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Overnight pork shoulder help

bccomstock
bccomstock Posts: 338
edited May 2013 in EggHead Forum
I started a 8 lb pork shoulder at 10 last night.. I thought I had the temp stable at 250, but after checking it at midnight before laying down, it was up to 275.. I was worried it would keep climbing, so I closed the daisy wheels halfway.. I wake up this morning and its internal temp is at 165, but the dome temp was down to 200, and the pork shoulder bark has several areas of greenish gray tint on it.. Is this something to be concerned about?  Anyone else seen this before?
LBGE
MS Gulf Coast - Proud member of the Who Dat Nation!
My Not Frequently Updated Basically Dead Blog: http://datcue.wordpress.com

Comments

  • bccomstock
    bccomstock Posts: 338
    Also, I'd rubbed it with mustard and Obie Q Sweet n Heat and then sprayed once with apple cider vinegar at midnight.. 
    LBGE
    MS Gulf Coast - Proud member of the Who Dat Nation!
    My Not Frequently Updated Basically Dead Blog: http://datcue.wordpress.com
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    I'm pretty sure 165 is in the safe zone. I'd say go for it.
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • bccomstock
    bccomstock Posts: 338
    I guess I don't know how long it was between 40 and 140 is the thing.. It was around 120 at midnight, but it'd only gone up 45 degrees between midnight and 7:15.. 
    LBGE
    MS Gulf Coast - Proud member of the Who Dat Nation!
    My Not Frequently Updated Basically Dead Blog: http://datcue.wordpress.com
  • milkman5083
    milkman5083 Posts: 100
    I've had the same problem before. You will be alright. I cranked my heat up to 300 and finished out the cook. No problems and pulled pork was still great.
  • bccomstock
    bccomstock Posts: 338
    Here are a couple pics of my main concern.. I've never really seen this greenish gray tint on the bark of a pork shoulder.. 
    LBGE
    MS Gulf Coast - Proud member of the Who Dat Nation!
    My Not Frequently Updated Basically Dead Blog: http://datcue.wordpress.com
  • bccomstock
    bccomstock Posts: 338
    FWIW, I've still got it cooking.. Dome temp is back up to 250.
    LBGE
    MS Gulf Coast - Proud member of the Who Dat Nation!
    My Not Frequently Updated Basically Dead Blog: http://datcue.wordpress.com
  • bccomstock
    bccomstock Posts: 338
    Am I just being overly cautious here?
    LBGE
    MS Gulf Coast - Proud member of the Who Dat Nation!
    My Not Frequently Updated Basically Dead Blog: http://datcue.wordpress.com
  • Charlie tuna
    Charlie tuna Posts: 2,191
    Since the dome temperature(200 degrees) was high than the internal(165 degrees) the butt was still cooking.  My egg always increases for the first two hours after loading it, but then settles back down to my "stabilized" temperature.  When you closed the Daisey Wheel vents, you were lowering your "stabilized" operating temperature. IF(?) i ever cook an over nighter again, i would time it to where my egg was "loaded" and stabilized, which,for me, would mean staying up until two hours after loading. 
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    The color is sort of odd, but it looks to me like a mix of partially melted fat and collagen, maybe tinted a bit by the rub.
    Am I just being overly cautious here?
    Somewhat. The temps were never a hazard. Even if the shoulder was bone-out, if it was 120 internal before you went to bed, there should not have been any pathogen growth within a few minutes.

    The slow temp rise is normal. BBQ meat go thru a "stall," where the meat is "sweating" enough to stay cool. The lower the temperature, the lower the stall point. A butt cooked at a dome temp of 250F will usually stall around 165F. Prior to that, I've measured the temp goeing up about 1 degree every 1.5 min. Most pieces come out of the stall hours later  around 185, and continue to finish temp in a short amount of time.

    I tend to be pretty cautious. I've had food poisoning twice from leftovers, and I don't want a repeat. I have read as much as possible about the safety concerns, just because I get nervous when I'm perplexed. Do investigate more.

    The safety recommendations have been made a little more precise in the past few years. The older rec. of only 4 hours between 40 and 140F before cooking was not very accurate. A piece of meat held at around 40F will only have about 1/32 of the pathogens that a piece held at 90F will. A piece held at 130 will actually be pasteurizing, although it may take a day or so.

  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    Finish and give it the old sniff and taste test. Humans are pretty good at knowing what's good to eat.
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • bccomstock
    bccomstock Posts: 338
    It's still cooking.. Temps are on the rise and the greenish gray coloring is mostly gone or barked over.. Seems like it might have been like gdenby said, a state change of partially melted fat mixed with rub and apple cider vinegar..

    Thanks everyone for the input!
    LBGE
    MS Gulf Coast - Proud member of the Who Dat Nation!
    My Not Frequently Updated Basically Dead Blog: http://datcue.wordpress.com
  • bccomstock
    bccomstock Posts: 338
    And that's good to know about the old recommendations versus the newer.. So it's best not to be in the middle of the range for long then?
    LBGE
    MS Gulf Coast - Proud member of the Who Dat Nation!
    My Not Frequently Updated Basically Dead Blog: http://datcue.wordpress.com
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239

    And that's good to know about the old recommendations versus the newer.. So it's best not to be in the middle of the range for long then?
    Pathogen growth is very high between 90F and 110F. Anything that might be contaminated, meats or vegs, should be cleaned and/or cooked/eaten quickly in that range.

    Please do visit the FSIS pages. The recommendations are very cautious. I suppose their criteria are that there is no hazard in 1 in a million if their rules are followed.  Note the sections about "At risk" groups. Toddlers and elders will become sick from stuff that healthy adults safely consume.

    I suppose you have some good PP just now. Yum!
  • bccomstock
    bccomstock Posts: 338

    gdenby said:

    And that's good to know about the old recommendations versus the newer.. So it's best not to be in the middle of the range for long then?
    Pathogen growth is very high between 90F and 110F. Anything that might be contaminated, meats or vegs, should be cleaned and/or cooked/eaten quickly in that range.

    Please do visit the FSIS pages. The recommendations are very cautious. I suppose their criteria are that there is no hazard in 1 in a million if their rules are followed.  Note the sections about "At risk" groups. Toddlers and elders will become sick from stuff that healthy adults safely consume.

    I suppose you have some good PP just now. Yum!
    Thank you for the link and advice!

    And yes, I went forward with it.. It finished a couple hours ago.  I let it cool and then pulled it.  Everything seems fine.  No signs of those colors once it was done.  And honestly, I'd have never seen it if the dome temp hadn't dropped.

    I also just finished a tri-tip.. I thought I would try something different and shred/pull it.  It finished a couple minutes ago after cooking to 205 for about 3 hours between 250 and 350.. I never touched the vents after re-opening the daisy wheel this morning with the pork shoulder and the temp has continued to climb from 200 to 350.  :-/
    LBGE
    MS Gulf Coast - Proud member of the Who Dat Nation!
    My Not Frequently Updated Basically Dead Blog: http://datcue.wordpress.com
  • Alton
    Alton Posts: 509
    Here are a couple pics of my main concern.. I've never really seen this greenish gray tint on the bark of a pork shoulder.. 

    Looks like a Mardi Gras Cook!!! No Worries Be Happy BRO! WHO DAT!!!
    PROUD MEMBER OF THE WHO DAT NATION!!!!! Stuck in Dallas.......
  • bccomstock
    bccomstock Posts: 338
    Alton said:
    Here are a couple pics of my main concern.. I've never really seen this greenish gray tint on the bark of a pork shoulder.. 

    Looks like a Mardi Gras Cook!!! No Worries Be Happy BRO! WHO DAT!!!
    LOL.. Who Dat!

    BTW, I took all of the pork to a party this afternoon.. Everything seemed fine and I got tons of compliments on it. 
    LBGE
    MS Gulf Coast - Proud member of the Who Dat Nation!
    My Not Frequently Updated Basically Dead Blog: http://datcue.wordpress.com
  • Charlie tuna
    Charlie tuna Posts: 2,191
    And just hours ago you were worried about it -- congrats, next cook will be that much easier!