What external temperature do you smoke at?

[cookshack]

Hello,

Looking for help again.

Just learned the "Danger Zone" (40*F - 140*F). Bacteria grows most rapidly in these temperatures, doubling in numbers in as little as 20 minutes. The USDA Meat and Poultry hotline advises never to leave food out of refrigeration for over 2 hours. If the temperature is over 90*F, food should not be left out over 1 hour.

The USDA recommends Meat and Poultry should be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature. Beef should have an internal temperature of 145*F. The oven temperature should be no lower than 350*F.

If I smoke at a minimum oven temperature of 140*F, which is by coincidence the lowest setting on my COOKSHACK, and I don't stick a temperature probe in my meat until the outside temperature reaches 140*F is this the minimum safest cooking procedure?

I want to step smoke Salmon and work my cooking temperature up to reach my desired internal temperature so as to get the most smoke flavor.

 

[dick foster]

"The oven temperature should be no lower than 350*F."

If that's the cast then I've already died several times over.

If I were you, I'd consider the souce. It is afterall the same bunch of clowns that can't do anything right, can't be fired or even punished no matter how poorly they perform, what wrongs they do, how wrong their info or how many lies to tell to how many people.

 

[bluefrog]

I smoke most items at 200 to 250.  Its the internal temp tht you are trying to reach.  Asmoking temp of only 140 is more in the range used for dehydrating.

 

[dick bullard]

Don't know about your fish, but I wouldn't consider smoking normal meat at such a low temp.....it would take forever for the internat temp to go through the danger zone......a lot of people smoke between 225 and 250 degrees...a lot of low temp smoking is done with sausage, but  a cure is added to the meat in order to be able to smoke at such a low temp.......RICK

 

[cookshack]

"The oven temperature should be no lower than 350*F."

If that's the cast then I've already died several times over.

If I were you, I'd consider the souce. It is afterall the same bunch of clowns that can't do anything right, can't be fired or even punished no matter how poorly they perform, what wrongs they do, how wrong their info or how many lies to tell to how many people.

My Alto-Shaam cook and hold oven manufacturer recommends to cook at 250*F. I set the hold thermostat at 150*F for tr-tip. This will get me the desired 140*F internal temp if I shut off the 250*F cook thermostat at 110*F internal temperature.

 

[cookshack]

The Oregon State EDU recommends smoking salmon to 160*F for 30 minutes but only after smoking for 3 to 5 hours. That's where I have to keep my internal temp down by lowering my external temp.

 

[flash]

Most fish I smoke (Spanish Macs, Bluefish) are smoked at 180º to 200º.

All other meats from 225 to 275º

 

[cookshack]

I smoke whole muscle tri-tip in my offset smoker stick burner from 150* to 200*F external temp. I like to smoke the meat for hours for the flavor. I would bring the internal temp to 140*F at the end of the smoke by raising the external temp. I never though that the internal temp was the danger zone if the meat was not pierced by a probe.

 

[dick bullard]

Whole muscle meat I believe only has to have the 1st 1/2 inch of the meat reach the 140 degree point in the alloted time.  I think this time and temp. is without a probe being used from the start......The 140 degrees internal temp. in 4 hrs. is pertaining to meat which has been processed such as grount meat.....if you do a search...there are probably hundreds of threads on this very same subject.....!!!  ...RICK

 

[pineywoods]

Whole muscle meat I believe only has to have the 1st 1/2 inch of the meat reach the 140 degree point in the alloted time.  I think this time and temp. is without a probe being used from the start......The 140 degrees internal temp. in 4 hrs. is pertaining to meat which has been processed such as grount meat.....if you do a search...there are probably hundreds of threads on this very same subject.....!!!  ...RICK

The intact muscle rule says that the outer 1/2" must go from 41-140 in under 4 hours. This rule only applies if the meat has not been punctured. Puncturing it would include placing a meat probe of injecting it or a number of other things.(The rule may now be 41-135 I haven't looked to see if it too changed)

If the meat has been probed, injected, ground, cubed or about anything else the rule says 41-135 in under 4 hours. (They changed the standard from 140)

If the meat has been cured then those rules do not apply

 

[cookshack]

I used to probe my raw tri-tip and then put them in the smoker. I would smoke them on the offset smoker from 10:00am to 6:00pm and remove it at my desired internal temerature of 140F degrees. I would smoke in the temperature range of 150 to 200 degrees.

Just learned this is all wrong. For safe cooking I would use the USDA recommended internal temperatures guide.

I do have an infrared thermometer. Now I won't insert the temperature probe until the outer 0.5 temp is 140F degrees on whole muscle. I read that I would need to smoke at @ 200 degrees to be within the 4 hour range.

RULES TO FOLLOW:

Follow USDA minimum internal temperatures.

External temp must reach 140F degrees within 4 hours for intact muscle. Usually requiring a temp of at least 200F or better.

Ground meat or probed meat. The inside temp of the meat must pass through 140F within four hours. Usually requiring a temp of at least 275 F or better.

Holding the beef muscle for 3 minutes at 145F can be legal to skip the 165F ground meat rule.

 

[pineywoods]

I find that smoking in the 225-250 range usually gets the internal temperature above 140 most of the time with ground meat and probed meat as long as you keep your temperatures in that range the whole time.

 

[sqwib]

Hello,

Looking for help again.

Just learned the "Danger Zone" (40*F - 140*F). Bacteria grows most rapidly in these temperatures, doubling in numbers in as little as 20 minutes. The USDA Meat and Poultry hotline advises never to leave food out of refrigeration for over 2 hours. If the temperature is over 90*F, food should not be left out over 1 hour.

The USDA recommends Meat and Poultry should be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature. Beef should have an internal temperature of 145*F. The oven temperature should be no lower than 350*F.

If I smoke at a minimum oven temperature of 140*F, which is by coincidence the lowest setting on my COOKSHACK, and I don't stick a temperature probe in my meat until the outside temperature reaches 140*F is this the minimum safest cooking procedure?

I want to step smoke Salmon and work my cooking temperature up to reach my desired internal temperature so as to get the most smoke flavor.

If you are cold smoking you need to brine or cure and the temps need to be around 100 degrees.