Hi all, I need some help. I'm new to the pit and I've been smoking for a while but tried a new wood today and my smoker hovered between 180 and 260 all day. The smoker struggled to get hot enough all day. I have 6 pork butts in there and they've been smoking for 8 hours. I just did my first probe temp check and the IT varied from 130 - 148 on the different butts. I'm concerned for food safety. If I cook them longer and try for higher temps are they ok or do I need to toss all 6?
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Help! Low smoker temp for 8 hours
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Club Member
- Apr 2016
- 18145
- Near Richmond VA
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Weber Performer Deluxe
SNS
Pizza insert
Rotisserie
Cookshack Smokette Elite
2 Thermapens
Chefalarm
Dot
lots of probes.
Fireboard
I believe that as long as you take the temp to safe levels, you should be fine. However, I suggest you wait for additional input from more knowledgeable members.
And welcome to The Pit.
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Club Member
- Nov 2015
- 1410
- Schertz Texas
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Pit Barrel Cooker
Slow 'n Sear for 22" Kettle
Weber 22" Kettle (Craiglist)
Slow 'n Sear for 22" Kettle
Weber Rapid Fire Chimney
Maverick ET-732
Kingsford Original Charcoal
Kingsford Competition Charcoal
Anova Sous Vide
It sounds like either your outside temperature was really cold or the humidity in the cooker was really high. Maybe both. If you can’t get the cooker in the 250 range I would move them into the oven. As long as you get the IT in the 200 range you will kill the bugs. But it is a good question.
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Club Member
- Jun 2016
- 4149
- Rockland county New York
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Lonestar Grillz 24x36 offset smoker, grill, w/ main chamber charcoal grate and 3 tel-tru thermometers - left, right and center
Yoke Up custom charcoal basket and a Grill Wraps cover.
22.5 copper kettle w/ SnS, DnG, BBQ vortex, gasket and stainless steel hinge kit.
Napoleon gas grill (soon to go bye bye) rotting out.
1 maverick et-733 digital thermometer - black
1 maverick et-733 - gray
1 new standard grilling remote digital thermometer
1 thermoworks thermopen mk4 - red
1 thermoworks thermopop - red
Pre Miala flavor injector
taylor digital scale
TSM meat grinder
chefs choice food slicer
cuisinhart food processor
food saver vacuum sealer
TSM harvest food dehydrator
I would also agree with the others here. BTW what are you cooking on? Do you have a temp probe at grate level? Or are you going by the smokers temp gauge.
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United States Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Use Two Thermometers to Smoke Food Safely
To ensure meat and poultry are smoked safely, you'll need two types of thermometers: one for the food and one for the smoker. A thermometer is needed to monitor the air temperature in the smoker or grill to be sure the heat stays between 225 and 300 °F throughout the cooking process. Many smokers have built-in thermometers.
Use a food thermometer to determine the temperature of the meat or poultry. Oven-safe thermometers can be inserted in the meat and remain there during smoking. Use an instant-read thermometer after the meat is taken out of the smoker.
Cooking time depends on many factors: the type of meat, its size and shape, the distance of food from the heat, the temperature of the coals, and the weather. It can take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours to smoke meat or poultry, so it's imperative to use thermometers to monitor temperatures.
Smoke food to a safe minimal internal temperature.- Cook all raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures.
- Cook all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to an internal temperature of 160 °F as measured with a food thermometer.
- Cook all poultry to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer.
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Founding Member & Pit Barrel Cooker Queen
- Jul 2014
- 7203
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My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron GriddleGrill Grate for SnSGrill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:Extreme BBQ Thermometer PackagePit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:Thermapen MK4 (pink)Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
So, mbarker , what did you end up doing? I would have dialed 1-800-MEATHEADS WIFE, since she'a a PhD microbiologist and food safety expert and his #1 go-to for food safety recommendations, he says. Seriously, though, one of the great things about this site is the concern for food safety as we cook our BBQ feasts.
It's natural to be antsy when food sits anywhere between 40° and 140° for more than 4 hours, although the outside of the pork butts must have been mostly above 140° for most of the time. That was a heck of a stall.
Let us know what type of smoker you had and what the ambient conditions were so perhaps folks with similar setups can give some advice for avoiding a worrisome situation like this in the future.
And welcome to The Pit. You're really going to like visiting here. Everyone is so friendly and helpful.
KathrynLast edited by fzxdoc; February 16, 2019, 06:57 AM.
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