I've never had the meat go mushy — even after several months.

I don't agree. Marinade penetrates my pickled sausages, pickeled beef and venison heart, etc. etc. etc. very well. And if you leave Cornell chicken, etc. in the marinade too long you'll surely know it!

Was, and still is, MUCH more restrictive where I grew up in Pennsylvania (Jackson Township, Tioga County), which is just across the border from where I live now. Retail beer sales banned in 1934 and retail liquor sales banned in 1935.

The chicken may or may not be safe...it likely was...I have no reason to believe that it wasn't .....it was roasted at a high temperature. The big question is what happened - for CERTAIN - to the pepper mill, the butcher twine, the salt bowl, the side towel after they were contaminated. Why make extra work for employees when it makes much more sense to operate professionally in a way that a good mentor would? I've worked in restaurants, I've worked in food packing (honey and related products) and I've worked in dairying....and at home, of course. I can't speak for others as to why they do or why don't do what they do. I can say for sure I've never slacked off in terms of food safety or hygiene or whatever you want to call it - in any context - just because someone isn't looking-on or someone else can do the dirty work later, or whatever. No excuses.

Stupid laws...just like New York!

That's gross!

There's a possibility of sickness no matter what is served. Well, unless one lives and eats in a sterile environment.

My point, exactly!

The possibility of death comes with simply living.

He uses the word 'can' and not the word 'will", which leads to think he sees it as a possibility and NOT a probability.

I don't see it as any more of a chore than a risk assessment while crossing a street. It sort of becomes automatic after while.

I'd call it a game of possibilities. "... if food is very contaminated you can [possibly] get sick even if you follow the guidelines; if it is not contaminated with pathogens then you can [possibly] get away with a lot."

I'd call it a game of possibilities. @nathanmsummed it up brilliantly.... "Food safety is a statistical phenomenon - if food is very contaminated you can get sick even if you follow the guidelines; if it is not contaminated with pathogens then you can get away with a lot. That is, until you find some contamination."

IMHO, he should be wearing gloves when he's got a bandage on his finger...at the very least, it's a respectful courtesy.

Yeah, what if!!! LOL

It can't be denied when caught on video. Generally considered bad practice, especially when working with raw chicken: 1. No gloves. (Especially with a bandage on a finger.) 2. Letting the chicken come to room temperature (Questionable.) 3. Peppermill handled with hands that handled raw chicken. 4. Peppermill in contact with chicken. 5. Appears he contaminates the end of the butcher twine. 6. Contaminates the outside of the salt bowl. 7. Wipes hands on a side towel after handling raw chicken. It's unclear whether he washed his hands before touching the oven door handle or carving the chicken....I sure hope so! Yes, yes I have OCD!!!!

The thermometer hygiene thread prompted this thread. While it's impossible to totally avoid cross-contamination and food safety mistakes in the kitchen, it seems to me good practice to not take un-necessary risks. dcarch asked..... Hard to tell, even the 'pros' are prone to some serious errors. Take this Thomas Keller video as an example: How much poor practice do you see? I see several things. I'll list them shortly.

I don't think anyone knows where the term cottage ham originated. I first heard the term in New Jersey. "The Stehlins and other butchers carve cottage hams, weighing about 2 to 3 pounds, from the upper part of the Boston butt, which is from the pork shoulder. Before they are cured and smoked, cottage hams are about the size and shape of a large, rectangular brick. The Ohio Dept. of Agriculture labels the cuts “smoked pork shoulder butts,” but in Cincinnati many butchers and customers have always called them “cottage hams.” No one — including the Stehlins — know where the “cottage” term comes from — except that the name is indigenous and limited to the Cincinnati area, [not correct] and has been used for at least a century. “I'm sure they sell shoulder butts in other parts of the country,” says Werneth Avril, retired owner of Avril's Meats, downtown. “But if you ask for a cottage ham anywhere else, they'll say "huh?”' The name “cottage cheese,” used to describe moist, soft, white cheese, entered the language by the middle of the 19th century, says John Mariani in his Dictionary of American Food and Drink (Hearst; $19.95). But he doesn't explain why “cottage” was used, and he doesn't mention “cottage ham.” A reasonable theory on the term's origins might be that a Cincinnati butcher dubbed them “cottage hams” a long time ago because they are small, like a “cottage” home — the right size for cooking in a pot of beans. At the very least, “cottage hams” sound more appetizing than “smoked shoulder butts.” Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer Meanwhile, in New Jersey.... https://pulaskimeats.com/product/cottage-ham/ https://schmalzs.com/collections/frontpage/products/smoked-cottage-ham http://www.foodmenuprice.com/menu/piast-meats-and-provisions/new-jersey/garfield/500115/ Also and FWIW, from the book: The Modern Packing House: A Complete Treatise on the Designing, Construction ... By Fred William Wilder, Copyright 1905

I guess you'll have to ask them. My opinion is that sanitizing the thermometer — especially before returning it to the holder (to avoid contaminating the wall mounted holder) and sanitizing it again after removing it from the holder — is good practice. I don't need so-called 'experts' to confirm that.

Yeah, this is one of the reasons why I very rarely eat out. Anyway, I think keeping thermometers well cleaned and sanitized is good practice. http://www.mda.state.mn.us/Global/MDADocs/food/foodsafety/mod-materials/sanitizethermoms.aspx