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I have a 25 lb. fresh turkey and would like to store it in my garage if possible. It's 43F during the day, and 33F at night - will it be safe to do that?

Cascabel
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Danielle Honanie
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    43F, 6C? Is that temperature the forecast? It will be hotter if your garage gets sun on/into it. Since it's in the danger zone (even though it's just a bit,) the answer is pretty much no. – Ming Nov 24 '15 at 03:02
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    Possible duplicate of [How do I know if food left at room temperature is still safe to eat?](http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/34670/how-do-i-know-if-food-left-at-room-temperature-is-still-safe-to-eat) – TFD Nov 25 '15 at 04:01
  • @TFD : 33-43°F is room temperature? I'm hoping you wear a sweater. – Joe Nov 25 '15 at 17:34
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    For what it's worth, I didn't vote to close because I feel there's an implicit question here: if that doesn't work, what *can* I do? So simply closing as duplicate and saying "nope no good" seems less helpful than we could be. – Cascabel Nov 25 '15 at 17:42
  • @Joe First bold paragraph of linked answer! Is the linked answer wrong? – TFD Nov 25 '15 at 19:08
  • @TFD : if it hasn't been done yet, and the person is asking how to do it safely, than that question has nothing to do with this one. – Joe Nov 25 '15 at 19:33
  • @Joe just being pedantic, but the OP does not use the word "how". A more general question is required here, this one is going to be wasted – TFD Nov 26 '15 at 03:59
  • @TFD : the correct answer is 'yes, if you chill it'. Not 'you should throw it away'. – Joe Nov 26 '15 at 04:18

1 Answers1

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As setek said in the comments, 43F is too warm. Anything above 40F and you only have a couple hours before it's unsafe (has the potential to make people sick, even if unlikely). And your garage is attached to a house that's well over 40F, so it'll probably be well above 43F in there.

So you really need to keep it chilled. If you don't have space in your fridge, you might be able to make do with an ice chest; if it's really at most 43F, the ice will last a long time.

Cascabel
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    My neighbors do this every year, w/ the ice chest filled w/ brine & ice, so there's plenty of thermal mass. – Joe Nov 25 '15 at 17:35