Smoker went out last night - is my pork butt okay?

[Roo]

Hey guys!

smoked a pork butt last night at 11pm. Probably smoked for 3-4 hours then shut off.
I checked it this morning (8am) and everything was cold cold cold (temp outside is like 40 degrees last night). I have family coming to eat at 4pm tonight and it’s currently 8:30am. Can I wrap the meet in foil and throw it in the oven, or is this pork butt gone :(

 

[thirdeye]

I hate the "Help! My fire went out" posts. Your situation could be right on the borderline of food safety. Hopefully you have it in the oven coming up to temp while we sort things out.

Meanwhile, can you give more information? Is the butt a boneless one? What is it's weight? Did the roast go from the fridge to the smoker? What was the original smoker temp? Did you have any meat temp before you turned in for the night? Did you take an internal temp of the meat at 8AM? Do you have Dominoes on speed dial?

 

[DougE]

Do you have Dominoes on speed dial?

 

[cansmoke]

I hate the "Help! My fire went out" posts. Your situation could be right on the borderline of food safety. Hopefully you have it in the oven coming up to temp while we sort things out.

Meanwhile, can you give more information? Is the butt a boneless one? What is it's weight? Did the roast go from the fridge to the smoker? What was the original smoker temp? Did you have any meat temp before you turned in for the night? Did you take an internal temp of the meat at 8AM? Do you have Dominoes on speed dial?

If you have been without power for more than two hours, toss it! No need to give you our those you were going to feed issues.

 

[chef jimmyj]

If it was NOT INJECTED or Boned and Tied...You are FINE!!! 2-4 hours in a Hot Smoker is 1-3 hours longer than needed to Kill Surface Bacteria. If the meat is Intact, it could sit in that smoker, especially at 40°, until TOMORROW and be Completely SAFE!...JJ

 

[chef jimmyj]

cansmoke Here is some useful info for next time this situation comes up...JJ

My Smoker Died! Is my Meat Safe?

My Smoker is fine but if I had a Dollar for everytime i answered this type of post. I'd be smoking on a $20,000 Kalamazoo! Bottom line...If the meat is INTACT Bacteria on the surface is DEAD, HISTORY, KAPUT IN 30 to 60 MINUTES OR LESS AT 225°F!!! As soon as the surface gets to 140 or higher, the...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[DougE]

Here is some useful info for next time this situation comes up...JJ

My Smoker Died! Is my Meat Safe?

My Smoker is fine but if I had a Dollar for everytime i answered this type of post. I'd be smoking on a $20,000 Kalamazoo! Bottom line...If the meat is INTACT Bacteria on the surface is DEAD, HISTORY, KAPUT IN 30 to 60 MINUTES OR LESS AT 225°F!!! As soon as the surface gets to 140 or higher, the...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

I thought that to be the case, JJ, but didn't want to put it out there if I was mistaken. I bookmarked your other thread to keep as a reference for when this gets asked again.

 

[thirdeye]

If it was NOT INJECTED or Boned and Tied...You are FINE!!! 2-4 hours in a Hot Smoker is 1-3 hours longer than needed to Kill Surface Bacteria. If the meat is Intact, it could sit in that smoker, especially at 40°, until TOMORROW and be Completely SAFE!...JJ

Too bad R Roo did not follow up with the bone-in question, injection (Y/N), smoker temp and a more accurate pit time.

I've seen a lot of how-to videos and write-ups in the last couple of years that have gotten away from lo-n-slow cooks and recommend 275° and 300° pit temps, especially drum cooks. And at that pit temp, even a 8# butt will often be ~150° internal between hour 4 and 5. Pork butt is the only heavy meat I still cook with low pit temps.... I will stretch out a cook on a 8# or 9# butt for ~15 hours, and I don't even temp the internal until hour 8 or so.

 

[bigfurmn]

Long story short... Listen to Chef JJ. Pretty sure everyone here trusts him. I sure as hell do.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Follow-up would be nice. Runnin' a MES, it seems happy at 250°. Any big cuts take roughly 1.5 hours per pound... JJ

 

[Steve H]

And I'll again stress how handy a remote thermometer is with high/low alarms.

 

[schlotz]

Yeah yet another 'my smoker died sometime in the night' post. Why is it so many do not think of this real possibility and take the appropriate step to guard against it?
Steve H is spot on! A simple reporting therm with alarm can save the worry and ensure one's hard work is rewarded.

 

[normanaj]

And I'll again stress how handy a remote thermometer is with high/low alarms.

This can't be said enough.

 

[SmokinEdge]

It’s to bad that R Roo hasnt followed up. All we can do now is speculate.
That said, I’m guessing we are dealing with a pellet grill with a central fire pot, and we were smoking at that Magical 225* temp For an all night’er.

Most pellet grills with a central fire pot are pretty decent grills, but they are poor low/slow smokers. These machines are marketed as “smoker, grill, and oven” all in one. They are marketed, or perceived to be “a set and forget” grill/smoker. It is this perception that has sold more of these grills than anything else. Think of it,,,,,, a set and forget “smoker”,,,,,, How cool would that be? Why, with one of these I could be a “pit master” and low and slow a brisket or pork butt to perfection over night at that Magical 225* pit temp, all while getting a good nights sleep. Seems pretty smart, doesn’t it? Trouble is, if something sounds to good to be true, it generally is. This concept is at its best, naive, and at its worst, irresponsible. No cooker is ever “set and forget” really, not to a responsible cook. At Bear minimum you need remote thermometers with high/low alarms, and a few trial runs where you are actually tending to the cooker and learning how it operates at low cooking temperature For extended cook times. The idea that someone would fire up a cooker, throw a piece of meat on it, then walk away for 9 hours with no prior experience and not a care in the world, speaks volumes to me. This subject is actually all to common on these forums. The subject line is almost always the same, and the series of events is almost verbatim in all of them. It’s like a get rich quick scheme except it’s buy this grill and be an expert pit master scheme.

Pellet grills with a central fire pot have a continuous fan forging the fire while the auger feeds pellets into one end of the pot. This design works fairly well for high heat grilling temperature say 300-500* at low temps say 225 down to 180* when running for extended time, the continuous air flow on the fire tends to burn up the coals at the auger point before more pellets are introduced. (This always seems to occur at the 3-4 hour mark) and the fire goes out even though there may be hot coals on the opposite side of the pot, there is ash between the fresh pellets and hot coals, the fire simply dies. This design simply doesn’t lend itself to extended time cooks at low temperature.
Some grills auger pellet from above the firebox and gravity drops them in the fire. This design works better because the pellets fall randomly in the pot from one end to the other not just in one specific location of the pot. (Yoder is one) At any rate, pellet grills as a general rule make poor low slow cookers. They can work, but all to often struggle. I’ll get off my soap box now.

 

[schlotz]

I do agree that attempting an overnight cook without thinking through the possibilities is just asking for trouble regardless of brand or type of smoker. Fires go out for all sorts of reasons and you need a game plan that insures the smoke will be a success. Having said that, and in regard to type of smoker, my number one comment is you get what you pay for. FWIW, I've not had a single occurrence of my smoker dying overnight or any other time for that matter in all the years I've been smoking BUT, I'm prepared. I have and regularly use a reporting therm with an alarm.

Bottom line, you can successfully smoke low & slow (and overnight if you choose) with all types of equipment including pellet poopers if the necessary due diligence is followed. Throw caution to the wind and smoke blind to the potential pitfalls, you will get bit, it's just a matter of time.

I sure wish there was a prominent sticky for this ever occurring MSD syndrome (my smoker died), it would help some avoid the issue. Unfortunately, there are those 'free-spirits' that rarely learn, instead preferring to just wing-it without a thought to the downside.

 

[thirdeye]

It’s to bad that @Roo hasnt followed up. All we can do now is speculate.
That said, I’m guessing we are dealing with a pellet grill with a central fire pot, and we were smoking at that Magical 225* temp For an all night’er.

The idea that someone would fire up a cooker, throw a piece of meat on it, then walk away for 9 hours with no prior experience and not a care in the world, speaks volumes to me.

When the Big Green Eggs were starting to get really popular, say around 2005 or so a lot of cooks were smoking with 250° pit temps. Large Eggs can hold enough charcoal to cook for 20 or 25+ hours at those temps, so all-day or overnight cooks were now realistic with some nap time included. A common trend promoted by some Eggheads at the time was to use a cable thermometer for monitoring and 'never open the dome'. In fact it was taboo by some to peek. Anyways, one of my favorite forum posts at the time was from a guy that buys an Egg one Saturday and sets it up. He invites family and friends over for a Sunday brisket dinner. Very early Sunday he builds a fire, sets the vents and gets the brisket on. Then goes to church, then to breakfast.... then meets some guys for 18 holes of golf. On the way home he stops and picks up all the groceries for the rest of the dinner. He arrives to find that his Egg has slowly ramped up to about 800° and his brisket looked like a meteorite.

 

[Roo]

Hey guys, sorry for the late response. Bummer I had to throw the pork butt away. Pregnant wife and family in town and just didn't want to chance getting everyone sick. I did throw it in the oven for a few hourse that morning and tried it when I took it out. It was AMAZING! I was so bummed I had to throw it away. And I didn't get sick lol.

So, my problem was that I'm using a Traeger Scout (the portable smoker) and it ran out of pellets during the night. It was my first time trying the Scout and didn't expect that to happen.

Thank you for all of your responses! I've learned a lot and can't wait to try again. That was my very first time smoking.

 

[chopsaw]

I think you made the right choice given the circumstance .
I'll just say I never do unattended cooks .
Keep us posted on your next cook , and find a good therm .

 

[mcokevin]

When the Big Green Eggs were starting to get really popular, say around 2005 or so a lot of cooks were smoking with 250° pit temps. Large Eggs can hold enough charcoal to cook for 20 or 25+ hours at those temps, so all-day or overnight cooks were now realistic with some nap time included. A common trend promoted by some Eggheads at the time was to use a cable thermometer for monitoring and 'never open the dome'. In fact it was taboo by some to peek. Anyways, one of my favorite forum posts at the time was from a guy that buys an Egg one Saturday and sets it up. He invites family and friends over for a Sunday brisket dinner. Very early Sunday he builds a fire, sets the vents and gets the brisket on. Then goes to church, then to breakfast.... then meets some guys for 18 holes of golf. On the way home he stops and picks up all the groceries for the rest of the dinner. He arrives to find that his Egg has slowly ramped up to about 800° and his brisket looked like a meteorite.

I am really jealous of the cojones on that guy! Church, breakfast, then 18 holes... all while your first smoke is just rolling along at home. The easy life! You know he talked to his buddies the whole 18 about the brisket he was going to have later that night from his new super expensive big green egg.

 

[Roo]

I think you made the right choice given the circumstance .
I'll just say I never do unattended cooks .
Keep us posted on your next cook , and find a good therm .

Will Do! Thanks guys! Yeah, do you guys stay away from overnight smokes?