Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
> "Eddie" > wrote in message
> ...
> >I smoked two butts the other day. Went in about 5pm and pulled out at
> > around 2am after hitting 198*
> > I put it in an insulated bag and left it outside. By 10am it was
> > still warm and served for lunch.
> > Should I have put it in the refrig. when I took it out? Any danger of
> > bad little critters forming? I figured 198 would just have killed any
> > bacteria, so why refrig. right away?
> > Eddie
>
> The guys that check to see if you removed the tag on your mattress and
> pillows will also lock you up if the temperature of the meat falls below 140
> degrees.
>
> Putting the meat in an insulated container will keep it in the safe zone for
> a long time. That means above 140. At 198, anything should be dead, but I
> guess it can become contaminated from handling also. For that reason, I
> don't think anyone can give a definite answer either way. My guess is you
> were OK but that is strictly a guess not knowing how warm was warm and how
> long it was at any temperature. It can take some hours to have problems
> though.

Yes, no simple answer on this which is why everyone always punts to the
"refrigerate it" option.

If the meat was cooked up to 198, with the exterior exposed to higher
temps in a closed environment like an oven it should be pretty well
sterilized so that allowing it to slowly cool down through the "danger
zone" should be safe.

If on the other hand the meat was cooked and then handled and placed
into a non sterile environment (foil, cooler, etc.) before being allowed
to slowly cool, it is possible it could become contaminated and then the
bacteria would have an opportunity to multiply as it passed through the
"danger zone".

This is where there is some advantage to smoking the meat for some
number of hours and then finishing in an oven since the last hour or two
in the oven re-sterilizes the meat after potential handling
contamination as well as sterilizing the oven interior. At the end of
the cooking period the oven can be turned off and allowed to cool slowly
with pretty good safety since the oven is at that point a mostly sealed
sterile environment.