Mayday! Can my butt be saved?

[Wedunne]

I have a 6 pount butt that was dry brined for 24 hours. Got up at 4:30 this morning and lit up the Traeger, coated the meat liberally with Memphis Dust, and put the meat in the smoker at 225 F around 5:15 a.m. I didn't sleep too well last night, so after I was sure everything was on track for a great barbecue, I went back to bed and dozed off. Sometime after that my wife got up to use the bathroom and noticed the light on outside by the grill. So she turned it off at the circuit breaker (not wanting to go outside). Unfortunately that turned off the Traeger too. That was about 5:40, by her estimate.

To make a sad story short, I overslept and got up around 8:00 and went out to check on it. I found the Traeger off, and it took me a little while to figure out why (checked the GFCI, etc.). Once I got that sorted out I turned it back on and it's heating up again. It was down to about 87 when I turned it on. The meat probe was at 98 when the power went back on, but the surface was cool to touch. It's 8:30 now, so by time the temperature gets back to 225 it will be close to 3 hours since it was turned off.

I'm inclined to toss the butt in the trash, but my wife feels really bad about turning it off and wants to save it if it can be saved. What does everyone think - was that too long for safety, or can my butt be saved?

[holehogg]

Sorry, that's a real bummer.

[ComfortablyNumb]

Hopefully you have it cooking now. I really can't say, but someone who can may come along in a bit and, if they say it's not a problem, you'll have saved it. If not, then nothing lost but a few pellets and some happy dogs. My uneducated guess is it will not be a problem.

[Santamarina]

Danger zone is 40-140°F for four hours. You were only in those temps for a little over two hours. Should be safe.

[Nuke em]

Agreed. Keep cooking your butt

[smokin fool]

10-4 on the keep on cooking.
By 2 or 3 AM, you'll know if you made the right decision....

[texastweeter]

Even if it was in danger zone longer, taking the butt up to 203°-208° will totally kill any little wee beasties, your fine.

[jfmorris]

Yep - the true danger is from botulism producing spores, as heat doesn't get rid of the botulism.

[texastweeter]

fzxdoc jfmorris but with the couple of hours that it sat in the danger zone, I would HIGHLY doubt anything would have a chance to get a foothold. botulism Is anerobic and struggles very hard to grow in the presence of oxygen. That is why is is so scary in canning, it's the perfect environment for it. Maybe where the probe punctured the meat, but then again it would take much longer.

[fzxdoc]

Agreed, texastweeter , the time frame for this particular cook is most likely the most mitigating factor. However, my point was that heating something up may not kill all pathogens that may have multiplied while the food was in the danger zone. I worry about little kids, old folks and of course people with compromised immune systems when I wrestle with my own food safety decisions during a cook.

Kathryn

[Wedunne]

Thanks, everyone. My wife will be relieved. She feels really bad about this. It's looking pretty good right now, just entered the stall a bit ago. We'll see how it goes. This is the first time I've tried cooking a butt on the Traeger. The Traeger was a birthday present from my wife, so I can't be mad at her no matter what happens today!

[Bkhuna]

Now may be a good time to buy a toy you've wanted. Just sayin'...

[58limited]

You're fine, especially if there was some smoke on the meat already.

[Spinaker]

I like to live by Meathead 's Motto, "When in doubt, throw it out." I have never made any one sick following that simple logic.

Read the article below, and make your own assessment. The main thing to consider is...... "Is it worth it?"

More on that here!

[Nate]

I have had food poisoning and you definitely feel like you may not live another day!

[Spinaker]

Me too, and once in India. You can only imagine what that was like. LOL. Nate

[Dr. Pepper]

Butt, this is not ground meat, or fish. This is a dry brined big ass (butt) solid piece of meat. The dog in me says: 'I'll eat it!'

[RonB]

You might want to raise the temp to 275* - 300* to get back on schedule. Butts can handle the higher temps.

[mountainsmoker]

I disagree you will kill the beasties. but not the toxins they have left behind. It takes much higher temps to kill the toxins It takes a temp of 240 degrees to kill toxins or spores left behind by Botulinum, Clostridium, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus bacteria.

So for safety's sake I would throw it.

Source "Meat Smoking and Smoke House Design" by Stanley, Adam, and Robert Marianski

[smokin fool]

What did the OP decide to do with that butt so we can put this puppy to bed.

[texastweeter]

bet it was fine, lol

[randy.56]

Go ahead and eat it, then tell us what happened.