How to set a delayed start for 3D

[MTSmokin]

Maybe I've missed it but I haven't seen this tip out there to delay the start time on the IT model D smokers so I wanted to share it.

I was wanting to have good bbq for dinner on a weekday but needed to turn on the smoker in the middle of the day and didn't know how I was going to make that happen so I got to thinking (necessity is the mother of invention!)...  What if I set the box temperature to a temperature so low the heating element won't turn on?  I tried it and it works!

To have a "delayed" start time on your model D set the first program step to a temperature less than ambient ( I use 1F so I know at a glance it's not an "empty" program step.

The first time I used it to cook ribs.  I put the ribs in a 6:00 am, set the program steps to:
  1F box temperature, time 6 hours
  230F box temperature for 5.2 hours
When I got home from work at 5:30 they were ready to eat and tasty!

Last night I put a brisket in at 8:00 and set the program steps to:
  1F box temperature, time 5 hours
  230 box temperature, 197 meat temperature
  160 box temperature, 6 hours (hold time)

When I got home from work at 6:00 I had a perfectly done, tasty brisket!

Now that is Lazy-Q, no getting up in the middle of the night to turn on the smoker and still great bbq the next day!

Just wanted to share my discovery with the group, happy smokin!

 

[EFGM]

Couple of questions?  Now, I'm always concerned about food safety and my understanding is you have 4 hours to get your IT up to 140*. Knowing the smokers are well insulated, how are you keeping the bad stuff from growing with being in the 40-139 temp range for 6 hours on ribs and 5 hours on brisket. Did you measure and graph the temps during those waiting times? Sorry for being skeptical but not sure this is a safe method. Interested to see what others have to say concerning this.  Ready to be corrected in my understanding is wrong.

 

[old sarge]

Good information Mark.  I am sure a lot of folks will find it useful.  But I am with Doug on the food safety issue. I can see safely doing this in cold weather, or if the meat is partially frozen where it thaws in the smoker before the smoker kicks in.  Any thoughts?  Would the actual cooking temperature kill off any bacteria that might have started growing?

 

[MTSmokin]

I'm not a food safety expert so if someone is please chime in here and correct me if I've got something wrong.

I agree I don't want to put meat in a 90F box and let it set for 4 hours before it turns on so some common sense about outside temperatures does need to be applied.  That said, the following "Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures" established by the Department Of Agriculture (USDA) / Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) give me a high level of confidence that Salmonella is not a major concern for long cook BBQ since my pull temperature is always over 165 and my time above that temperature is usually measured in hours.


Category                                    Food                                            Temperature (°F)    Rest Time
Ground Meat & Meat Mixtures  Beef, Pork, Veal, Lamb                  160                        None
                                                Turkey, Chicken                            165                        None
Fresh Beef, Veal, Lamb              Steaks, roasts, chops                  145                        3 minutes
Poultry                                      Chicken & Turkey, whole                165                        None
                                                Poultry breasts, roasts                  165                        None
                                                Poultry thighs, legs, wings            165                        None
                                                Duck & Goose                                165                        None
                                                Stuffing (cooked alone or in bird)  165                     None
Pork and Ham                          Fresh pork                                      145                        3 minutes
                                                Fresh ham (raw)                            145                        3 minutes

Link to table source:  https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/mintemp.html

Am I missing some basic food safety rule here?

 

[EFGM]

I'm sure someone with more experience can chime in on items that utilize a cure which might over ride this 4 hour rule. I was taught that the 4 hours starts when you take it out of refrigeration to prep, not when you put inside smoker. Hope this helps.

“Remember the danger zone: 41-135 F. Potentially hazardous foods exposed to this temperature range for a cumulative total of more than 4 hours are not safe to eat”