My leg quarters took 8 hours to hit 170?!?

[steve66]

Very strange goings on! I have not been on the forum in a very long time and this happened today so I thought I’d see if anyone might have an answer. I started some chicken leg quarters at about 3:30 with the hope of them being done at about 6:30. I had a ThermoPro digital thermometer in the largest one. Long story short I had to leave to take a dog to the vet. We got home at about 8:30 and I figured they would be toast but they were only at 150 and looked ok just not done. I let them finish and the alarm went off at 11:30. They look just like others I have done. My Masterbuilt is pretty accurate temp wise and so is the thermopro. I brined them for 3 days in my fridge.(Didn’t mean to go so long but stuff happens). It was windy and cool in the low 60s today. So O guess my question is should I pitch them in the trash or go ahead and eat them?

Thanks in advance
Steve

 

[gmc2003]

Personally I toss them, and figure out what went wrong. Chicken is pretty inexpensive compared to your health. Even smoking at 225* quarters shouldn't take more than a couple hours.

 

[mike243]

Leg 1/4's take 4-6 hours on my Masterbuilt depending on outside temps and how big they are, I normally run wide open also, separating them speeds it up some but that's a pretty big piece of meat, I would hazard they are ok but when in doubt

 

[Newglide]

What temps does a Masterbuilt run?
6-8 hours sounds like a long time to me.

 

[jcam222]

Not sure what temp you were cooking at but at 275F you can finish a pork butt in less time than that. I’d be concerned with chicken that took that long to get up to temp.

 

[Chasdev]

IMHO, chicken is best cooked hot and fast.
I prefer heating cooker to 400/450, and right after placing the bird/bird parts, lower to 350/375.
A whole bird will be done in 1.5 hours and come out tender and juicy.
Of course I dry brine all bird bits..

 

[negolien]

that sounds like a long time in the danger zone what was the meat like dry? We need way more info to help you Sir. I've cooked whole chickens in less time than that

 

[schlotz]

Toss them! The description would immediately make me want to re-validate the accuracy of the temp setting. What was described sounds like the actual temp it ran at was not equal to the controller setting.

 

[JeffShoaf]

Does the thermo-pro give you a graph of the temps over time? That should tell you how long you were in the danger zone.

 

[zwiller]

Miss Chef JJ for this stuff... I think your OK UNLESS you injected and even then I think you're still OK. Would like to see more info. Meat weight/smoker temp. As to the why it took so long. I'd wager too much chicken and looong recovery. MES takes 15Hrs to do a 8lb butt @ 275F. 10lbs of legs would be a lot for MES.

 

[steve66]

Thanks all. I’m gonna toss ‘em. I checked the thermo pro it’s ok. It shows 7 degrees low in boiling water and right on in ice water. Checking the MES this morning. I’ll let you know.

 

[SmokinEdge]

They were brined first, that’s salt the first safety hurdle. We know they were 150F at 5 hours, so it’s safe to say 140F within 4 hours. This would be safe food wise easy with the added salt brine. The long road to final IT was just adding flavor.

I agree they should have finished sooner, but that’s cooking, sometimes the meat is disagreeable. Smoke on.

 

[thirdeye]

Here is a good chart showing 'doubling' times for bacteria that supports your decision to toss the chicken.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Here is a good chart showing 'doubling' times for bacteria that supports your decision to toss the chicken.
View attachment 662376

All cooked meats must pass through those temperature zones to get from 40 to 140F but as long as that happens within 4 hours it’s safe, which is most likely the case here. The OP was at 150F in 5 hours with added salt brine.

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Have you verified the temp inside your smoker with another thermometer?

 

[chopsaw]

The OP was at 150F in 5 hours with added salt brine.

I agree with what you're saying , but the OP was also at the vet . Lets say he was running at high temps and the smoker kicked off on the high limit switch . Cooled down into a danger range , then reset and by the time he got home temp was back up .

If it was a constant rise in internal temp , then I agree that it was fine . No way of knowing what happened while he was gone .

 

[JeffShoaf]

If it was a constant rise in internal temp , then I agree that it was fine . No way of knowing what happened while he was gone .

That's why I asked if the thermo pro had an app that showed the temperature over time graph. I use a Thermoworks Signals for my long smokes and the app provides a graph so you can see exactly how long the chamber and food was in the danger zone.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I agree with what you're saying , but the OP was also at the vet . Lets say he was running at high temps and the smoker kicked off on the high limit switch . Cooled down into a danger range , then reset and by the time he got home temp was back up .

If it was a constant rise in internal temp , then I agree that it was fine . No way of knowing what happened while he was gone .

True, and I agree. However he was clearly at 150 in 5 hours, with the salt addition I’d be fine with the meat. In my mind, I really don’t need to know how the meat got there, just that it’s there In temp. 40 to 140 in 4 hours to be safe, but in my mind the salt brine easy carries over an hour longer, but that’s just me. I’d have eaten them no problem under these conditions. It’s all good information though. We all have to make decisions and experience is key. He can chalk this up as some experience.