It’s such a bummer when you think you have ½ of yesterday’s delicious burger waiting for you for lunch. Then you see it sitting on the counter and realize you forgot to store it in the fridge when you got home last night.
Is it still okay to eat a cooked burger after leaving it out overnight?
It is not safe to eat a burger that has been left out overnight. Hamburgers are highly perishable and become unsafe to eat after 2 hours at room temperature, according to the FDA. When perishable foods are left at temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, bacteria in them start to multiply.
Continue reading to learn more aboout the different types of burgers, how they should be stored and what could happen if you were to eat a burger that’s been sitting out for to long. When you consider the risks of eating a spoiled burger, I’m sure you’ll be able to justify throwing the burger in the garbage.
How Long Can a Cooked Hamburger Be Left Out?
Cooked burgers have a pretty short window where they are safe to eat after being left out. As a rule of thumb, burgers should not be left out any longer than two hours.
If you live where the burger will be sitting out in temperatures at 90℉ or above, you should not leave it out for longer than one hour.
Because bacteria grow quickly when ground beef is between 40℉ and 140℉, the risk of contracting a foodborne illness greatly increases when meat is left out of refrigeration.
How Long Can a Raw Hamburger Be Left Out?
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, it is safe to leave raw hamburgers out for up to two hours before refrigeration or cooking becomes necessary.
The same rule applies to an environment that is over 90℉. Raw hamburgers can only be out for one hour or less in those temperatures.
If you are defrosting frozen raw hamburgers, experts discourage you from doing so by placing it on the counter to thaw. This meat is still unsafe if left at room temperature for more than two hours.
Instead, defrost the hamburger in the refrigerator by placing it there the day before use. Place a plate underneath it to prevent water and juices from leaking onto your fridge shelves.
If you don’t have time to wait for raw meat to defrost in the fridge, there are two other safe methods that yield quicker results.
If you are going to cook the meat immediately afterward, you can use the defrost setting on your microwave. Note that this method may start to cook the outside of the ground beef while in the microwave, so cook immediately after.
Alternatively, you can place the raw hamburger into a watertight bag and submerge into cold water. Dump and refill water every 30 minutes until thawed.
While refilling your water you can run the meat under slightly warmed water to speed the process. However, do not use hot water, and do not leave your raw hamburger submerged in warm water. Bacteria grow far too quickly in that environment.
How Long Can a Fast Food Burger Sit Out?
The USDA sticks with its hard and fast rule of foods not being eaten after two hours at room temperature, however, some people believe that fast food burgers are the exception.
You’ve probably seen or heard that the McDonald’s Big Mac looks virtually the same after being left out for a decade. However, looking the same and being safe to eat are two very different issues.
Even if there is no evidence of a bad smell or mold on your day-old forgotten burger, it still poses the danger of making you ill.
Because of the low moisture content in a lot of fast food burgers, they tend to look the same even after a long period. Without moisture, there is no environment for mold. However, there are still invisible bacteria growing and multiplying within the exposed food.
Online searches reveal plenty of risk-takers who have eaten fast food burgers left out overnight without getting sick. Unfortunately, just because they managed to skirt illness doesn’t make the practice safe.
With fast food burgers being an affordable and fast meal, it is better to just hit the drive-thru and get yourself a fresh one.
Can You Get Sick From Eating a Burger That’s Been Left Out Overnight?
The evidence is abundantly clear that yes, you absolutely can get sick from eating a burger that has been out all night. In fact, you can get sick from many foods if they have been left out too long.
Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that produces a toxin which, in turn, makes the person who ingested it ill. In fact, it can also infect animals, so don’t feed your old food to your pets either.
Even if the burger is recooked to a “safe” temperature, the toxin remains even after the bacteria is killed.
Symptoms of food poisoning come on within a few hours and include nausea, vomiting, weakness, and abdominal cramping. More severe symptoms such as muscle cramping and changes in pulse rate can occur as well.
Coming down with what can be a serious illness is not worth eating yesterday’s burger.
How Long Can You Store Hamburgers In the Fridge?
Cooked ground beef can stay in the fridge for about three or four days. However, your other burger ingredients might not hold up for the same amount of time.
Typically the bread used for the bun will go stale within one to two days.
Lettuce will wilt and turn slimy very quickly. If you plan to keep your leftover burger in the fridge, consider removing the lettuce before storing it.
Tougher additions such as onions and pickles will likely hold up for a few days, but you may want to separate them from the bun so as to avoid moisture making the bun soggy.
Store your burger wrapped up to avoid the air getting to the bread and making it stale.
How Should You Reheat a Burger?
The oven is your best bet when it comes to reheating burgers. You can use your standard oven or a toaster oven.
If a stovetop or microwave is all you have available, those directions are below as well:
Oven: Preheat your oven to 350℉. While it is heating up, pull your burger out of the fridge to take the chill off.
Separate the buns from the patty & other ingredients. Wrap your burger patty in tinfoil, removing any ingredients you do not wish to be heated (such as lettuce).
Once the oven is up to temperature, place the wrapped burger on the middle rack and let cook for 8 minutes.
Check the internal temperature of the center of your patty. Once it reaches165℉ it has reached a safe temperature to eat.
To heat the buns, place cut side down on the rack of the same oven and cook for two minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning and pull out when warmed through.
Reassemble the burger and enjoy!
Stovetop: Alternatively, you can use the same method on your stovetop to heat your components through to a safe temperature.
Microwave: If a microwave is all you have available, deconstruct your burger and place the patty on a microwave-safe plate with a small splash of water on top of the patty.
Use the reheat function on your microwave and cook for one minute. Flip your patty and cook for an additional minute. Test the temperature and add short bursts of time as needed until up to temp.
Place your buns in the microwave on reheat and cook for 20-30 seconds, or until warm.
How Long Can You Leave a Hamburger Out to Thaw?
Guidelines recommend that you never leave food out for more than 2 hours at room temperature to avoid bacterial growth.
If you need to thaw a cooked, frozen hamburger the best method is to place it in the fridge and allow it to thaw.
If this method is not available to you, seal the burger in a watertight bag and submerge it in cold water until thawed.
The same guidelines will go for raw, frozen hamburger meat. You will simply have the added step of forming and cooking the patties before assembling your burger.