First Butt

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evillesi

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 30, 2008
10
10
ok so yesterday i tried to do my first pork but which was about 7 lbs. i was using my buddies charcoal smoker. i think i pretty much know the basics of smoking.

I was planning on about 12 hours at 225-250 well about 12 oclock last night the meet got up to about 195 and it was either done or not i had to goto bed!

i had it wrapped up pretty good in foil and stuck it in my small cooler with 2 towels wrapped around it.

i get up this morning to unwrap my present and it is pretty much less then warm and not done.

what do i do? is the meet going to be bad because it was not in the fridge? should i just stick it in the crock pot and get it about a certain temp to kill off in bacteria? or should i just pitch it and save my stomach!?

thanks for any advice.
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well that just sucks i dont understand how it could have taken that long but after reading the 24 hour smoke i guess i dont feel so bad.

we shall try again monday. ill be sure to get a 7am start
 
What do you mean exactly by not done? Was it raw in the center, or the meat didn't pull easily? If it got up to 195° then it should be okay safety wise, and done, it might not pull easily, but at 195° it's fine to eat. A lot of people cook them to 175° and make sliced pork.
 
I gues I should have asked a deeper question.
when you said it wasn't done--- do you mean not pullable and the meat was cooked, or was it still pink and jiggly in the middle?

if it was cooked, I agree with solar and slice er up.

If it was raw-ish in the middle, I would try again.

sorry I jumped too soon. but I just like the feeling of falling.
 
well i put it in the fridge this morning i am going to try to put in the crock pot and get it back up to about 165 and then pull it
 
How about answering this question? I can't see how you had a 195º internal and it was not done either. Shoot, 160º is done per se. How about your temp gauge, are you sure it is accurate?
 
that may be the issue with the thermometer, it is old but seems to be accurate. ill take a picture of it when i get home and show you the insides and you can tell me what you think
 
i guess my biggest concern is what food born illnesses could i have created by leaving it in the cooler overnight wrapped up and it not being hot this morning?

will these be gone once i get it up to above 165?
 
ok so i went home and sliced it in half and sure enough it was done. i was being thrown off my the smoke ring and other things.

my only concern now is the bacteria i could have since i let the temp drop from 1am to 9 am this morning.

what temp does it need to be above before its safe to eat?
 
That is a loaded question with a lot answers depending on the situation.

Commercially raised pork if free of parasites, and if it is fresh, I only cook it medium. for loins and chops etc. 140 f.

but what you are asking, I think and please correct me if I am answering the wrong question, if you had it in the danger zone should you still eat it.

Smoke is a preservative and has some antibacterial properties(very few)
so if your meat was fresh and you got it up to 195f. like you said earlier, you will be fine since any latent bacteria would have been killed in the first cooking process.

Now with that said let's talk about botchulism......nasty

It is not the botchulism bacteria that hurt you or even kill you, it is there waste by-product that causes the poisoning. So even if you kill the bacteria, their waste by-product will still be present and heat does not break it down. But this is only a concern for raw mis handle meat, like if you have a bad batch of jerkey go wrong, or all fires failed in the beginning of a bbq session, and you didn't catch it for several hours.

but like I said, the final decission is up to you, but if you pulled at 195 F. and it has a good smoke to the surface. I'd eat it.
 
Is it worth 24 hrs of vomitting and cramps, and pooping your pants?
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Next time, if your gonna smoke some meat and invest all that time and money, use an alarm clock or oven, its really that simple.
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There are no guarantees in Q as far as done times and how each individual meat will cook. That being a standard ideal, I would plan for the longest time, and anything short of that would be a bonus!
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i am going to eat it. it looks to be fine and i had it up to 195 so ill let you know if i am on the ****ter all day tommorow.

lessons learned!

be confident
 
Good luck Evil. You are a brave man. But i know that pulled pork is awful good. Drown it in sauce and that should kill anything bad, right? Well, let us know if have any complications.
 
Come on guys, he gave it a shot, do you really think that if a butt was cooked to 195° that he has to worry about getting sick?
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He did say that he cut it in half and it was done,but he was thrown off by the smoke ring, we've all been a noob, just some of us knew more than others on our first try.
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im still alive and it was great! i used marx sauce on it and threw it in the crock pot.

ill be smoking again monday with orangedbaggedaccord on here. mabye we can post some pics i am going to try ribs again i seem to be pretty good at those!
 
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