Need some advice!

[Scooter49#]

First overnight smoke. Set traeger for 190 degrees from 11pm -7 am, somewhere along the line more towards AM the traeger stopped (BRISKET WAS WARM). Went out at 7am and was like Whaaaaat!

Fixed my traeger, IS THE BRISKET RUINED (unsafe) OR CAN I PUT BACK IN TREAGER AND CONTINUE MY SMOKE FOR ADDITOINAL EIGHT HOURS?

 

[thirdeye]

This doesn't look good. Do you have any temperature readings along the way so we can make an educated guess?

 

[chef jimmyj]

If it was not injected, you a Safe to proceed. Any Bacteria was on the outside and 190 is sufficient to kill them once the surface rose above 140. Even though the smoker died, it is unlikely new pathogens came in contact and the Salt in the rub, along with low surface moisture, would inhibit new growth. Enjoy the beef...JJ

 

[Scooter49#]

That's great, thank you for the reply!

 

[Scooter49#]

third eye, no unfortunately I was scrambling trying to fix the traeger problem. The brisket was slightly warm though. Im guessing it shut down around 6am, I noticed it at 7am. The internal temp is 130 as of now , but brisket is back on for the remainder eight hours.

 

[Scooter49#]

Chef Jimmy or Third eye, Sorry for all the questions I am a newbie smoker. Should I continue without being wrapped for the remainder eight hours to get 202 internal temp or leave wrapped in foil( did not have any butcher paper).

Thanks

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

If you're going to do overnight smokes, then it is imperative that you use a separte thermometer set up and set it for low and high alarms to monitor your pit temperatures.

JJ has got you covered too.

 

[thirdeye]

third eye, no unfortunately I was scrambling trying to fix the traeger problem. The brisket was slightly warm though. Im guessing it shut down around 6am, I noticed it at 7am. The internal temp is 130 as of now , but brisket is back on for the remainder eight hours.

Chef Jimmy or Third eye, Sorry for all the questions I am a newbie smoker. Should I continue without being wrapped for the remainder eight hours to get 202 internal temp or leave wrapped in foil( did not have any butcher paper).

Thanks

I hate the "Help, my fire went out" posts. At the first sign of trouble, the best action is to move your meat into a 250° oven, then solve the issue. If you have to restart a live fire it might take an hour anyway.

Treagers tend to cycle, so even though you were set at 190°, the temp probably ramped up to 210°, then fell to 180°, then repeated all night until it died. If you are guessing the fire died at 6am, that would have been ample time for the surface temperature to be high enough to have killed any bacteria.

Say, asking questions is how you learn. Foil is a tool, not a rule. I mainly use a wrapped step for tenderizing (others use it to stop the smoky flavor or to speed up a sluggish cook). So wrapping is an option. If you are cooking a flat, I think wrapping is beneficial. If you are cooking a point or a whole brisket, wrapping is up to you. Don't take the 202° temp to the bank. Probe the meat for tenderness, an ice pick works fine, as does a bamboo skewer. When the probe feels like room temperature peanut butter, going in and coming back out, the brisket has likely tendered up. Then rest it in a hot box at least 2 hours, 3 or 4 is better.