40 to 140 in under 4 ??

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arnie

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Feb 20, 2010
648
14
West Liberty, Iowa
OK, I’m sorry,
Beating_A_Dead_Horse_by_livius.gif
 but I’ve been discussing smoking a prime rib with someone I respect and I am questioning his procedure of smoking for 5 ½ hour at 180to get the meat to 125.   He believes the meat is pasteurized.


???
 
What size roast are we talking here? You are correct on the rule of thumb which to be safe you should go from 40 degrees to 140 degrees in a 4 hour window to ensure that there isn't bacteria growth in the meat. Now since you are talking about a whole cut of meat that generally can be adjusted a bit because the bacteria shouldn't penetrate the meat very far so the center doesn't need to reach 140 but if you stick a probe or any kind of object into the roast then you can introduce any bacteria that could have been on the outer part of the meat and now put it into the center of the meat and you would have to follow the 40-140 rule. At least that is how I understand it. Hopefully someone will correct me if I am pointing you in the wrong direction.
 
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Pasteurization occurs at high temps for a specific time then rapid cooling.  That is not happening with your friends process.

That being said if he wants his beef @ 125 internal.  Why bother smoking it?  Just slice it and serve cold as Tartare?

My $.02
 
What size roast are we talking here? You are correct on the rule of thumb which to be safe you should go from 40 degrees to 140 degrees in a 4 hour window to ensure that there isn't bacteria growth in the meat. Now since you are talking about a whole cut of meat that generally can be adjusted a bit because the bacteria shouldn't penetrate the meat very far so the center doesn't need to reach 140 but if you stick a probe or any kind of object into the roast then you can introduce any bacteria that could have been on the outer part of the meat and now put it into the center of the meat and you would have to follow the 40-140 rule. At least that is how I understand it. Hopefully someone will correct me if I am pointing you in the wrong direction.
Not sure of the weight, but he said it was a 2 rib short end choice grade. I agree with what you've said, but I seem to remember reading somewhere in order to get the temperature of the outside 1/2" of the meat through the 140 in 4 hours it should be cooked at 200.

I think he is trying to tell me the "Danger Zone" (40°F - 140°F) is about the ambient room temp. With the smoker temp above 140°F there is not issue with how long the smoke takes. I cannot believe this is right, or am I all wrong?
Pasteurization occurs at high temps for a specific time then rapid cooling.  That is not happening with your friends process.

That being said if he wants his beef @ 125 internal.  Why bother smoking it?  Just slice it and serve cold as Tartare?

My $.02
That's what I thought also.  

I’m unsure of the temperature needed for the pasteurization process, but I know it cannot be done at 180
 
OK, now I have a question. Is it alright to eat beef at 120-125 degrees internal, which is how we like it. I guess if you go by the 40-140 rule as long as we eat it, from fridge to stomach in less than 4 hours were OK. Is that right? 
 
Actually the rule was changed to 41-135 in under 4 hours. There are lots of other rules that can apply like holding it at X temperature for X minutes. Most of the food safety stuff I see posted does say if following the intact muscle rule run your smoker at at least 200 degrees. The best one I know to ask these questions is Bbally if he doesn't post to this thread then I would suggest PMing him Bob is great about answering members questions.
 
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Yea what Jerry said or what ever Bob says too.
 
I like my PR very rare so I smoke it a 225 to an internal of 130 and let it coast in foil to 135 (if I can wait that long
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)

All the recipes I see are for 200+ on the temps
 
I've always been confused as to where in the USDA fact sheets does it reference the 4 hour rule.  I've always only been able to find the "Danger Zone" fact sheet.

The Smoking Meat and Poultry fact sheet states the air temperature in the smoker or grill to be sure the heat stays between 225 and 300 °F throughout the cooking process. 

The last referenced fact sheet also states the following are safe internal temps;

Smoke food to a safe minimum internal temperature.
  • Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts, and chops may be cooked to 145 °F.
  • All cuts of pork to 160 °F.
  • Ground beef, veal and lamb to 160 °F.
  • All poultry should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F.
And of course we all know these are guidelines, but I wish I could find in the food safety guidelines the information on the 4 hour rule for my reference in future conversations with folks.  I've mentioned this in a couple recent offline conversations and a couple folks thought I was crazy and I'd love to be able to print something out to rub in their face!! LOL
 
The 4-hr guideline is for (EDIT: non-intact) whole muscle meats only, and any meats which do not meet the description of a whole muscle meat should be treated as such.

If I'm understanding the guidelines correctly, then, my interpretation of them leans towards the margin of safest practice, and in keeping with that:

Meats which are not considered whole muscle meats include:

1) meats which have had the bone removed and the incision/cuts have then been re-closed (to maintain a bulkier/thicker cut of meat);

2) any ground meat product;

3) any injected (injectable marinade) or punctured (temp probe insertion, or stuffed with garlic cloves) meat product which has been tampered with prior to the outer 1/2" of the meat reaching 140* within 4 hours;

4) any meats which have been filleted of otherwise cut open to insert another food product inside and then re-closed for cooking (such as stuffed pork loin);

So, with a prime rib roast, it would meet the description of a whole muscle meat, provided it is not injected with marinade, a thermometer probe inserted too early, or de-boned and then rolled and tied, or otherwise closing-up of the freshly cut surfaces of meat. If a bone-in beef rib eye, prime rib roast, 7-bone whole beef rib (or however you prefer to reference it as) is de-boned, since the bones are not removed from the interior of the whole roast, and, if this fresh cut from bone removal is left exposed the entire time it is being cooked, it would still be considered a whole muscle meat.

Note: if a cut of meat were deboned (example: pork butt/shoulder), and then left as a butter-flied cut until cooking is completed (which leaves the fresh cuts exposed), this would still be considered a whole muscle meat.

Hope this gives you a better picture of what the whole muscle meat guideline can do for you with low & slow cooking, and keeps you running down the straight and narrow path when your pre-cooked meats can't be considered whole muscle meats.

Eric
 
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OK, I’m sorry,
Beating_A_Dead_Horse_by_livius.gif
 but I’ve been discussing smoking a prime rib with someone I respect and I am questioning his procedure of smoking for 5 ½ hour at 180to get the meat to 125.   He believes the meat is pasteurized.


???
1) the meat is not pasturized

2) time is irrelevent in respect to 5 1/2hrs...........what if the meat is 1# vs 25#

3) cooking temperatures should be 225 or above

 

edit for #2...........if the meat is not pinned, rolled, punctured or mechanically altered.
 
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The 4-hr guideline is for whole muscle meats only, and any meats which do not meet the description of a whole muscle meat should be treated as such.

Eric
eric, i'm not sure i follow you on this.........do you mean non intact muscles must conform to the rule?
 
 
The 4-hr guideline is for whole muscle meats only, and any meats which do not meet the description of a whole muscle meat should be treated as such.

Eric
eric, i'm not sure i follow you on this.........do you mean non intact muscles must conform to the rule?
 
Oops!!! I can see the reason for your confusion...typo...should read for non-intact whole muscle meats, so yes, you're on the right track. Been one of them days...I'll edit the original to avoid future confusion.

Eric
 
OK, from reading all your posts, I'm assuming that it's safe to eat Prime rib at 125 degrees internal if it's smoked at at least 225 degrees and the external 1/2 " of the meat is at least 140 degrees. Correct?
 
OK, from reading all your posts, I'm assuming that it's safe to eat Prime rib at 125 degrees internal if it's smoked at at least 225 degrees and the external 1/2 " of the meat is at least 140 degrees. Correct?


I don't want to say 125˚ is safe to eat, but I will say that if it was smoked at 225˚, it is just as safe as if it was cooked at 350˚, as long as it wasn't probed or injected for the first 2 hours.

Bear
 
OK, I’m sorry,
Beating_A_Dead_Horse_by_livius.gif
 but I’ve been discussing smoking a prime rib with someone I respect and I am questioning his procedure of smoking for 5 ½ hour at 180to get the meat to 125.   He believes the meat is pasteurized.


???
Arnie, let me help you beat that horse:

I don't know where the safety border line is---180˚--190˚--200˚, or whatever, All I will say is when I do my Prime Rib, I keep the temp at 225˚/230˚ the whole time. I do not inject it, and I do not put the meat probe in until after the first 2 hours. When it is done, it is a nice juicy red/pink from bark to bark. There is nothing but pink inside, so what would smoking it at 180˚ accomplish.

Check the pics of my Prime Rib, by clicking below on "Prime Rib".

Bear
 
 
Sounds like it!  Just be aware of your temp probe placement.  I'm guessing that 125 in the center of a bone in roast is not 125 a bit lower by the bones.

Are we going to see any Qview for this project?  I want to see the cut version of a 125 roast.

Thanks
 
OK, now I have a question. Is it alright to eat beef at 120-125 degrees internal, which is how we like it. I guess if you go by the 40-140 rule as long as we eat it, from fridge to stomach in less than 4 hours were OK. Is that right? 


LOL---Fridge to stomach in 4 hours---Thanks for my daily laugh Al---I needed that. 
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Hmmm, after we eat it, we'll keep it at 98.6˚ for pretty long too.  Back to the drawing board !

Thanks Al,

Bear
 
Al, that does have good dose of comic relief, as Bear mentioned.

I don't know that I'd deliberately eat beef at 125* or lower...I can say that up to this point in time, I never have.

USDA doesn't even recommend cooking to rare temps with beef. They list 145* for med/rare in these fact sheets:

This sheet shows the reommended safe internal temps for all types of flesh-based foods HERE  (looking 1/2 way down the page for the chart).

And in this article, sub-titled "cooking", again, 1/2 way down the page HERE.

It's med/rare to med beef for me, but that's the way I've always liked my beef. I don't see any real benefit in cooking to 10 or 20* lower temp, as the juices of the beef are plentiful even at medium temps.

Eric
 
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