"It is important to remember that bacteria grow faster in the same warm temperatures, so extra care should be taken to make sure perishable food doesn’t spend too long in the Danger Zone. That is temperatures between 40 and 140 ˚F when perishable food spoils rapidly. Foods that should be served hot or cold should not spend more than one hour in the Danger Zone when temperatures are above 90 ˚F, and two hours when temperatures are below 90 ˚F.
What is the Danger Zone?
The Danger Zone is the temperature range in which bacteria can grow faster. Bacteria can actually double in number in as little as 20 minutes when perishable food is kept in the Danger Zone. In order to steer clear of the Danger Zone, you should always:
- Keep cold food, at or below 40 °F, in the refrigerator, in coolers, or in containers on ice.
- Limit the time coolers are open. Open and close the lid quickly. Do not leave coolers in direct sunlight.
- Keep foods served hot at or above 140 °F, in chafing dishes, warming trays, slow cookers or on the grill. You can keep cooked meats hot by setting them to the side of the grill rack, not directly over the coals where they could overcook.
- Use a food thermometer to check the safe recommended temperatures.
- Never leave food between 40 and 140 ˚F for more than two hours. If the temperature is above 90 °F, food should not be left out more than one hour."
https://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/2016/05/memorial-day-danger-zone.html
I think I've read
@daveomak post on keeping food at the right temp, not only after it's cooked, but particularly also not to leave it in a state where it's not cooking for a period of time. I wish I had copied what he wrote when I read it. Maybe he will stop and comment or you can PM him.
Now that you described how well the kamado holds heat on the tandoori chicken post, it sounds doable. If you're already sure it will hold temp for the period you need, maybe it would be ok. Without knowing, a wireless digital thermometer with a probe in the food for internal temp and one on the grate for cooking/grill temp, that can alert you if temp gets too low, would be the only way to be sure it's been at a safe temp the whole time since you want to turn the grill off and cook with residual heat. Although, I don't know that a probe would work in stew...lol. It should be good enough just to know from the grate probe that the cooking temp is high enough the whole time the food is in there.
We probably already do some risky things with some of us leaving smoked meats wrapped for hours before eating them and smoking sometimes at such low temperatures. From what I've read, cooking doesn't kill all of the things that can make you sick but most of them, and then they can multiply when food isn't cooked or kept at the right temp. While most of us can usually deal with what's left after cooking and sometimes even with improperly kept food, infants, elderly and those with compromised immune systems are more susceptible to illness.
It does sound like a great idea. Hope you'll post a thread if you do it.