Thanks Eric,
You got that answer in before my last post (I type with one finger), but I guess that means anybody who still puts his probe in right away still has the problem I worry about.
I gotta go eat now, but I'll read bbally's thing later. If you can add anything about the early probers, please do, because I'm betting 90% of smokers probe when they start her up.
Gracias,
Bear
No prob brother!
Yea, as for probes, there's not much point in sticking it right away, IMO...unless you like to sit and watch it slowly climb...kinda like watching the grass grow...J/K!!!!!!
Seriously though, if you inject your meats with a brine or marinade, use a penetration-type tenderizer (the kind with needles), if you pierce the meat to add pockets for sticking garlic cloves into, or if you insert a temp probe before the exterior 1/2" has reached at least 138*, any of these actions
could likely introduce harmful bacteria by pushing it through the surface and deeper into the meat...that's my take on how I read bbally's post awhile back.
Hmm, you know, I think I need to review that thread again very soon, so I can make sure I'm still in the game...a lot can happen to one's mind after 6 months or so has passed.
The older version of the safe time/temps rule that we all tried to follow was 40*-140* within 4 hours...period...without any deviation for whole muscle meats vs ground/injected/punctured, stuffed/filleted, etc. This was a much more stringent rule to follow, and thus many of us were doing our best to achieve this goal, so IMO, we were erring towards the safety side of things...and no harm was done. Now, it's 40-138* in 4 hours, with consideration of the above mentioned conditions.
Anyhow, for the really big cuts, I wait for 7-8 hours now days, 'cause I know I'm nowhere near foiling or finished temps anyway.
At the very least, wait at least 4 hours if your pretty sure the meat will not reached your target temp before that time...smaller cuts may hit your target in under 4 hours, especially if you run higher chamber temps (250-275*).
bbally's post really gets these issues out in the open, and it's not based on opinions...it's straight from the federal level...I recommend it to anyone who is not certified as a food handler and has not read it yet, please do so.
Eric