Left a pot of stock out overnight to cool? What to do with it this morning

What to do right now

1. Throw it out. Stock left out of the refrigerator more than 2 hours should go, per USDA food safety guidance. Overnight is far past that.
2. Don't taste it to check. FSIS says the germs that make people sick "do not generally affect the taste, smell, or appearance of a food." A good smell tells you nothing.
3. Don't count on reboiling. Some germs make spores that survive cooking. That is why the cooling rule exists even after a long simmer.
4. Wash the pot well, and save the next set of bones. The bones were never the problem.

If someone already ate from the pot and feels sick, call a doctor.

It hurts, we know, to pour out hours of work. It is still the right call.

Why a big pot is the problem

Here is the part almost nobody says out loud. A big pot of stock feels safe because it stays hot so long. That long, slow cool is the danger.

The FDA Food Code explains that cooking kills most germs. But it names the exceptions: spore-forming germs such as Clostridium perfringens or Bacillus cereus. Those survive. And they like warmth. The Food Code warns against food spending a long time between 70°F and 125°F, where they grow best.

A tall pot on a stove sits in that range for hours. FSIS says a big pot of soup "will take a long time to cool, inviting bacteria to multiply."

How to cool stock fast next time

The FDA Food Code sets two deadlines. Get the stock from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours. Then get it from 135°F to 41°F within 6 hours total. In the Food Code's own words, "The initial 2-hour cool is a critical element of this cooling process."

That sounds hard. It isn't. The book's card takes a few minutes of work.

1. Strain the stock and take the pot off the heat.
2. Set the pot in a sink of ice water and stir.
3. Divide the stock into small, shallow containers.
4. Put them in the fridge while still warm. You don't have to wait.
5. Check one container with a food thermometer. Aim for 70°F within 2 hours.
6. Once cold, cover it and lift off the hardened fat.

Use it within 3 to 4 days, or freeze it. Reheat it to a rolling boil before you use it.

Want to keep stock on the shelf in jars? Meat stock is a low-acid food. The only USDA process for canning it is pressure canning, using the USDA Complete Guide, Guide 5.

The pot that cooled on the back burner

Maybe you grew up with a soup pot on the back burner all winter. The house smelled of onions and thyme. The pot cooled on the stove overnight, and in the morning it went in the icebox.

That was normal. A 1910 USDA bulletin even suggested pouring extra stock, while hot, into fruit jars and sealing it. Nobody knew then what the cooling studies would show.

So keep the habit of saving bones. Keep the long simmer. Change only what happens after the burner goes off.

The chapter that covers the whole pot

This is the problem The Lost Kitchen Skills, Checked was written for. Nancy Whitaker checks 42 old kitchen skills against current guidance and badges each one SAFE TODAY, UPDATE IT or RETIRED.

Stock, Broth and the Whole Bird has the card Make Stock from Bones, badged SAFE TODAY, with simmer times for beef and chicken. Its next card, Cool Stock Fast, is badged UPDATE IT. It gives the two-stage cooling plan with a drawing of the timeline.

The Leftover Kitchen covers the 2-hour rule for every dish, how to reheat leftovers to 165°F and the 3-to-4-day limit in the fridge.

Pressure Canning for Beans, Meat and Soup is the place to go if you want stock on the pantry shelf.

Making jerky or soup for a crowd? Our page on the heat step for homemade jerky covers another step the old ways skipped.