Smoking the whole shoulder with skin on

[pignit]

I'm gonna have to throw this in at ya. On both of these you posted that they didn't reach over 140 degrees until 6 hours of smoking. Take this as a curiousity kind of question but aren't you worried about stayin in the 40 - 140 in 4 hours or less rule of thumb? What temps are you smoking at? I would personally want to get that meat to 140 in 4 hours or less. If your goin by the temp on the gauge on the lid, you may want to double check it to make sure your really at that temp. They look fantastic but I would have concern about the safety issue. Help me out with this.

 

[ronp]

What Dave said. ^^^^

 

[oneshot]

I remember this subject from before when someone questioned my smoking temps/methods and it turned into a brawl here. So to help clear things up without any problems, remember this is the rule.

(Unpunctured, intact muscle need only have the outside 0.5 inch pass through 140 degrees within 4 hours. Something easily done at temps of 200 F or more).

Hope this helps with any questions.

 

[pignit]

No brawl startin here. I've never heard of the rule your describing and I've never read anything like that concerning the safetly zone. Where did you get the info? I'd like to check it out. I've always smoked with the intention of getting the internal temp of the meat to 140 in the 4 hour period. I may cut myself a little slack figuring it took a little time to get above 40 inside. Appreciate the info. I'd like to learn more about it.

 

[oneshot]

No problem buddy, I just had a bad experiance with this subject so I'm a little defensive on the subject. LOL

Check your pm for the info I sent you.

 

[warthog]

Those whole shoulders really look fine to me. Been doing butts here and doing the whole shoulder looks very interesting. I take my butts off the smoker when they get over 190. Let em rest for an hour and then do the pull.

 

[cheapchalee]

I'm smoking at 220-240 most of the time. Granted these weren't "cured" hams, but I'm of the belief that if is in an enviroment of constant heat and smoke at the aformention temperature, that there isn't an opertunity for contanimantion. I would think that getting an 8 kilo piece of meat up to an internal of 140 would almost need to have the temp up to 280+ for the first 4 hours or so. Maybe not but as long as I have the constant heat, I'm not worried. I wonder if this is the reason some people's butt "plateau" for so long, I have had one stall yet.

Charlie

 

[bmudd14474]

Bacteria will grow unless you get the meat above 140. It doesnt matter what you cooker temp is while cooking. You need to have the internal above 140 in 4 hours or bacteria will start to grow. Granted it will die off since your cooking to over 200 degrees but it can leave toxins behind.

That said To each their own.

 

[pineywoods]

According to the USDA bacteria grow the most at 40-140 and cooking further won't kill all of them if they contaminate the meat. That being said there is also a rule that says intact muscle need only the outer half inch pass through the 140 mark if the meat hasn't been punctured. What I would recommend is since you know the smoke is going to take a long time don't place the thermo probe into it for the first 4-6 hours that way you can use the intact muscle rule. As with any food safety things people get away with things many times with no problems but personally I find it easy enough to just add the probe later that I now do that with all smokes that are going to take more than 3 hours or so. Both of those shoulders looked great

 

[richoso1]

I whole-heartedly agree with Jerry, I don't insert a probe until the 7th hour of smoking at 225°. That's for brisket, butts, shoulders, and any anticipated long smokes.