HELP!!!

ducksanddogs · Mar 4, 2015

I have a MES 40 and I usually do a ~8.5lb pork butt at 225 until internal temp is ~198 for pulled pork. It usually takes me all night and part of the next day and then I wrap in a cooler until ready to serve.

I put one in last night around 10PM. The last chips I put in were around 12. I went out there at 6:45 this morning and my smoker had turned off. I've used the crap out of this thing for the last year and a half and have never had this issue. It's plugged into a GFCI outlet and it was pretty foggy last night so I'm wondering if the moisture just flipped it. Regardless, I went out there at 6:45 and the unit was off and the internal temp was 54 degrees.

My question for you guys - I've always smoked pork at 225. How hot can I smoke it and still end up with a good finished product? Internal temp right now is still 54 degrees (smoker is warming back up) and we're eating in 10 hours and 45 minutes and I'd like to let it rest for at least 30 minutes but would prefer an hour, or two, if possible.

Thanks!

ducksanddogs · Mar 4, 2015

**Internal temperature of the pork is 54 degrees, not the smoker.

dd1700 · Mar 4, 2015

Without knowing how long it has been off I would be Leary serving it to my family.Just my opinion though.

ducksanddogs · Mar 4, 2015

DD1700 said:
Without knowing how long it has been off I would be Leary serving it to my family.Just my opinion though.

It was colder than the refrigerator last night. I think it'll be fine.

bigred77 · Mar 4, 2015

I have had similar happen with fire going out/drank too much and fell asleep

on a couple of over night cooks

looks like right now you got over 9 hours left......If it were me, I would crank up the cooker, let it get up to cooking temp for a couple of hours then cut that butt in half

will let you see what it looks like inside, help make a decision there, and of course will help cook the two halves faster

I would probably wrap them in foil at that point and keep em in there

would bet they have taken all the smoke they can take, and at this point you are looking to keep moist while they finish

good luck!

ducksanddogs · Mar 4, 2015

bigred77 said:
I have had similar happen with fire going out/drank too much and fell asleep :icon_confused: on a couple of over night cooks

looks like right now you got over 9 hours left......If it were me, I would crank up the cooker, let it get up to cooking temp for a couple of hours then cut that butt in half
will let you see what it looks like inside, help make a decision there, and of course will help cook the two halves faster

I would probably wrap them in foil at that point and keep em in there
would bet they have taken all the smoke they can take, and at this point you are looking to keep moist while they finish

good luck!

You just said my plan exactly. I'm mainly concerned with how high I can set the smoker without drying them out or overcooking them.

Just curious if anyone routinely cooks their butts at higher temps for shorter times with good results.

Thanks guys!

hillbillyrkstr · Mar 4, 2015

You have 4 hours to get that pork butt from 40-140. You've failed at that. Your risking the health of anyone you serve it to at this point based on the 40/140 rule. if the pork has an internal temp of 54 degrees Id assume it's crawling with bacteria. DANGEROUS!

If go to the store and buy another one. Smoke it hot and fast. I've smoked them on a SFB at 275-300 and gotten them done in less than an hour per pound.

rgautheir20420 · Mar 4, 2015

Ducksanddogs said:
It was colder than the refrigerator last night. I think it'll be fine.

I'm sorry but I can't agree with you. That thing was likely in the 40-140 range for just about the whole time it was in the smoker. Seeing as you started at 10 and last chip addition was at 12, that's 2 let's call that 2 hours in the danger zone...at the least 1.5 hrs. At this point, the meat is climbing in temp and seeing as you have no idea when the smoker failed and the IT of the meat was just 58 when you caught it at 6:45 this morning means that it has been in the danger zone very likely the whole time.

Sorry, but I'd be out at the store picking up some chicken to get my smoke fix instead of possibly getting friends and family sick.

dockman · Mar 4, 2015

At 6:45 with IT 54 don't you think if was up pretty good in IT before smoker stopped?

dockman · Mar 4, 2015

I would be willing to bet it reached 165-175!

rgautheir20420 · Mar 4, 2015

Dockman said:
At 6:45 with IT 54 don't you think if was up pretty good in IT before smoker stopped?

It's very possible, but there's no way to know it seems. Pork is cheap and not worth the unknowns in this case...in my opinion. I'd chalk it up to a learning experience. Next time, have a Low Temp set on your dual probe therm that's in the chamber to go off at a certain temp (get one if you don't have one). That way an alarm will sound on your main unit and alert you if this was to happen again and it could be avoided.

tropics · Mar 4, 2015

rgautheir20420 said:
I'm sorry but I can't agree with you. That thing was likely in the 40-140 range for just about the whole time it was in the smoker. Seeing as you started at 10 and last chip addition was at 12, that's 2 let's call that 2 hours in the danger zone...at the least 1.5 hrs. At this point, the meat is climbing in temp and seeing as you have no idea when the smoker failed and the IT of the meat was just 58 when you caught it at 6:45 this morning means that it has been in the danger zone very likely the whole time.

Sorry, but I'd be out at the store picking up some chicken to get my smoke fix instead of possibly getting friends and family sick.

I totally agree with rgautheir20420 MES Cabinet is very well insulated so the outside temp would not drop that fast. That meal could be dangerous.

bigred77 · Mar 4, 2015

Heck, go ahead and slice it in half, see what it looks like

dockman · Mar 4, 2015

Good point tropics! I did not take in account he chipped at 12.

hillbillyrkstr · Mar 4, 2015

It's not worth the risk. It's cheap meat and if you go to the store and buy one a little smaller you can throw a few hours of smoke on it and finish it hot and fast in the oven if your dead set on having pulled pork.

seenred · Mar 4, 2015

I have to chip in here and agree with those who are advising you to cut your losses!!

You have no way of knowing how long your roast was in the DANGER ZONE...I know you don't want to do it, but I would throw that butt out and make a quick run to the meat market. If you serve that meat to your guests and family, you are risking making them all sick.

You're playing Russian Roulette with that butt...maybe it wouldn't make anyone sick, but I'd never chance it...Better Safe Than Sorry!

Just my two cents...

Red

bmaddox · Mar 4, 2015

hillbillyrkstr said:
You have 4 hours to get that pork butt from 40-140. You've failed at that. Your risking the health of anyone you serve it to at this point based on the 40/140 rule. if the pork has an internal temp of 54 degrees Id assume it's crawling with bacteria. DANGEROUS!

If go to the store and buy another one. Smoke it hot and fast. I've smoked them on a SFB at 275-300 and gotten them done in less than an hour per pound.

Yep. Dangerous is an understatement.

If you can only confirm that you unit was on for 2 hours, then the worst case is that is went out shortly after 12 which means it was still in the danger zone when the smoker cut off. It would have taken until probably 4 in the morning to reach 140 degrees so at 6:45 it would still have been way higher than 54 degrees.

Throw it away and get a maverick thermo that alerts you if the smoker temp drops below a set point. That is the safest way I know of.

Sorry about the lost pork, I hate throwing food away.

gary s · Mar 4, 2015

Yeah but better safe than sorry

Gary

foamheart · Mar 4, 2015

That 10 lb butt cost what 20 bucks? You are the only person who can make the call.

hillbillyrkstr · Mar 5, 2015

Final verdict on this???

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