I’ve been curing a brisket point for pastrami, and just before midnight last night, I started smoking it.
I was using a Signals and Billows to record and maintain temps, and got my WSM up to 267° F before putting the point on. At 12:30AM I decided to take a nap, when the smoker stabilized around 240°. I set an alarm for 3:30 so that I could check my temps then.
Well, turns out I accidentally set my alarm for 3:30PM instead of 3:30AM. Checking the temp history on the app, it looks like the pit dropped below 225° at around 1:30AM, below 200° by 2:30AM, and in between 3:30 and 6:30AM, fluctuated between 190° and 165°. Frustratingly, ThermoWorks’ app never alarmed me when the temps dropped. After waking up at 6:30AM, I ran outside, and saw that my Billows stopped running. I had to swap out Signals units, but got the Billows going again. I adjusted my vents and got the temp to 250° by 7AM.
So, I’m a bit concerned about food safety. My pit temp didn’t drop for too long, but, unfortunately, I noticed that the point’s internal temp never rose above 140° until after I woke up and fixed the Billows, around 7:15AM. Looks like it was at 126° from around 2:30-6:30AM. Should I be worried? I know the surface of the meat most likely hit 140° within 4 hours, but the internal temp was under 140° for over 6 hours total. Still, the meat was intact and should be cured, so I feel like the chances of any bad bugs growing inside the meat are low. Thoughts?
I was using a Signals and Billows to record and maintain temps, and got my WSM up to 267° F before putting the point on. At 12:30AM I decided to take a nap, when the smoker stabilized around 240°. I set an alarm for 3:30 so that I could check my temps then.
Well, turns out I accidentally set my alarm for 3:30PM instead of 3:30AM. Checking the temp history on the app, it looks like the pit dropped below 225° at around 1:30AM, below 200° by 2:30AM, and in between 3:30 and 6:30AM, fluctuated between 190° and 165°. Frustratingly, ThermoWorks’ app never alarmed me when the temps dropped. After waking up at 6:30AM, I ran outside, and saw that my Billows stopped running. I had to swap out Signals units, but got the Billows going again. I adjusted my vents and got the temp to 250° by 7AM.
So, I’m a bit concerned about food safety. My pit temp didn’t drop for too long, but, unfortunately, I noticed that the point’s internal temp never rose above 140° until after I woke up and fixed the Billows, around 7:15AM. Looks like it was at 126° from around 2:30-6:30AM. Should I be worried? I know the surface of the meat most likely hit 140° within 4 hours, but the internal temp was under 140° for over 6 hours total. Still, the meat was intact and should be cured, so I feel like the chances of any bad bugs growing inside the meat are low. Thoughts?
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