Temp probe question

[smokingunny]

When you guys are cooking a big piece of meat like a butt or brisket, do you insert the probe at the beginning of the smoke or at a certai time, say 4 hours into the cook?

 

[tropics]

I like to insert it before I put the meat in. Gives me an idea of the temp before hand, close to room temp.

Richie

 

[sb59]

Some guys worry about driving surface bacteria into the meat when inserting the probe into raw meat, so they either wait until into the cook so the surface has been heat sterilized or heat the insertion point with a flame. Me I simply wipe the tip of the probe with an alcohol wipe or if I'm grilling I stick the tip over the flame a second or two and don't worry too much. But then again I haven't had so much as a tetanus shot or taken an antibiotic in the last 50 years. Never get sick!

 

[talan64]

If I'm doing a Butt or Brisket, that I know is going all the way up to 190 - 210, I'll wait to the 4 hr mark (when I can), just to make sure I don't "push" anything unwanted into the meat. If I'm doing some kind of roast, that I want Med rare-ish, then I probe at the start to make sure I don't "over cook" it.