Brisket at 135 for over 4 hours

[pitbossdreams]

My brisket was on for 6.5 hours and only reached 135. I wrapped it and raised the temp. The internal temp is now rising. Is the meat still safe to eat. It was probed at the beginning of the smoke.

 

[pineywoods]

I'm going to tell you that the rule is punctured meat needs to go from 40-140 in less than 4 hours. I will also tell you that if all you did was place a temperature probe I would eat it and not think a thing of it.
Next time don't probe it when you start the smoke wait 4 hours then place the probe the brisket sure won't be done in 4 hours so it would fall under the intact muscle rule and you will easily pass that one.

 

[schlotz]

6.5 hours to reach 135º hmm... seems a bit too long. Lots of details to go through but let's start with these:
- What type of smoker are you using?
- What temp were you smoking at? Was that from the built-in thermometer? They're notoriously inaccurate.
- Have you used a calibrated third party thermometer to verify grate temp?
- Along the same line, what was used to determine the IT of the brisket?

 

[Colin1230]

∆∆∆ curious as to this ∆∆∆

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

 

[Hijack73]

If you wipe your probes with alcohol (and you should) it cleans the probe but it doesn't clean the meat where you insert it.

I generally let the meat sit in the smoker for an hour before I insert probes. Meat surface is 'sterile' by then.

 

[pitbossdreams]

6.5 hours to reach 135º hmm... seems a bit too long. Lots of details to go through but let's start with these:
- What type of smoker are you using?
- What temp were you smoking at? Was that from the built-in thermometer? They're notoriously inaccurate.
- Have you used a calibrated third party thermometer to verify grate temp?
- Along the same line, what was used to determine the IT of the brisket?

Smoker: pit boss pro combo
Smoking at 200, suggested starting temp of the brand for a brisket.
I only used the built in thermometer for both the smoker temp and internal. I really never thought to use my other thermometer, but I will next time.

 

[pitbossdreams]

If you wipe your probes with alcohol (and you should) it cleans the probe but it doesn't clean the meat where you insert it.

I generally let the meat sit in the smoker for an hour before I insert probes. Meat surface is 'sterile' by then.

Yeah, I have learned a lot about "waiting to probe". I will be doing that from now on. I am truly a rookie and learn something new every time.

 

[Saul D]

My brisket was on for 6.5 hours and only reached 135. I wrapped it and raised the temp. The internal temp is now rising. Is the meat still safe to eat. It was probed at the beginning of the smoke.

If you go low-n-slow that’s not uncommon. When I smoke a brisket overnight I start at 200. After 8 hours it only gets to 145 internal temp. After my morning coffee I raise it to 250 til it reaches 165, then it wrap til done.

 

[dr k]

If intact and meat probe only keep cooking. It's going to 203*IT to get tender. Or blast an area you're sticking the probe in with a torch so nothing alive can ride the probe to the center of the meat. If intact, butts, brisket and ribs going to so high temp to get tender it doesn't matter if it takes 4 or 24 hours if you even want it that high to get to 40 F IT because it only applies to non intact meats. It's intact and like chef Jimmy J said in the 40 to 140 in 4 guideline food safety forum all OTBS members should know the pinned sticky's in the food safety forum. If in doubt throw it out is NOT the answer and we'll get someone to answer the question. In the mean time direct all to the pinned Food Safety Forum Threads that will solve 90+% of issues (which 90+% are fine to continue cooking.) Time for all members to revisit the pinned Food Safety Forum threads especially that the 40 to 140 in 4 hours is non intact meat only and to identify if you meat is not intact.

 

[schlotz]

Smoker: pit boss pro combo
Smoking at 200, suggested starting temp of the brand for a brisket.
I only used the built in thermometer for both the smoker temp and internal. I really never thought to use my other thermometer, but I will next time.

Briskets, pork butts both really don't care what temp you run them at. Your Pit Boss and others provide more smoke at lower temps ergo their suggestion of 200º. You can get way too far into the weeds trying to diagnose what might be the best. Instead, I'd stick with running at low temp for 1-2 hours then crank it to 275. It's been a good approach for me for many years.

For sure get a wireless thermometer that's calibrated. Personally, I use those from ThermWorks. Know your grate temp, know the weight you actually smoking and keep an eye on the IT at the thickest part of the flat. Start probing for doneness when the IT approaches 195º. You're looking for the feel of going in/out of a peanut butter jar all over the flat. If not, wait for a 3 rises in IT and probe again. Repeat until tender.

Last tip, take good notes for every smoke and refer to them before the next attempt. I keep all of mine in my recipe app.