Power went out danger zone

[ridgesmoker]

The power went out last night and was of for 3 hrs during my brisket smoke. I put it on at 10pm and power went off at 4 am I was cooking at 205. I left it on the grill because usually it doesn’t take long to get the power back on. I didn’t check the internal temp when it went off and I didn’t check when I started it back up…..I’m am a rookie at this. Is the meat still going to be ok or should I just toss it ?

 

[WaterRat]

Couple questions: was it injected? What was the weight? Any idea of the IT when the power died?

 

[dr k]

40 to 140 in 4...A Guideline and what to consider...

You will often see this called, " The Rule " here at SMF. This RULE, a Guideline actually, is the most frequently misquoted and misused info on SMF. More perfectly good meat has gone in the garbage at the hands of this," RULE " then from folks cleaning their Refrigerator or Freezer!!! Rules...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[schlotz]

Well, definitely a rookie learning moment. Always check the temp. 10p-4a (6 hours) @205 suggests it should be fine as it most likely reached 140º within the 6 hours. The guide above is a very good thing to bookmark. How do you know the smoker grate temp was really 205º? Never, never trust a built-in thermometer. Get a calibrated digital one that has at least two probes. One for the meat and the other for the grate. Plenty of choices out there, I use one from ThermoWorks.

 

[SmokinEdge]

All good replies . First off, to make the 140 rule you really need to be no lower on smoker temp than 225, and I would suggest you scrap that idea and run 250-275, especially starting out run those grate temps around that 250-275. As far as your current meat, as long as it wasn’t injected I’d turn up the heat and get it done to probe tender.

 

[sandyut]

Great info above…205 is too low.

when I started smoking I was under the impression 225 was the standard cook temp. Not so At all. 225 just takes forever to cook everything and there’s no magic there.

you may want to try run briskets and butts at 275. Shaves a lotta time off and you cant tell any difference in the product. Baby backs at 250, etc.