4 Hour Rule

[Beach Bum]

Yuck. I admit to trying stupid things. Raw poultry is not one of them.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Searched for it as a joke; but it actually exists. Chicken Tartare as well as Chicken Sashimi.

 

[RattleR]

Searched for it as a joke; but it actually exists. Chicken Tartare as well as Chicken Sashimi.
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I love sushi, but yard bird or turkey? I’ll pass, because eating it might lead to a passing not soon forgotten. Montezuma’s revenge

 

[Pacman]

Searched for it as a joke; but it actually exists. Chicken Tartare as well as Chicken Sashimi.

That is what I affectionately refer to as "rental food".

 

[Alteaux]

I won't disagree with the 4 hour rule if the meat is sitting on the kitchen counter, but there is a radical difference in the surface temperature and internal temperature of meat in a smoker. The surface of the meat will quickly achieve the smoker temperature of 225, or whatever temp you are using, preventing bacterial growth. Probing or using a jaccard is another issue, as mentioned above, but I think minimal risk. I never use a jaccard on meats I smoke because I think it allows juices to escape. I use it for meats I marinate and grill. I think it's common sense to increase the smoker temp if it's cold and windy outside taking heat away from smoker.

 

[TheRicker]

I haven’t tried it yet but I’ve read using a jaccard lightly into chicken skin would aid in crisping up the chicken skin when grilling them on a wood-pellet grill at like 325F, 350F. Maybe 400F. I have cooked wings at 325F and they turned out pretty good. Last Sunday, I smoked them for two hours and then finished them in my air fryer.

 

[Maule Guy]

Read an interesting article about smoking below 225 degrees in cold weather. The author suggested that in colder weather it takes longer than 4 hours for meats internal temperature to get above 140 degrees, the danger zone upper limit. And this could allow bacteria growth.

I have smoked at 200 degrees overnight in colder weather without any issues. What temperatures are you running at for overnight cooks?

https://www.lakesidesmokers.com/how-cold-is-too-cold-to-use-a-smoker-and-what-is-the-danger-zone/

Ok, probably longer than needed but here goes. Been more decades than I care to think about since my microbilogy courses so I went out to the FDA site and a couple others. Here is the short story:

Meats, etc. need to be kept out of the "danger zone" 40F-140F. Within 4 minutes at 140F most pathogens are killed, and 160F time is about a minute. This probably why chicken cooking temp is 165F. Spore formers in freshly cooked food don't seem to have much danger since there are no cautions from the FDA food safety folks.

Yes there will be a period of possible bacterial growth between the time when you put the meat on the smoker say at 180F when the interior gets to 140F or above. After 140F the bacteria are killed quickly and will be certainly dead if the interior temp is 160F or above (165F for chicken to be safe). Smoking meat to rare or medium rare may not be a great idea due to the extended time between 40F and final temp.

On egg thread: Farm fresh free range eggs are the best. My Grandad raised chickens eggs and meat for sale. Cleaning hen houses pushed me towards an education.

What do you call a hen that stops laying? Dinner.