So my son smoked a pork butt last night and pulled it off in the middle of the night, wrapped it and rested it in a cooler with intentions of pulling it out in the morning before work and shredding it.

Well... He completely forgot and I didn't notice it was still in the cooler until almost noon.

Internal temp was 115 degrees

I went ahead and shredded it and put it in the refrigerator, but I'm not sure whether we should eat this or not.

We've never let one go too long before.

Okay to eat if we reheat it to 160? Or should the whole thing just be tossed?

My vote would be toss

I wouldn't hesitate to eat it.

Chicken? NO.

Pork or beef? It's fine. I wouldn't give it a second thought.

I'd feel more comfortable eating that than eating at any restaurant. Especially since it was sealed up.

Unless he wrapped it dirty and you put it in a putrid refrigerator then it is fine.

If yall get some food poisoning then think of it as a new way to start a great diet.

Thanks fellas.

To be completely clear, it was double wrapped in aluminum foil and then put in a sealed cooler, wrapped in multiple layers of towels.

I guess I'm just assuming that above a certain temperature, bacteria are killed regardless of when it was originally at that temperature.

In other words, if you eat it at a normal temperature, then put it in a refrigerator and pull it back out, you are likely to heat it back up again anyway to eat it. Same thing I would assume?

I would certainly eat it. I have had many pork butts or briskets that finished earlier than I expected and they stayed in a cooler for that amount of time. Never had issues with food poisoning.

I'd think its plenty fine to eat.

Just think when you're serving it normally, people arent eating pulled pork while its still 130+ degrees, you let it cool down and then consume. Smoking is one of the oldest ways of preserving meat so you're good to go. If it had sat at room temp internal temperature for half a day, I might be a little more leery but with the butt still at serving temp you are good to go.

Toss.

Bacteria growth optimum range is 40-140, doubling in number every 20 minutes.

Is it really worth the few bucks to take a chance?

4 said:

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Thanks fellas.

To be completely clear, it was double wrapped in aluminum foil and then put in a sealed cooler, wrapped in multiple layers of towels.

I guess I'm just assuming that above a certain temperature, bacteria are killed regardless of when it was originally at that temperature.

In other words, if you eat it at a normal temperature, then put it in a refrigerator and pull it back out, you are likely to heat it back up again anyway to eat it. Same thing I would assume?

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I mean bacteria is everywhere and finds a way to get in. However, with that setup I'd feel good. If I was serving a thanksgiving dinner with it and 95 yr old granny sue was there, then I might be a minor bit hesitant to give it to her but everybody else could eat.

The issue is the "danger range" where bacteria can flourish between 40 and 140. If you got it plenty hot, didn't open it up and then put it into the fridge, I'd say there's a 99.9 percent chance everything is alrigh

Both the smoke and the salt in the rub act as antimicrobials. I wouldn't hesitate one moment to eat that.

Nothing against the OP, but I would not even have considered asking the question and would have a full belly of pork right now.

It was already done and cooked when he pulled it. I'd eat that, and have eaten at that and lower temps after resting. Beef, chicken, pork….its cooked. You're good. Maybe I just built up a tolerance from eating on the farm as a kid…food would sit out all day long sometimes, no one died.

Maybe I don't understand the order of operations and temp/time you posted on the OP but I read it to mean it was at pulling temp when he took it off the smoker and it was at 115 at noon when he realized he forgot to shred?

For y'all that say toss, you must not have ever eaten that glorious second thanksgiving or Christmas meal that sat out from "lunch" time until whenever you felt well enough from the first gorging to reheat a plate of leftovers that had been sitting on the counter all afternoon while you napped or watched a couple games!!

Yeah, I'd hesitate with the deviled eggs that have been out at room temp all day, but the other stuff?? Without question, make another plate, nuke it and enjoy round two!

It's not like he cooked the pork days ago, left it in the fridge for bacteria to start, then out of the counter at unsafe temps for the bacteria load to start increasing in numbers. It's been off the cooker less than 12 or so hours ago, and probably was in the safe heat range within a few hours of him realizing and putting it in the fridge.

No bacteria nuke exploded all over the food during that time!!



Side note, my college roommate about made me throw up one day. We had spaghetti the night before. It was left on the stove top overnight. Next day around lunch, he just scoops up the leftovers onto a plate, microwaved it and ate it.

As far as I know, he is still with us and living a normal life.

BrazosDog02 said:

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It was already done and cooked when he pulled it. I'd eat that, and have eaten at that and lower temps after resting. Beef, chicken, pork….its cooked. You're good. Maybe I just built up a tolerance from eating on the farm as a kid…food would sit out all day long sometimes, no one died.

Maybe I don't understand the order of operations and temp/time you posted on the OP but I read it to mean it was at pulling temp when he took it off the smoker and it was at 115 at noon when he realized he forgot to shred?

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Correct

Tony Franklins Other Shoe said:

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Nothing against the OP, but I would not even have considered asking the question and would have a full belly of pork right now.

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Normally, I wouldn't have given it another thought either, but I got food poisoning a couple of years ago from a BBQ sandwich I ate at Buccee's and I don't EVER want to experience that again!

4 said:

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Tony Franklins Other Shoe said:

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Nothing against the OP, but I would not even have considered asking the question and would have a full belly of pork right now.

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Normally, I wouldn't have given it another thought either, but I got food poisoning a couple of years ago from a BBQ sandwich I ate at Buccee's and I don't EVER want to experience that again!

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Bucees BBQ is ass, my dude.

Think of the four hour rule of food safety.

I would imagine if it was found at noon at 115, then it spent a little more time that it should before bringing below the danger zone.

I would not chance it, but that is me.

If you feel up for it, then go for it. Just make sure to heat it back up to a safe temp before consumption.

4 said:

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Tony Franklins Other Shoe said:

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Nothing against the OP, but I would not even have considered asking the question and would have a full belly of pork right now.

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Normally, I wouldn't have given it another thought either, but I got food poisoning a couple of years ago from a BBQ sandwich I ate at Buccee's and I don't EVER want to experience that again!

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Was it their sliced pork sandwich? I got food poisoning from one of those and know a couple of other people who have too.

Chopped beef from the Waller location.

One of my employees got food poisoning the very next week from the same location, but it was a fresh salad.

Or, apparently not that fresh.

Daddy-O5 said:

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4 said:

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Tony Franklins Other Shoe said:

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Nothing against the OP, but I would not even have considered asking the question and would have a full belly of pork right now.

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Normally, I wouldn't have given it another thought either, but I got food poisoning a couple of years ago from a BBQ sandwich I ate at Buccee's and I don't EVER want to experience that again!

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Bucees BBQ is ass, my dude.

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Literally, I'm afraid.

I'm thinking they called the toilet cleaning guy up front to help during the rush.

This thread is a great way to tell which posters jumped off the high dive and never had to wear bicycle helmets as kids.

Eat it.

Well, the time for theories and advice is past us.

It tasted good going down. Hopefully that will be the only time I taste it.

eat it! I can't see how there would have been anything to contaminate it.

4 said:

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Well, the time for theories and advice is past us.

It tasted good going down. Hopefully that will be the only time I taste it.

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we were only joking. You are going to die now. Lol! Just kidding.

p.s. please don't die. I'll feel terrible if you do.

4 said:

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Well, the time for theories and advice is past us.

It tasted good going down. Hopefully that will be the only time I taste it.

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Make sure to give us an update tomorrow morning. Or, have your son update us if you are indisposed.

Absolutely eat it. There isn't a thing wrong with it. Smoking introduces nitrites into the meat that's a preservative. You could leave it out all day at room temp and it would still be fine.

Think about when ham is cured into prosciutto in Italy. It's kept out for weeks in cool but not cold temps, cured with brine.

As a former Meat/Food/Beverage professional, I'd welcome a Paul Harvey "and now you know, the rest of the story" update.

One thing not mentioned in this thread is 'Water Activity." Curing and Water Activity (below .85) make it possible for raw meats, like Prosciutto, Country Hams, and Pepperoni (among many others) to be held at room temperature. In the case of your Pork Butt, the water activity would have been too high (above .85) to allow it to stay at room temperature.

Yes, I'm being anal, but that's why many cured meats must be refrigerated.

He dead yet?

4 was a good man. He passed doing what he loved. Here.

here. now i feel bad. i told you i would.

WaldoWings said:

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here. now i feel bad. i told you i would.

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If I were the OP I'd just open up a new account and never use this one again just to f-with you.

BrazosDog02 said:

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WaldoWings said:

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here. now i feel bad. i told you i would.

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If I were the OP I'd just open up a new account and never use this one again just to f-with you.

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What do you think happened to 1, 2, and 3.

I puketh not