My Barbecue's Busted (?)
July 23, 2011 11:13 AM   Subscribe

Can I eat this?: smoked pork shoulder edition

I smoked a 13 lb pork shoulder all day Thursday. It turned out beautifully. We had substantial leftovers, which were refrigerated. Last night, the remaining meat, still on the bone, was left overnight in the (turned-off) oven, where we often store meat to keep our two large dogs from it. I just discovered it (and immediately refrigerated it), so it's been in the oven for something like 16 hours.

Can I eat this?

Would you eat this?
posted by woodvine to Food & Drink (11 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I'd eat it. My husband wouldn't. I have a famously cast-iron stomach, though. If you're unsure, boil the bone with the meat on it and make black bean soup.
posted by KathrynT at 11:19 AM on July 23, 2011


I'd eat it. I have eaten meat left in the oven overnight. I once barbequed two pieces of pork belly, took one of them off and forgot about the other one until 16 or so hours later. It was fine too.
posted by MuffinMan at 11:27 AM on July 23, 2011


Eat it!
posted by foodgeek at 11:33 AM on July 23, 2011


I would eat it. If I were paranoid, I'd put it back up to temperature, then eat it.
posted by LucretiusJones at 11:34 AM on July 23, 2011


I've ate it like that before. Bring it back to cooking temp, and dig in.
posted by deezil at 11:54 AM on July 23, 2011


I'm not clear whether it was cooked then cooled, or handled after cooking and before being put into the cold oven - the first scenario is obviously much better than the second, but either way I think I would not eat this. Unless I'm missing something, it has been sitting basically at room temperature (maybe a little above, which is worse) for 16 hours!
posted by crabintheocean at 12:37 PM on July 23, 2011


Eat it. Smoking is a form of preservation.
posted by deadmessenger at 12:59 PM on July 23, 2011


Response by poster: To clarify, the roast was cooked all day Thursday and cooled overnight before being brought out Friday night and left in a (cold) oven until 1 pm today.
posted by woodvine at 1:48 PM on July 23, 2011


I totally wouldn't then. You've already handled it and exposed it to air plenty before leaving it in the "danger zone" temperature.
posted by crabintheocean at 1:55 PM on July 23, 2011


I wouldn't take the chance. 16 hours out is way too long, especially after it has already been out before. On top of that if your smoker didn't bring it up to 140 1/2 inch in the first 2 hours it is even more dangerous.

Smokingmeatforums.com has a good section on food safety that would be worth reading.
posted by SuzySmith at 2:41 PM on July 23, 2011


I agree with LucretiusJones. I would eat it after it was brought back to temperature.
posted by BuffaloChickenWing at 6:27 PM on July 23, 2011


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