Smoker went out

[MossburgTX]

Hey y’all I am somewhat new to smoking meat on my Weber Vertical Black Bullet Smoker. I thought I would try and overnight smoke and of course, the smoke/fire went out. Details below. The main question- is it okay to eat?

-smoking : pork shoulder at 8.5 lbs
-Put the meat on the smoker at 11:20 PM.
-Average temp cooking from 11:20-2:30 about 230 degrees.
-At 2:30 AM I went to bed and the internal temp of the meet was 132.5. The grill was at 250 degrees.
-I woke up at 4:00 and the internal temperature of the meat was 123 degrees with the smoker being 100 degrees. I rushed down and got the smoker up in a matter of minutes to about 200 before I took a deep breath.
-I don’t know what happened between the time 2:30 - 4:00. The temperature seems like it would have gone down slowly especially since the smoker started at 250 degrees but I don’t know the decreasing rate.
-Once done smoking the pork shoulder the internal temp will be around 200 degrees maybe 205 because of this.

All in all, should I eat it?

I’m going back and forth because I know the 4-40-140 rule and technically I would not pass but with the unknown variables it seems like there is a possibility that I could.

thoughts?

 

[forktender]

I wouldn't even think about it. I'd run down to the store and pick up another Butt and toss it on ASAP.
You really need too invest in an Inkbird 4 probe Bluetooth remote Thermometer, so you can set a high/low temp alarm. That way whether you have a flare up or the fire goes out it will alert you damn near instantly. The reason I like the Inkbird brand is they are super accurate and the alarm is loud enough to wake me out of a sound sleep which is rare for me. But after smoking for 10 hours plus, which means plenty of beers and or cocktails, I will normally crash out pretty hard for a few hours. And even with my crappy hearing, the Inkbird alarm is plenty loud to wake me.

Sorry to hear about your butt.

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

I agree with forktender . especially with pork I’d toss it. I stopped doing overnight cooks, I have been just waking up early and doing my pulled pork at around 4 am, and running my WSM at 250*-275* and it’s usually ready by dinner after resting. I find it just less stressful and easier overall

 

[mcokevin]

I would probably keep it, but there are a lot of people here with more experience than me.

I had my smoker stall out overnight last month and kept it, but my IT was above 140.

 

[thirdeye]

Boy, I hate the "help my fire went out" posts or emails. But you took great notes, and this helps a lot.

So you cooked the butt for 3 hours at ~230° and can confirm that the internal was 132°. This would have heated the surface enough to kill any baddies that were there in probably two hours, but very likely within 3 hours. Only a small amount of bacteria lives within whole muscle meat (removing the bone would have allowed surface contamination to get into the slit, was this a boneless butt?) Injecting has a small chance of contaminating below the surface, I've never has an issue due to injecting. So at this point you appear to be fine.

You left the smoker at 250°, waking 1.5 hours later to find a 100° pit, and a 123° internal. Let's say the pit temp took 45 minutes to start falling from the 250°.... you were likely still close or below 140° internal.... but remember the pit temp has already killed the surface bacteria.

You restored the pit temp (a quick action is to scoop up the butt and move to a 250+ oven while you restore the fire) fairly quickly and have held pit temp ever since. .

 

[gmc2003]

I would have kept it and eaten it. The 4-140 rule is geared more towards meat that has been compromised. Meaning ground meat, meat that has been poked for tenderness, or sliced into with a knife. Yours sounds like it was whole and intact. Your meat was close to 140, and was only sitting for an hour and a half. So my final verdict - Safe to eat. Now if you get the runs after, then please disregard this message.

Chris

 

[Binford 6100]

I'd eat it. Your going to bring the thing to 200 once done, you will kill off any bacteria then. But others haven't been so lucky. So your risk, but I would grab a plate

 

[chef jimmyj]

If intact the Meat is Fine! Intact Meat is Internally STERILE! Heating the Surface above 140°F will kill active Bacteria. In the very remote chance the Pork has Trichinae Parasites, they don't multiple and will be killed at 130°F

40 to 140 in 4 ONLY, applies to Ground, Injected, Boned and Tied or Heavily Punctured meat. OTBS MEMBERS should know this...JJ

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

 

[SmokyMose]

Seems I've been seeing a lot of "fire went out" or "smoker stopped" posts lately.....

 

[thirdeye]

Seems I've been seeing a lot of "fire went out" or "smoker stopped" posts lately.....

Wait until after Fathers Day, there might be even more.

 

[MossburgTX]

I wouldn't even think about it. I'd run down to the store and pick up another Butt and toss it on ASAP.
You really need too invest in an Inkbird 4 probe Bluetooth remote Thermometer, so you can set a high/low temp alarm. That way whether you have a flare up or the fire goes out it will alert you damn near instantly. The reason I like the Inkbird brand is they are super accurate and the alarm is loud enough to wake me out of a sound sleep which is rare for me. But after smoking for 10 hours plus, which means plenty of beers and or cocktails, I will normally crash out pretty hard for a few hours. And even with my crappy hearing, the Inkbird alarm is plenty loud to wake me.

Sorry to hear about your butt.

Thanks for the response! I have looked into getting the thermometer and it looks pretty sweet! Thanks for your help!

 

[MossburgTX]

I agree with forktender . especially with pork I’d toss it. I stopped doing overnight cooks, I have been just waking up early and doing my pulled pork at around 4 am, and running my WSM at 250*-275* and it’s usually ready by dinner after resting. I find it just less stressful and easier overall

Thanks for responding to the thread. I think I might stop over night ones as well. Well at least until my kids get older. Thanks again!

 

[MossburgTX]

I would probably keep it, but there are a lot of people here with more experience than me.

I had my smoker stall out overnight last month and kept it, but my IT was above 140.

Thanks for responding with your experience you had. It is helpful hearing from everyone so I appreciate you letting me know your thoughts!

 

[MossburgTX]

Boy, I hate the "help my fire went out" posts or emails. But you took great notes, and this helps a lot.

So you cooked the butt for 3 hours at ~230° and can confirm that the internal was 132°. This would have heated the surface enough to kill any baddies that were there in probably two hours, but very likely within 3 hours. Only a small amount of bacteria lives within whole muscle meat (removing the bone would have allowed surface contamination to get into the slit, was this a boneless butt?) Injecting has a small chance of contaminating below the surface, I've never has an issue due to injecting. So at this point you appear to be fine.

You left the smoker at 250°, waking 1.5 hours later to find a 100° pit, and a 123° internal. Let's say the pit temp took 45 minutes to start falling from the 250°.... you were likely still close or below 140° internal.... but remember the pit temp has already killed the surface bacteria.

You restored the pit temp (a quick action is to scoop up the butt and move to a 250+ oven while you restore the fire) fairly quickly and have held pit temp ever since. .

Thanks for responding to this thread. I hate these types of thread too and now I am apart of it. Probably what I get but I always take intensive notes when smoking to be able to look back at. I always want to know what I did and how it turned out.
Anyway, I appreciate your honestly and response!

 

[MossburgTX]

I would have kept it and eaten it. The 4-140 rule is geared more towards meat that has been compromised. Meaning ground meat, meat that has been poked for tenderness, or sliced into with a knife. Yours sounds like it was whole and intact. Your meat was close to 140, and was only sitting for an hour and a half. So my final verdict - Safe to eat. Now if you get the runs after, then please disregard this message.

Chris

Thanks man for your response. Didn’t get the runs so all is good and took the advice! Thanks again!

 

[MossburgTX]

If intact the Meat is Fine! Intact Meat is Internally STERILE! Heating the Surface above 140°F will kill active Bacteria. In the very remote chance the Pork has Trichinae Parasites, they don't multiple and will be killed at 130°F

40 to 140 in 4 ONLY, applies to Ground, Injected, Boned and Tied or Heavily Punctured meat. OTBS MEMBERS should know this...JJ

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

This is perfect! Thank you for responding to the thread with all the great information! This is exactly what I was looking for and hearing from you was extremely helpful! Thanks so much!