1st Overnight Brisket Cook On SNS

[CRO]

Question; I put on a Brisket last night at Midnight. It appears the cook temps never got above 180 and probably averaged around 170. I just opened the lid and opened all the vents and there is a lot of charcoal left. Is there any harm done with the low temp cook? Meat temp is 135. I don't care since we're not eating until tonight.

[Huskee]

It can be risky, since too long in the danger zone of 40-140 isn't good. Crank that heat up! HIGHLY recommended that if you try an overnight cook you set your Maverick's alarms! You should have one HUGE smoke ring on that thing.

[CRO]

I checked the temp several times last night. If I remember correctly the meat temp was around 130 about three hour in. You said risky, should I trash it? Grill temp is now 215.
Oh...good morning!

[CRO]

Here it is now. Grill 280, meat 156. Fat cap is still up, I'll flip it an about an hour.

[CRO]

I'm somewhat concerned to what Huskee voiced on my low temp overnight cook. Is there any risk that this piece of meat could of went bad? Has anyone else experienced this and how was the final product?

[Dr ROK]

Personally, I don't think you have too much to worry about. Cooking at lower temps such as this cook can be risky, but like Huskee said, your cooking temps were not in the danger zone. The meat being at 130 for three hours isn't the temp the meat was exposed to during that three hours. That's the internal temp, and there shouldn't be any contamination internally unless you poked a bunch of holes in it to tenderize. If you did, this can transmit bacteria from the surface.

Here's a link to a sous vide site that lists how long you have to cook at a specific temp based on the thickness of the meat. In a nutshell if you cook at lower temperatures you have to cook for a longer period of time. You increased your temp so you should be ok.

http://www.douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html#Table_5.1

[CRO]

Thanks much for the advice and the quick reply.

[fzxdoc]

I'm not sure if anyone could predict whether or not the meat has too much bacteria on it to be safe to eat, CRO . I think the USDA's rule of thumb is that a food should not stay more than 2 hours in the 40 to 140 degree range. That's supposed to be a conservative rule, according to Meathead.

For an overnight cook, with the meat temp being 135 when you got up, and with its initial temperature being most likely around 37 degrees (average refrigerator temp), it's probably accurate to say that the meat spent the entire overnight cook in the 40 to 140 range.

Your meat probe probably poked some bacteria in to the center, but as Dr ROK says, your meat surface temp was most likely higher than 140 for some of the cook. You just have to make your best guess and go with it.

Personally, I would be scared to eat it or serve it, especially to children, pregnant women, or more elderly folks. It essentially incubated for 8 to 12 hours, depending on how long its overnight cook was.

Here's what the USDA says:
Danger Zone” (40 °F - 140 °F)
Food Safety Information

Leaving food out too long at room temperature can cause bacteria (such as Staphylococcus aureus, SalmonellaEnteritidis, Escherichia coliO157:H7, andCampylobacter) to grow to dangerous levels that can cause illness.

Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 °F and 140 °F, doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. This range of temperatures is often called the “Danger Zone.”

Keep Food Out of the “Danger Zone”

Never leave food out of refrigeration over 2 hours. If the temperature is above 90
°F, food should not be left out more than 1 hour.


Kathryn

[CRO]

YIKES, that's what I get for being to lazy to get out of bed.

[Huskee]

Think of it from a safety standpoint. What's the worst case scenario if you:
A) trash it, and it wasn't bad
B) eat it, and it is bad

(We're not worried about best case scenario, let's think of the worst)

A) Crap, I'm out $20 and some charcoal and several hours of my time. Try again next time.
B) Belly aches, vomiting, food poisoning, or worse

As Meathead always says, it's safest not to risk it, it's just meat....but you and loved ones are people. Do I think it's full of botulism and E coli now that it cooked low overnight? No. Just trying to give you some perspective so you can make a sound decision. Hopefully you'll experience a best case scenario, but that's up to you!

[CRO]

Oh well, looks like its burgers and ribs instead of Brisket and ribs tonight. Live and learn

[fzxdoc]

I don't think you'll regret your decision, CRO . That old adage "better safe than sorry" packs a lot of wisdom at times like this. The peace of mind is probably worth the cost of the brisket.

Kathryn

[Medusa]

Kathryn, "better safe than sorry" was going to be my exact reply. Good job!

[David Parrish]

If the meat was at 130 F 3 hours into the cook, and never went below that temp, I think you're OK.

[CRO]

It's in the stall now. Meat temp got to 165, and it dropped to 155. I'll finish the cook and make a decision later. I'll probably trash it, but I want to see how it looks when complete.

[sblair1255]

Well Ok there have been a lot of good opinions expressed here. frankly I have no idea what the correct anwer is but if you decide to just take one for the team let us know how good the flavor and smoke ring was.

Steve B