# Thawed out a boston butt, have a question



## heyer5 (Apr 14, 2012)

I know everyone here pushes for 40-140 in 4 hours to kill bacteria.  My question is this, I sat out a pork butt last night on the counter, forgot about it, and realized it first thing this morning.
 

I have since put it in the fridge, I'm curious whether or not it will still be good?  Input?


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## tyotrain (Apr 14, 2012)

When in doubt throw it out... Don't want to make anyone sick


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## jrod62 (Apr 14, 2012)

tyotrain said:


> When in doubt throw it out... Don't want to make anyone sick


X 2  rather be safe.


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## jzampier (Apr 14, 2012)

Holy Crap, I was up at 10pm last night contemplating this same thing.  Common sense kicked in and put it back in the fridge after I rubbed it down.  Good thing, preggo wife wouldn't have been happy being sick :)  Sucks man, hope it wasn't too expensive.  Did you happen to check the internal temp when you woke up realizing it was out all night?

Pics to come shortly.


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## heyer5 (Apr 14, 2012)

It still seemed frozen or close to it in the middle. Wouldnt cooking it to 205 kill any bacteria?


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## jzampier (Apr 14, 2012)

I think if your IT temp would have been low like it would have been in the Fridge then you would be safe.  Never know until you check though.  Did you inject it at all?  Better safe than sorry getting sick, $10 is not worth the risk.


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## rstr hunter (Apr 14, 2012)

I'd guess that you likely would be OK as you said it's still partially frozen, but personally agree with those above and figure it's not worth getting sick over and sure wouldn't risk getting anyone else sick over either.  Go get a new one and Happy Smoking.


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## pops6927 (Apr 14, 2012)

Well, need a bit more facts though.  What, to you, is "all night"?  To me that's 3-4 hours, only sleep that much before I have to get vertical.  2nd, did you take a surface temp and probe it slowly with your therm to see what the varying degrees were?  Those numbers would be your answers.  Probably too late now, if you don't trust it toss it.  In the grand scheme of things, $20 for a new butt is a lot cheaper than $150 - $300 or more for an ER visit.  Even if it's coincidental (had a flu bug but got sick after having dinner, not from the meat, but from the meal - fat, spice, etc.) You'd probably won't even want to do a butt ever again.  Or if your wife found out, she'd never eat it again.  So, forget the $20 bucks and be safe.


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## heyer5 (Apr 14, 2012)

The fiance already knows it was out all night.  And when I mean all night, I'm talking 8 hours in about a 60-63 degree house.  Before I knew about the 40-140 rule, I unthawed a butt in hot water in a sink all day before smoking it and no one got sick.  I still find it hard to believe that any bacteria is going to survive at 205 degrees, but better safe than sorry I suppose.


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## rtbbq2 (Apr 15, 2012)

Throw it out is the best policy. Food borne illness is a serious sickness....


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## heyer5 (Apr 15, 2012)

Yep, it is finding the trash this morning.  Not to happy about my screw up!  Gonna be a long Sunday with nothing to do and nothing to smoke!


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## rtbbq2 (Apr 15, 2012)

It's cheaper than a speeding ticket...Look at it that way and you may run to the store and buy ingredients for some ABT'........We have all done it, don't beat yourself up...human error....


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## dward51 (Apr 15, 2012)

is it still cryovac'ed or was it just wrapped?

If vac sealed, I bet more than about 1/2" in it was still frozen solid.  Don't they spray those things or nuke them before shipping when vac packed to kill bacteria anyway?


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## heyer5 (Apr 15, 2012)

dward51 said:


> is it still cryovac'ed or was it just wrapped?
> 
> If vac sealed, I bet more than about 1/2" in it was still frozen solid.  Don't they spray those things or nuke them before shipping when vac packed to kill bacteria anyway?




It was just paper wrapped from Fareway.  I ended up throwing it out and not smoking anything today.  I guess deer brats on the grill will have to do!


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## chefrob (Apr 15, 2012)

dward51 said:


> is it still cryovac'ed or was it just wrapped?
> 
> If vac sealed, I bet more than about 1/2" in it was still frozen solid.  Don't they spray those things or nuke them before shipping when vac packed to kill bacteria anyway?


vac seal has nothing to do with it being safe or not.

like pops said there is not enough info to determine it's saftey.

for those trying to make a decision base on the internal temp....not a smart move. unless you are a wiz at thermal dynamics and know how to calculate kelvin exchange rates given temps of certain perameters (none of which we have) then it is best to just put it in the frig for a couple of days..............

btw, once you have punctured the muscle by temp probing........now you have to follow the 4hr rule


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## chefrob (Apr 15, 2012)

heyer5 said:


> I still find it hard to believe that any bacteria is going to survive at 205 degrees, but better safe than sorry I suppose.


remenber, it's not always the bacteria that can get you sick.............bacteria is a living organism so it produces waste that is also toxic.


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## heyer5 (Apr 15, 2012)

I never punctured the meat, I knew better!  I thought it would have been fine to smoke but I played it on the safe side and tossed it.  I guess I'll have to wait another week to light the smoker.  However, I have venison brats on the charcoal grill right now with some apple wood.  That way I will at least get the scent of the wood even if it doesn't influence any taste (which it has in the past believe it or not)


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## chefrob (Apr 15, 2012)

heyer5 said:


> I never punctured the meat, I knew better!  I thought it would have been fine to smoke but I played it on the safe side and tossed it.  I guess I'll have to wait another week to light the smoker.  However, I have venison brats on the charcoal grill right now with some apple wood.  That way I will at least get the scent of the wood even if it doesn't influence any taste (which it has in the past believe it or not)




 sounds like ya made a good decision and then got right back in it..........


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## rtbbq2 (Apr 15, 2012)

You did the right thing. Buy one next week and smoke it...Forget about this one....


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## mneeley490 (Apr 15, 2012)

I feel for you. I once threw a perfectly good rubbed butt onto my offset, forgetting in my excitement that I hadn't burned off the nastys from all the mods I'd just made. Fired it up and out came billows of thick gray smoke! That butt went into the trash, too.


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## heyer5 (Apr 14, 2012)

I know everyone here pushes for 40-140 in 4 hours to kill bacteria.  My question is this, I sat out a pork butt last night on the counter, forgot about it, and realized it first thing this morning.
 

I have since put it in the fridge, I'm curious whether or not it will still be good?  Input?


----------



## tyotrain (Apr 14, 2012)

When in doubt throw it out... Don't want to make anyone sick


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## jrod62 (Apr 14, 2012)

tyotrain said:


> When in doubt throw it out... Don't want to make anyone sick


X 2  rather be safe.


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## jzampier (Apr 14, 2012)

Holy Crap, I was up at 10pm last night contemplating this same thing.  Common sense kicked in and put it back in the fridge after I rubbed it down.  Good thing, preggo wife wouldn't have been happy being sick :)  Sucks man, hope it wasn't too expensive.  Did you happen to check the internal temp when you woke up realizing it was out all night?

Pics to come shortly.


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## heyer5 (Apr 14, 2012)

It still seemed frozen or close to it in the middle. Wouldnt cooking it to 205 kill any bacteria?


----------



## jzampier (Apr 14, 2012)

I think if your IT temp would have been low like it would have been in the Fridge then you would be safe.  Never know until you check though.  Did you inject it at all?  Better safe than sorry getting sick, $10 is not worth the risk.


----------



## rstr hunter (Apr 14, 2012)

I'd guess that you likely would be OK as you said it's still partially frozen, but personally agree with those above and figure it's not worth getting sick over and sure wouldn't risk getting anyone else sick over either.  Go get a new one and Happy Smoking.


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## pops6927 (Apr 14, 2012)

Well, need a bit more facts though.  What, to you, is "all night"?  To me that's 3-4 hours, only sleep that much before I have to get vertical.  2nd, did you take a surface temp and probe it slowly with your therm to see what the varying degrees were?  Those numbers would be your answers.  Probably too late now, if you don't trust it toss it.  In the grand scheme of things, $20 for a new butt is a lot cheaper than $150 - $300 or more for an ER visit.  Even if it's coincidental (had a flu bug but got sick after having dinner, not from the meat, but from the meal - fat, spice, etc.) You'd probably won't even want to do a butt ever again.  Or if your wife found out, she'd never eat it again.  So, forget the $20 bucks and be safe.


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## heyer5 (Apr 14, 2012)

The fiance already knows it was out all night.  And when I mean all night, I'm talking 8 hours in about a 60-63 degree house.  Before I knew about the 40-140 rule, I unthawed a butt in hot water in a sink all day before smoking it and no one got sick.  I still find it hard to believe that any bacteria is going to survive at 205 degrees, but better safe than sorry I suppose.


----------



## rtbbq2 (Apr 15, 2012)

Throw it out is the best policy. Food borne illness is a serious sickness....


----------



## heyer5 (Apr 15, 2012)

Yep, it is finding the trash this morning.  Not to happy about my screw up!  Gonna be a long Sunday with nothing to do and nothing to smoke!


----------



## rtbbq2 (Apr 15, 2012)

It's cheaper than a speeding ticket...Look at it that way and you may run to the store and buy ingredients for some ABT'........We have all done it, don't beat yourself up...human error....


----------



## dward51 (Apr 15, 2012)

is it still cryovac'ed or was it just wrapped?

If vac sealed, I bet more than about 1/2" in it was still frozen solid.  Don't they spray those things or nuke them before shipping when vac packed to kill bacteria anyway?


----------



## heyer5 (Apr 15, 2012)

dward51 said:


> is it still cryovac'ed or was it just wrapped?
> 
> If vac sealed, I bet more than about 1/2" in it was still frozen solid.  Don't they spray those things or nuke them before shipping when vac packed to kill bacteria anyway?




It was just paper wrapped from Fareway.  I ended up throwing it out and not smoking anything today.  I guess deer brats on the grill will have to do!


----------



## chefrob (Apr 15, 2012)

dward51 said:


> is it still cryovac'ed or was it just wrapped?
> 
> If vac sealed, I bet more than about 1/2" in it was still frozen solid.  Don't they spray those things or nuke them before shipping when vac packed to kill bacteria anyway?


vac seal has nothing to do with it being safe or not.

like pops said there is not enough info to determine it's saftey.

for those trying to make a decision base on the internal temp....not a smart move. unless you are a wiz at thermal dynamics and know how to calculate kelvin exchange rates given temps of certain perameters (none of which we have) then it is best to just put it in the frig for a couple of days..............

btw, once you have punctured the muscle by temp probing........now you have to follow the 4hr rule


----------



## chefrob (Apr 15, 2012)

heyer5 said:


> I still find it hard to believe that any bacteria is going to survive at 205 degrees, but better safe than sorry I suppose.


remenber, it's not always the bacteria that can get you sick.............bacteria is a living organism so it produces waste that is also toxic.


----------



## heyer5 (Apr 15, 2012)

I never punctured the meat, I knew better!  I thought it would have been fine to smoke but I played it on the safe side and tossed it.  I guess I'll have to wait another week to light the smoker.  However, I have venison brats on the charcoal grill right now with some apple wood.  That way I will at least get the scent of the wood even if it doesn't influence any taste (which it has in the past believe it or not)


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## chefrob (Apr 15, 2012)

heyer5 said:


> I never punctured the meat, I knew better!  I thought it would have been fine to smoke but I played it on the safe side and tossed it.  I guess I'll have to wait another week to light the smoker.  However, I have venison brats on the charcoal grill right now with some apple wood.  That way I will at least get the scent of the wood even if it doesn't influence any taste (which it has in the past believe it or not)




 sounds like ya made a good decision and then got right back in it..........


----------



## rtbbq2 (Apr 15, 2012)

You did the right thing. Buy one next week and smoke it...Forget about this one....


----------



## mneeley490 (Apr 15, 2012)

I feel for you. I once threw a perfectly good rubbed butt onto my offset, forgetting in my excitement that I hadn't burned off the nastys from all the mods I'd just made. Fired it up and out came billows of thick gray smoke! That butt went into the trash, too.


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