I forgot frozen ground beef on the counter overnight, is it safe to cook?

[cola]

In a circumstance like that it's quite possible that the meat has remained cold enough to prevent bacterial growth. What you should do is estimate whether the surface of the meat was at 40-45F or if it was substantially higher than that. 40-45F should feel like unfrozen ground meat at the store. If it was that cold you should definitely be fine.

If not, I would throw it out if I were on the cautious side about germs. Yes, probably being in a 350-degree oven for an hour will cook the meat thoroughly and kill any bacteria in it, but bacteria is not the only issue: bacteria can also leave behind toxins and can give the meat a bad flavor, even if you later kill them it's not good to eat.

 

[RSJ]

Hmm, how cold are they? Are you sure they are cold all over? If cold all over, it may be ok to use. Yeah, it's a lot to throw away. Hope they're still plenty cold.

 

[Tally]

I took out 3 packages of ground beef (roughly 1.5 pounds per package). They were rock hard when I took them out of the freezer around 10 pm last night. I went to bed and forgot them on the counter. When I woke up at 7 am, they were defrosted, but still cold to the touch. Are they safe to cook? I want to make meatballs, the meat will be cooking in the oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees F. How safe do you think they are to eat? Should I throw them out??
I'm a paranoid person who usually throws out anything that has been on the counter for more then an hour. I am a germaphobic person who hates getting sick. My husband says they are fine to cook and doesn't want me to throw them out???