Pork loin roast fail

[tntragan]

So I'm new to smoking and this was about my 4th smoke in my new smoker. Everything else was a great success. Bought a pork loin roast, boneless, and covered in rub. Let it sit overnight in fridge. Started smoke at around 1 o'clock. I use a smoke hollow gas smoker. I have a dual thermometer and was keeping the smoker temp in the 225 to 240 range the whole time. Used my amnps to generate smoke. IT temp shot up the first 2 hours like I would have expected but it stalled, which I read that it would, so i didnt get too excited. I let that crazy roast stay in there for over 6 hoursand the temp only got as high as 149. It was only about a 2.5 lbs roast so i was expecting only about 4 hours to finish. I checked my thermometers in boiling water and both were within 2 deg of being right on. I checked the meat when it was cooking with an alternate therm and it was within 2 deg also. Not sure what happened. Any help would be appreciated. I was feeling pretty good about my smoking abilities until this one. I got a little humble pie instead of a nice roast. It looked and smelled good when i pulled it out, but for safety I through it out.

 

[pc farmer]

Smoker temp was way to low.   125-140?

225 should be the minimum smoking temp.

 

[okie362]

Yup...What he said.  Would take days to get the internal temp the same as the smoker temp.

 

[hamrhead1971]

I hate to hear that you threw a good pork loin away. Your stated you were cooking at 140? Did you mean 240? My loin roasts regularly smoke for 6+ hrs. USDA guidelines now state 145 degrees as a safe temp for eating pork so your pork loin was safe to eat.

Smoke it up
William

 

[tntragan]

Oops, sorry. I meant i was 225 - 240 on the temp. Can't figure what was going on with the meat.

 

[hamrhead1971]

The thing to remember when smoking is that the meat will be done when it gets done. You can't depend on it to go by a clock. Two identical cuts of meat can sit side by side and finish an hour apart. I pull my pork loins at 145 IT.
USDA guidelines state that all whole muscle meats, except poultry, are safe to eat at 145 degrees IT.

Smoke it up
William

 

[schlotz]

I tend to smoke mine a tad higher at 250 but that really shouldn't matter.  Still uncertain by your comment regarding 'dual thermometers' so asked another way, have you verified the actual grate temp with the smoke set to 225 is actually 225 or close? Next, was any 'peaking' involved throughout the smoke?  Opening the smoker really drops the temp and lengthens the smoke time due to recovery. 

Normal tented rest after pulling will show a slight rise in temp of maybe 5° before it starts to cool.  Resting is important to allow the juices to redistribute. Otherwise the juices will all flow out when cut leaving you with a dry product. I usually pull mine at 140-143° then rest for 20 min.

Was this a roast where two loins were tied together, a single loin just tied to maintain shape or ???

Judging by what you said, that loin should have been great to eat.  Did you cut through it to verify before throwing out? BTW verified 148° in the center can still yield an ever so slight pink section somewhere inside and that is fine to eat.

 

[tntragan]

Well I guess i blew that one. I thought I needed to hit 165 IT. My dual therm has one probe on the grate and one in the meat. Does it seem that a roast that small could take that long? BTW it was two pieces of meat tied together, would that make a difference in how long it would take? I was afraid that it took too long to hit 140 also. I think it was over 4 hours. Would it still have been safe?

 

[chef jimmyj]

It was perfectly Safe...The whole 40-140 in 4 is just a guideline for Ground and Injected meat. This is often misunderstood and has resulted in many a roast tossed for no good reason. There was a possibility that there was bacteria between the two pieces...BUT...Bacteria is also killed at lower temps over time and you definitely got there in 6 hours. See chart below, 130 for 112 minutes, just as safe as 140 or 165°F... I only cook Meatloaf to an IT of 150°F with a 15 minute rest. Always Juicy and Tender...JJ

 

 

[tntragan]

Guess I'll chalk that one up to stupidity. I'll be smarter next time. Thanks for the input.

 

[chef jimmyj]

NOPE, not stupidity! Newbie...There is TONS of info, bits and pieces, to be absorbed and remembered when it comes to food and food safety. I have been studying and teaching this stuff many years and still don't know, or remember, it all. When you think you do, some new Study, tells us all the past info is flawed or has to be modified. Truth is, one thing, takes too long to reach temp, will most likely not make you sick. But add...The processor mishandled the meat, the Grocery Meat Clerk left the meat on a warm Dock too long, you stop to get a Pizza on the way home from the Grocery store on a 90° day, You defrost on the counter...Then it takes long to get to temp, and you have a week immune system... Then you find yourself with Food Poisoning. Learn as much as you can and be careful, mostly using common sense and you will be fine. Below is a good start...JJ

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...ling/basics-for-handling-food-safely/CT_Index

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...od-handling/smoking-meat-and-poultry/CT_Index