# Made a newbie mistake



## mcduff04 (Apr 15, 2017)

I bought a pork butt to smoke, put it in a pot with some apple cider and some of my rub mix to brine but had to leave and accidentally left the pot on the counter for 5 hours. Should the pork be ok to cook or should I toss it?

I am fairly new at this and appreciate the help.

Thanks


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## SmokinAl (Apr 16, 2017)

Sorry I didn't see this sooner.

If you didn't inject the butt it should be OK.

Since this post is a day old.

Did you go ahead & smoke it?

Also please swing by Roll Call & introduce yourself, so we can all welcome you to SMF!

Al


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## seanjuan04 (Apr 17, 2017)

I did smoke it and it turned out pretty good. It was an 8lb. butt and took about 21 hours at 230^. I use a Masterbuilt electric smoker and it seems to take about twice as long to cook as all the threads I read say it will.

Thanks for the response


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## wild west (Apr 17, 2017)

Are you using a  remote therm to get accurate temp at your cooking grate level? If not You can't trust the mes temp readout they are usually at least 20* out.


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## uncletork (Apr 17, 2017)

wild west said:


> Are you using a remote therm to get accurate temp at your cooking grate level? If not You can't trust the mes temp readout they are usually at least 20* out.


Mine reads about 20-30 high depending on the day. A separate thermometer to measure the IT and smoker temp is the only way to run a MES.


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## lowslowjoe (Apr 18, 2017)

Something definitely seems wrong...  it should not take 21 hours to cook a 8 pound pork shoulder/butt at 230F. FOr sure double check the temperature inside the smoker with another thermometer.  I personally almost always use a third party thermometer to make sure my smoker's temp reading is not going to screw me up... over time I do eventually trust what I know... but still , nice to have second opinions/readings.


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