Thinking I need to toss my first attempt....

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pro dirt raker

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 27, 2010
11
10
Texas
I am in the process of my first attempt at a Boston Butt. Purchased the two pack at Sams Club that is cryo packed, brought them home yesterday, injected with apple juice, sugar, salt mixture and rubbed down with my own creation and into the fridge.

They were in the fridge for 12 hours. Woke up and 3 am this morning and plugged in my Brinkman electric, at 4 am I put the butts on the smoker straight from the fridge with the temp probe inserted into the butt that is on the top rack.

Its fairly windy outside and the temperature gauge I installed in the lid when I bought the smoker is showing that the smoker is maxed out at 200 degrees.

At 4 hours, checked the temp an it was only at 134 degrees. It took another hour, or 5 total, for the internal temp of that top butt to get to 140 degrees. I checked the temp of the bottom rack Butt at the 5 hour mark and it was 150 degrees. Now I am wishing that I had checked it at the 4 hour mark to see if that one was safe.

I am debating tossing the top rack Butt and keeping the bottom rack Butt to foil and put into the oven at 250 until it hits 200 degrees.

What do yall think, whould you risk it? Its just myself and my wife wating the pork. Is 5 Hours too long for a Butt that has been injected?
 
I'd toss it...

If this is your first attempt, you might try a simpler approach next time...say, rub and smoke...once you've got that down it will be easier to see what the other mods (injecting, juice, etc) do to your product...

keep us up to date!
 
Hey Pro Dirt Raker.... couple questions if I may.  First, you said you checked the temp at 4 hours and it was 134*.  Was that the IT of the butt?  If so, did you use a reliable thermo for that reading?  Something you know to be accurate?  Also, you say that the thermo in the lid - that you installed - was maxed out at 200*.  Do you know if that thermo is accurate or did you calibrate it?

If the temps are accurate - and as you've pointed out yourself - you've gone beyond the 140* in 4 hours guideline.  And since you injected, you also need to be more concerned with the 140* in 4 rule....

I'll defer to others that I'm sure will respond but if it were me, I'd be prone to error on the side of caution if you feel your thermos are accurate.

If I've missed something or misunderstood something, please let me know.

-Salt
 
Hi

First I was wondering what was the weight of the butt ? Its really depends on the size of the meat and the temp of the smoker, but to me 5 hours is not that long of a smoke it can take quite a long time to smoke a butt, but you really want an internal temp of around 200 degrees and for me I like to keep the smoker 225-250 degrees. 
 
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I thought I had read that they changed those guidelines to 40 to 135 in 4 hrs, you would be a lot closer then. but I am not sure

I think Chef JJ or Alblancher, or pops will probably be around to answer this question
 
If you where at 134 in 4 hours with an injected piece of meat the rules say 135 in 4 hours.  It is your decision, but unless you are serving someone considered in a "high risk" health category I would think you are close enough not to toss it.  A lot of us would say to get rid of it and I wouldn't argue with them but in my opinion if you kept the meat cold during prep time and didn't make any other egregious food safety mistakes then you are probably ok.   I just don't see how you got a piece of meat that size to 135 in a 200 degree smoker in 4 hours so I question the  accuracy of at least one of your thermos

Good luck
 
I was using a digital thermo that I had not calibrated before hand. I just boiled some water and checked the digital thermo and an instant read that I have and they both were at 200 degrees.

I hate to throw them both out, but without knowing that the bottom butt was at 140 by 4 hours, I am guessing that what I have to do. Right now at the 7 hour mark it is only at 150 degrees.

These are all internal temperatures. The two butts together in the cryo were 17.5 pounds.
 
so if you put them in boiling water and they only read 200? they should read 212 which would mean your thermo is running cold, if it says your but is 134 it would be 134+12=146

Large pieces of meat with fat and other connective tissues, Stall when cooking, it is called a plateau, there is nothing you can do to make your chunk of meat move through this plateau, sometime the temp will even drop , I think it is usally between the 150 and 170 temps, it will not budge until it is ready to start going up again.
 
In boiling water the therm should read 212*  so yours is 12* off if I am understanding you.

Top butt read 134* - 12* would be 122*

Bottom read 150* - 12* would be 138*

I would be a little worried about it being safe
 
I would wait to hear from Pops or JJ on this, before tossing it.  The guide lines have changed to 41- 135 in 4 hours, if i remember correctly, so I am thinking you are fine
 
I am with Big on this one,, if your thermo is off by 12 degrees and you are that close,, finish them off and try them out. I also thought they changed the IT also, where these Brined??
 
In boiling water the therm should read 212*  so yours is 12* off if I am understanding you.

Top butt read 134* - 12* would be 122*

Bottom read 150* - 12* would be 138*

I would be a little worried about it being safe
I think you went the wrong way on this one Harley, IF thew water was still boiling it should have read a higher temp so the thermo would be reading low
 
In boiling water the therm should read 212*  so yours is 12* off if I am understanding you.

Top butt read 134* - 12* would be 122*

Bottom read 150* - 12* would be 138*

I would be a little worried about it being safe
That's not correct his thermometer is reading 12 degrees lower then actual temp, there for you must add 12 degrees to the reading. 

top butt 134 + 12 = 146

bottom butt 150 + 12 = 162
 
 
After reading your thermometers were off by 12 degrees your temps at the 4 hour mark were good. Even using the old 40-140 in 4 rule your temps were above 140 at the 4 hour mark. I say finish them up pull them and enjoy. 
 
Don't need to throw that meat away.  Keep cooking it and make sure you wrap at around 170 IT and bring it to 200.  

My 2 cents.

take some picts..  let us see what you got going on.   Lots of help here.
 
with your temp probes being a little off and your temps being as close as they were, my educated opinion would be that you are fine.

espeacially with  the bottom butt. What I would do differently in the future to assure a better turn out would be ,  to keep the probes and injectors out of your whole muscle peices of meat until they have been in the smoker for at least 3 hours or more.I personally never inject butts or Brisket.  there is allot less chance of introducing bacteria into the meat that way. and try and run the temp just a bit higher, say 225*  minimum. once they are over the danger threshold dont rush them, they will stall for awhile and will start to climb again when the connective tissue breaks down.

good luck and let us knwo how things turn out
 
Ya.. I want to comment on my last post.. I don't want to give you bad advice so if you don't feel comfortable with it than do what you think is best.

still would like to see some Qview.
 
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