Question about handling and inserting a meat thermometer into a pork butt ...

[edwardalt]

I smoked some BB ribs Friday eve around 230 for about 4 hours, spritzed a few times with a mix of apple juice and apple cider vinegar.  They were pretty good. 

Now for the n00bie question ...

After I had prepped the ribs, I pulled a 8.4 lb pork butt out, thinking I might smoke this at the same time.  I put mustard and rub on.  It sat out for a little while (maybe an hour), then I put it back in the fridge.  Due to weather, work, etc, I probably won't get to put it on the smoker until Monday evening.  The butt is in the fridge with the mustard and rub and wrapped in Press'n'Seal.  Will this be ok?  I have a Maverick 732 thermometer.  At what point should I insert the probe into the meat?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Ed

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Not a good idea to leave meat out of refrigeration at all except for actual handling/prep, IMO, let alone not cook it and put it back. This is an added risk with larger cuts, and I don't buy into tempering the meat before cooking, as the benefits are negligible. In fact, you should experience better smoke reaction if the meat is cold when you start smoking.

You have essentially doubled the time the meat will spend in the lower end of the danger zone temps, by warming it slightly, then slowly cooling it again. If cooked, it will warm again, into the danger zone. Was this an enhanced (cryovac packed) butt, or did you inject it with anything? If so, I'd toss it into the a hot smoker or oven @ 300*+ for slicing (it won't pull easily when cooked fast)...finish @ ~165-170* I/T. I'd be shooting for a 140* I/T in around 2 hours, if it were me...pretty hot and fast cooking.

When cooking low & slow, I wait at least 2 hours, usually around 4, to insert a probe into a butt or other larger cuts of meat. This allows the surface of the meat to become pasteurized so you don't force live bacteria from the surface into the core of the meat. If injected, it really doesn't matter, but the 40-140*/4-hr rule should be adhered to.

It should be fine to cook later, if not injected with broth/marinade...if it was, I'm not sure.

I'll PM the food safety mod with this so you can get his input as well.

Eric

 

[edwardalt]

It was cryovac before I unpackaged, rinsed, patted dry, then applied mustard and rub.

Thanks,

Ed
 

 

[chef jimmyj]

Ed, you will be fine with that Butt. Since you washed the meat, added mustard which is acidic and applied a rub containing salt. Surface Bacteria would be reduced and you did not inject anything keeping the muscle intact. While any time in the Danger Zone is not recommended, it is not uncommon in restaurants for meat to be out at room temp for an hour while it is being Prepared for cooking, trimming , seasoning, portioning and so on, then back into refrigeration for later cooking at some point during the week. I agree with Eric that warming meat to room temp before Low and Slow cooking has little effect and in cases where the meat was injected by you or the producer is outright Dangerous! Just make sure that you go from Refer to Smoker with this meat without further delay, monitor your smoker temp to ensure it stays above 225*F and wait an hour or two before inserting your Therm Probe for the surface temps to get sufficiently hot to kill any surface bacteria that has multiplied since your initial handling...JJ

 

[edwardalt]

Thanks Eric and JJ.  I appreciate your advice very much.  I will go ahead and put this on the smoker Monday night, but not put the meat probe in until later.  This thing's gonna take awhile anyhow!

Thanks again!

Ed