Pellet smoker flame went out

[Jax10193]

Hi everyone. I need some advice. I have a pellet smoker. I am smoking a Boston butt. The smoker was between 200-225 for over 4 hours. Sometime between 3:30-6:30 this morning the flame went out. The smoker was cool to the touch. The meat was warm to the touch. The internal temp of the meat was around 130. The longest the flame could have been out was 3 hours, but that is unlikely. Do you feel the meat is safe?

 

[DaveyMay]

I doubt it. That meat will retain heat for a while. Minimum for pork is 145 and if it wasn’t out very long it likely didn’t hit that. I’d you’re planning on shredding it you want it to get to 200+. I would clean out that fire box (probably why the grill kicked out) and fire it back up. I’ve learned that the hard way a few times! I always vacuum out the box before a long cook like brisket or pork butt.

 

[fivetricks]

Most likely. Just put it in a hot oven and let her rip

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

As long as it wasn't injected, you'll be fine.

 

[Jax10193]

the only thing injected was the meat probe. I started the smoker back up and continued smoking. Was after then waiting for oven to what up.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

If you are goning to do overnight smokes, a separate thermometer setup that has been programmed for high and low cooker temperature alarms is a must do.

 

[Jax10193]

Yes I agree. Luckily my pellet smoker has a WiFi retro fit kit that has all those Warnings. Definitely purchasing.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

Yes I agree. Luckily my pellet smoker has a WiFi retro fit kit that has all those Warnings. Definitely purchasing.

That's good.
Though, I would still recommend a battery powered thermometer setup.
You never know when a breaker is going to trip or the power goes out during an overnight cook.

 

[WaterRat]

You're covered on the meat. The only time I've had the flame go out was "I think" after using my smoker for over a year and never cleaning out the bottom of the hopper and auger..."I think" it dumped a bunch of dust in the pot and smothered it.

 

[daveomak]

Jax, morning... Sorry I'm late to your thread....
Seems you may have been close to the meat being fully pasteurized and safe to eat....

Government Pasteurization Tables
The pasteurization times for beef, lamb and pork are listed in Table C.1.
Temperature F Time Temperature F Time

130 112 min 146 169 sec
131 89 min 147 134 sec
132 71 min 148 107 sec
133 56 min 149 85 sec
134 45 min 150 67 sec
135 36 min 151 54 sec
136 28 min 152 43 sec
137 23 min 153 34 sec
138 18 min 154 27 sec
139 15 min 155 22 sec
140 12 min 156 17 sec
141 9 min 157 14 sec
142 8 min 158 0 sec
143 6 min
144 5 min
145 4 min
Table C.1: Pasteurization times for beef, corned beef, lamb, pork and cured pork (FDA, 2009, 3-401.11.B.2).



Looking at the chart above, If the meat was at 130F for about 2 hours, it's pasteurized..
Due to the fact you were cooking a whole muscle hunk of meat, the inside is considered sterile and the meat would be safe to eat... Starting at 200-225 insured that... Bacteria is on the "surface" of the meat... It was killed long ago...

 

[daveomak]

Sorry about the chart and how it is confusing... I keep editing it and rearranging it and it collapses on itself and looks stupid...

 

[fivetricks]

Dave, make an image out of the table on you computer by arranging it how you like and then hitting ALT+PRNT SCRN

this Will create a screenshot image. You can then just crop and post that image and your table will always be arranged how you like it. No more fussing around with the lines trying to get them to stop wrapping