Half Safe?

[MaxFL]

Nothing like a meat emergency to turn a lurker into a member. Hate that this is my first post.

Trimmed and seasoned two briskets Friday night with plans to smoke overnight Saturday. Got the smoker up to 225 and first brisket on at 11:50. Second/smaller brisket out of the fridge and on at 1 AM. Check the hopper on my Camp Chef and turn in for the night. Woke up at 4:30 and looked at the app and it’s only at 170 in the smoker. Further investigation on the graph shows a temp setting change at 1:08 AM. Unless I bumped the dial while checking the hopper this happened on its own or some evil person snuck onto my patio to sabotage me (not likely). I’ve never had an issue like this before. I immediately cranked up the temp to 300.

So the first brisket sat at 225 for about 1 hour 15 minutes. I’m thinking it’s probably okay as the surface temp should have exceeded 140. Really worried about the second brisket. Neither had a probe in them as I typically insert that in the morning to avoid driving bacteria into the meat. 30 minutes after catching the problem the surface temp on the second brisket was at 190.

I have read all the food safety posts I can find but can’t find a similar situation. What say you? Total loss? Toss the second one? Super bummed with 30 people coming over in 12 hours expecting brisket. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

[gmc2003]

You should be fine. If I read your post correctly. The 40 to 140 is just a guideline and basically pertains to non-intact meat like ground burger or heavily injected meat.

Here's a snippet from a Chef JimmyJ post who was our onsite safety expert. He may be gone, but his words still resonate here.

If the Meat, a Pork Butt, Beef Brisket, Etc, is INTACT, other than Therm Probe, it don't matter if the IT takes 4 hours or 24 hours to get above 140 if we want it there at all!!! The interior of muscle is Sterile, so there is no Bacteria to worry about. Additionally, at 225°F, the meat surface will pass 140°F in 30 to 60 minutes or less, depending on the size of the meat. All surface bacteria is Killed and there is very little that can change that.

Chris

 

[Gonna Smoke]

I agree with Chris...

 

[chopsaw]

Heck , I leave beef on the counter that long . I'd cook it also .

 

[Steve H]

Yup. Sounds like Chris has you covered.

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Gonna be good eating. Also I’d recommend to pick up a thermometer that has multiple prongs so you can use one to check smoker temp and set a High/Low alarm for it. So you don’t have this issue in the future

 

[jcam222]

I think you are probably fine but in my opinion a definitive answer would require meat temps. Definitely pick up a multiple probe setup for overnight smokes.

 

[MaxFL]

Thanks everyone. Really appreciate the rapid responses on this. What a great group here.

I’m definitely going to look into some sort of high/low alarm. The Camp Chef app does send push notifications to my phone, but in this case the set point changed so it thought it was doing the right thing.

I may also be looking into a new smoker or at least a new controller. It seems the smoker just adjusted the set point on its own again moments ago, this time only by 15 degrees. Looks like there might be a gremlin in the electronics.

 

[sandyut]

If the smoker was at 170 im sure they are both fine. IMO.

 

[normanaj]

Also I’d recommend to pick up a thermometer that has multiple prongs so you can use one to check smoker temp and set a High/Low alarm for it. So you don’t have this issue in the future

This absolutely can't be said enough!

 

[schlotz]

Thanks everyone. Really appreciate the rapid responses on this. What a great group here.

I’m definitely going to look into some sort of high/low alarm. The Camp Chef app does send push notifications to my phone, but in this case the set point changed so it thought it was doing the right thing.

I may also be looking into a new smoker or at least a new controller. It seems the smoker just adjusted the set point on its own again moments ago, this time only by 15 degrees. Looks like there might be a gremlin in the electronics.

First thing is to never trust built-in therms. Get a good reporting therm with a minimum of two probes (more is better) with one being for grate temp monitoring. Make sure you test it and its alarm to ensure its loud enough to wake you up. Then set the grate temp to alert you when it goes under or over the temps you program in. I've been using one from ThermoWorks for years.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Plenty of advice for you and I agree a good probe thermometer with at least 2 probes.

Warren