Is Meat safe to eat?

[conn006]

Just got a new electric smoker and need to know if it's safe to eat meat that has been smoked if it continues to sit in the smoker once the smoker has turned off.
I have 3 kids and after school I am the taxi driver to all of their activities and can be away from 1-3 hours. Is the meat still safe to eat? I would wrap it in foil to help prevent it from drying out.

 

[chef jimmyj]

If the meat is done smoking take it out of the smoker, double wrap in foil then towels and stick it in a Cooler it will stay piping hot for 5-6 hours, plenty of time to Taxi the kids and get home and finish making dinner. This is much safer than leaving it in the smoker although a well insulated smoker like a MES, that is left closed, will hold the temp turned off for 1-3 hours safely...JJ

 

[thsmormonsmokes]

Foiling, toweling, and into a cooler is your best option. It always amazes me how long it'll hold temps when you do that.

My best guess (listen to what what Chef JJ says a lot more than you listen to me) is that you'll be fine. If its fully cooked you're not likely to get any dangerous contaminant build up in 3 hours.

 

[dward51]

I've got a odd sized cooler that is perfect for 4 smoked pork shoulders (like it was made for them).  Longest I've held double foiled meat in that cooler is about 6 hours and it was still around 150-160* when we pulled them at the party (195-200 when I put them in).  Trick is not to have any open voids which is why most folks use towels as extra insulation.  The cooler trick will work for holding  meat, although I've only used it for pork shoulders. Even when we are planning on eating the shoulders after cooking, I let them do their resting in my favorite cooler.

 

[conn006]

I think I need to reword my question.

If I'm still out running around with the kids and the timer shuts off my electric smoker and the meat is fully cooked, will the fully cooked meat keep until I get home? Say 1-3 hours?

 

[deltadude]

IMHO 1-3 hours your safe provided whatever your smoking is cooked through.  Once had a turkey not cooked through in oven sat there for about 4-6 hours, put in fridge and again sat out, found not so nice looking green spot where bacteria was happily reproducing.

 

[cliffcarter]

I think I need to reword my question.
If I'm still out running around with the kids and the timer shuts off my electric smoker and the meat is fully cooked, will the fully cooked meat keep until I get home? Say 1-3 hours?

Are you really willing to take that chance with your kids? Why not set it up so that the timer cuts off the power at the time you will get home? How will you know if the meat is fully cooked?

If I were you I would fully cook the meat and store it safely in the fridge and reheat when I got home.

 

[dward51]

Depends on the smoker. 

If it's well insulated and you still are in the safe zone on the temps when you get home, you are good to go.  If it's a thinly insulated or uninsulated unit, it will loose heat pretty quickly and then you may well be in trouble.  Again, depends on the temps.

 

[chef jimmyj]

I think I need to reword my question.
If I'm still out running around with the kids and the timer shuts off my electric smoker and the meat is fully cooked, will the fully cooked meat keep until I get home? Say 1-3 hours?

 If nothing else went wrong then Yes, a couple of hours in a closed smoker should not be an issue. But you should make every effort to plan the smoke so it is done and in the cooler before you need to leave or have the smoke finish after you return...JJ