Boston Butt Emergency!!!

Wakefan · September 2010

I need some good help and advise
I purchased 4 Boston Butts for a Labor day party tonight (starts at 5).
2 were about 5.5 pounds and 2 were just over 8 pounds.
I set them up on the 3 tier with the smaller 2 on top and the larger 2 on the bottom
This was the only way they would fit (reverse of the plan).
I stabilized my egg at about 260 dome temp and put the meat on at about midnight. I watched it until about 2AM and went to bed. I checked the fire again at 6AM and the temp was holding right where I left it. SO I went back to bed. MISTAKE.
Now comes the surprise...
I get up around 9:45 and the fire is apparently out and the temp is about 150.
The meat was warm to the touch, but I could handle the plate setter without gloves...
I quickly add more charcoal and relight the fire - by 10:15AM I was back to 250 - 275 with meat on the grill. But now I am wondering if the BBQ is safe to eat and if it will be done in time... I really need to be done by 4 (3 at the latest).

Advise?

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker · September 2010

you are fine
cooking environment never dropped under 140, and certainly not for more than four hours.

bump it to 300 if you need to. you could always foil it if you are desperate to finish

Florida Grillin Girl · September 2010

What Stike says. The danger zone is 140 and your butt was above that. They should be finished in time if you bump up the temp.

edit - was the temp of the egg 150 or the butts?

NotabuttDave · September 2010

I had the same thing happen, but on a different grill (WSM) . You say the temp was 150. I hope it was the meat and not the dome.

I re loaded my smoker and finished the cook. The result was ok, not my best. We didn't suffer any ill effects.

What kind of lump did you use? How much did you load in?

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker · September 2010

interior temp isn't what we are worried about, but the dome.

no bacteria IN the meat, rather on it. ..at least the bacteria we are concerned with, i mean.

the exterior of the meat never saw an environment under 140.

assuming proper handling before it went on the grill, there's no great worry about bacteria.

if they were boneless butts you could make a case for it, but even so.... incredibly hard to get sick from a pork butt.

a newbie friend of mine put his on and went right to bed. found a still raw butt in the morning, and cooked it anyway. never a thought to even ask about safety (for some reason). still, ate it and went about their day.

lucky? i rather think that to get sick a whole horrible lot has to go wrong.

Hoss · September 2010

You are fine.Maybe ramp the temp up to 300 dome til they hit 195 I.T.

Dr. Eggstein · September 2010

All is not lost.

So, you lost maybe 4 hours of fire control, since you stated the temperature was good at 6 AM and at 10:15 you were back at temp. I surmise that since you put on the pork at midnight, by 6AM and maybe even 8AM (guess) you were in the plateau.
For most of my boston butts, I can reach the start of plateau temp (150 ºF) with a 225 ºF fire as soon as maybe 8-10 hours. At your 275 ºF, you probably were in the plateau 6-8 hours later. It could just be that you reached and then fell out of the plateau.
Why this is important (in my opinion) is that any boston butt meat could be in the plateau for several hours. Considering that some boston butts cook to 24 hours and are as safe as those cooking only 16-18 hours, I expect no food safety concerns. That said, be sure that you cook the meat through 190 ºF and preferably as far as 205 ºF for pulling the pork.

-Eggstein

Wakefan · September 2010

I am currently using the BGE brand of charcoal. I burns hotter than my old brand, but now I know it does not last as long. My last brand (cant remember the name) seemed to last forever, but it struggled to get over 650 degrees. My first time on the 3 tier it lasted 17 hours at 250. I always fill it to the fire ring when using the 2" ring. Should have lasted longer. There were still a few glowing embers, but nothing to speak of. Mostly white dust.

The temp I am quoting is the dome temp. I just checked the fattest Butt and it is now at about 145. I am sure the surface was cooler though.
I really don't want to make my neighbors sick - do I need to toss this and make burgers?

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker · September 2010

did you read any of the other posts?

Wakefan · September 2010

You guys are fast! I see more threads posted while I was typing.
the smaller butts on top were warmer than the lower larger butts (as expected).
The Butts are all "bone in", so I guess they are safer.

The temp wants to rise over 300.
In the time I have been typing the dome rose to 350 - vents are barely open. I need to find my old brand or another that is good for slow cooking.

I will proceed as planned - at 300.
thanks for the help.

WF

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker · September 2010

the charcoal brand doesn't matter.

BGE (which is royal oak) is a damn good brand.

a hot fire is getting too much air, that's all. damp it down

Wakefan · September 2010

Yes - I just type slow.

Wakefan · September 2010

Thanks again for all the help! I expected the first post reply to be a between 30 minutes and an hour. You guys are amazing.

Rolling Egg · September 2010

Never underestimate the power of an egghead! :woohoo: :woohoo: There's eggheads on watch no matter the time of day or night. Glad you got your cook going in the right direction again.

Boston Butt Emergency!!!

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