# Safe to eat? Kinda freaking here.



## Jeff H. (Jul 20, 2018)

Hello all, quick question here. I have two 8lb butts that I threw on smoker yesterday. Smoked for about 4 hrs before pulling off and putting in oven at 225. Started smoking at 11am, pulled off and put in over at 3pm. I had a party to attend and that's why they went in the oven. Got home from party at 1am, checked oven, still at 225, IT temp was 155/160, went to bed. Awoke at 5:30am and the oven had turned off (clueless as to how and why) but, IT temp was at 115, the bone was partially out and meat was starting to pull apart on top. Turned oven back on and its now 8:11am and it's at IT 170. Would this be ok to continue the cook or should I just call it a loss. The meat was intact, no punctures except probe. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Jeff


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## flatbroke (Jul 20, 2018)

I don't know the correct answer, but when in doubt I throw it out.  I prefer not to vomit and crap at the same time.


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## johnmeyer (Jul 20, 2018)

I'm at the other extreme: I'll eat anything. The last time I puked was back in the 1970s, and I doubt it was from bad food. 

Don't get me wrong, safe food practices are extremely important. The reason I'm a little cavalier about your situation is that you got it through the danger zone in plenty of time, and then cooked it for a long time at temps above 130. This should have killed off any and all pathogens that were inside the meat. 

You then had it cool down to a temp below the danger zone. Since the meat was sterile before this cooldown mishap, everything inside should be 100% safe because those little beasties can't magically and instantly migrate into the inside of the meat. As for the outside of the meat, it was sitting in an oven that was really hot before it turned off and therefore the airborne pathogens were all killed. While the oven isn't airtight, it is pretty close to being that, so very little outside air is going to have gotten in during that time.

Bottom line: I wouldn't think even two seconds about eating it.


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## dr k (Jul 20, 2018)

Jeff H. said:


> Hello all, quick question here. I have two 8lb butts that I threw on smoker yesterday. Smoked for about 4 hrs before pulling off and putting in oven at 225. Started smoking at 11am, pulled off and put in over at 3pm. I had a party to attend and that's why they went in the oven. Got home from party at 1am, checked oven, still at 225, IT temp was 155/160, went to bed. Awoke at 5:30am and the oven had turned off (clueless as to how and why) but, IT temp was at 115, the bone was partially out and meat was starting to pull apart on top. Turned oven back on and its now 8:11am and it's at IT 170. Would this be ok to continue the cook or should I just call it a loss. The meat was intact, no punctures except probe. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Jeff


You have more than met the FSIS pasteurization requirements at 155*F IT.  All but maybe one Foodbourne bacteria are killed at 130*F and all but maybe one bacteria have stopped growing at 120*F.  Being intact meat, having been pasteurized, then cooling to 115*F and continued cooking the bacteria couldn't have time to start growng let alone to dangerous levels.  Eat it.


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## Jeff H. (Jul 20, 2018)

johnmeyer said:


> I'm at the other extreme: I'll eat anything. The last time I puked was back in the 1970s, and I doubt it was from bad food.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, safe food practices are extremely important. The reason I'm a little cavalier about your situation is that you got it through the danger zone in plenty of time, and then cooked it for a long time at temps above 130. This should have killed off any and all pathogens that were inside the meat.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info and advice John. I've been smoking for years and never once had an issue like this arise. By 9am it was already up to almost 185/190 IT, so when I initially probed it, it was quick so I'm figuring had I tried a couple other spot and left it in for longer than a second, it more than likely would've been around 120ish. I went straight into panic mode. But, thanks again for the help. Great page.


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## Jeff H. (Jul 20, 2018)

dr k said:


> You have more than met the FSIS pasteurization requirements at 155*F IT.  All but maybe one Foodbourne bacteria are killed at 130*F and all but maybe one bacteria have stopped growing at 120*F.  Being intact meat, having been pasteurized, then cooling to 115*F and continued cooking the bacteria couldn't have time to start growng let alone to dangerous levels.  Eat it.



DR k, thanks for the advice and response. It's looking and smelling great. By 9am my IT was already at 185/190.


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## Jeff H. (Jul 20, 2018)

flatbroke said:


> I don't know the correct answer, but when in doubt I throw it out.  I prefer not to vomit and crap at the same time.



Thanks for the reply, I'm gonna do more research on this and go from there. Thanks again.


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## ab canuck (Jul 20, 2018)

Good info, thx guys, This was one when I read made me unsure. I would have kept going but that is me.


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## dr k (Jul 20, 2018)

The first thread in this food safety forum by Chef JJ  40-140 in 4 hour guideline is permanently pinned there because it is misquoted and misunderstood.  I kept reading it till I memorized it and you can look up the FSIS beef,veal, lamb and pork pasteurization table and the poultry table to find out how long a specie has to be held at a certain temp to be perfectly safe to eat without over cooking it.


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## schlotz (Jul 20, 2018)

Oven turning itself off, hmm... time to get out the manual to see if there is some sort of safety setting.  If not, it might have a temp sensor that is getting ready to go?


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## Jeff H. (Jul 20, 2018)

Yeah same thoughts here. My daughter works third and I've yet to question her to see if she had any role in this lol. She got out earlier than her norm, like 4ish (am) came home, seen oven on and turned it off, not knowing what was inside. Thanks for the info though.


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## TomKnollRFV (Jul 20, 2018)

If you want to think about this another way... store bought chicken etc will sit in a glass case with out oven heating when purchased for 4 hours, and it's considered safe to eat. 

I think your pork is fine. It was fully cooked before the oven got spaztastic on you. You got her back up to safe temps to finish the cooking. Heck between that and if you freeze it, I'd assume any thing trying to pop up has been hammered into submission by safety..


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## SmokinAl (Jul 20, 2018)

Your food is safe to eat. As far as the oven goes the new ovens turn themselves off after 10 hours if they are left unattended. I guess it's some kind of safety measure that the government mandated. In the future all you have to do is when you go to bed just turn off the oven & turn it back on & it will reset for another 10 hours.
Al


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## johnmeyer (Jul 20, 2018)

SmokinAl said:


> Your food is safe to eat. As far as the oven goes the new ovens turn themselves off after 10 hours if they are left unattended. I guess it's some kind of safety measure that the government mandated. In the future all you have to do is when you go to bed just turn off the oven & turn it back on & it will reset for another 10 hours.
> Al


I didn't know about that, but it is consistent with other annoying government mandated "features," like the air fryer that can't be run for more than thirty minutes.


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## shuckerpunch (Jul 20, 2018)

Only seven years ago the USDA changed the suggested safe temperature that pork should be cooked to. 165 was beaten into all of our heads as we became accustomed to tough dried out pork chops that need to be dipped in sauce and then chewed on either side of your cheeks for an eternity. The new temperature is 145 so you should be safe, but get ready to chew...

https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2011/05/25/cooking-meat-check-new-recommended-temperatures


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