Juice in Pan under smoker .... safe?

[Elliottbte]

Are there any safety concerns with using the juice that drains into the pan under the smoker, even if it has been there during the whole smoke time?  An 8 lb brisket will take a good 12 hours.  How do I mine this gold (juice) for later use without getting anyone sick?  Does outside temperature matter?

 

[NDKoze]

That is an excellent question that I have wondered before. I will defer to the guys that know more about food safety.

However, I would think part of the answer may be the ambient temperatures that this liquid is sitting in. Here in ND our temps right now are in the 30s yesterday and 20s today, which is basically fridge temperature if not lower. So, I would think as long as the drip pan is clean and you don't have dust storms moving through the area that it would be OK to use.

Now, if you are in Texas or Florida and the ambient temps are higher, I will again have to defer to the Food Safety pros.

 

[swthorpe]

I get very little juice in my drip pan..for ribs or butts, I may get 10 drops of liquid.    Most of the drippings from the meat stay inside the smoker on the foil of the wood box or the floor.

 

[SuperDave]

I get very little juice in my drip pan..for ribs or butts, I may get 10 drops of liquid.    Most of the drippings from the meat stay inside the smoker on the foil of the wood box or the floor.

I would agree and add that 99.9% of the useable juice by volume is in the foil wrap the meat rests in.  Personally, I like the juice, a lot, and that's why I foil mid cook, regardless of the crap people dish out on this forum for doing it. 

 

[Elliottbte]

I get very little juice in my drip pan..for ribs or butts, I may get 10 drops of liquid.    Most of the drippings from the meat stay inside the smoker on the foil of the wood box or the floor.

My first smoke was 2 brined butts and I bet I had 3/4 cup juice in the pan.  It was cold outside so any fat had re-solidified and made it easy to just have the juice, and it was great. Maybe there was so much because of the brine.  I'm in Tennessee and I'm thinking doing the same on a 90 degree day in summer is not such a good idea.

 

[Walt]

It i were to use the drippings, i would start by scraping the inside of the smoker with a paint scraper to knock any loose deposits off & insure you have fresh foil on bottom of smoker & top of wood box.  If your external temps were between 40 -140 (the danger zone) then i would think the juice would need to be put on a stove and brought to a brief boil to kill anything that may have started growing.  I am sure one of our culinary trained members can verify or discredit this method.

 

[Elliottbte]

It i were to use the drippings, i would start by scraping the inside of the smoker with a paint scraper to knock any loose deposits off & insure you have fresh foil on bottom of smoker & top of wood box.  If your external temps were between 40 -140 (the danger zone) then i would think the juice would need to be put on a stove and brought to a brief boil to kill anything that may have started growing.  I am sure one of our culinary trained members can verify or discredit this method.

This is great advice.  It would take next to no time at all to boil the juice a bit every time just to be safe.

 

[DivotMaker]

regardless of the crap people dish out on this forum...

We merely voice our opinions, Dave.  You are certainly free to do whatever works for you, and present your side of the issue, but please play nice; there are no "wrong answers" in BBQ!  No need to be offensive, Dave.  We're one big family around here - Plenty of disagreements, but it remains civil. 

 

[DiggingDogFarm]

Back on topic....no, I wouldn't consider the juice in the drain pan safe for several reasons.
Utmost, it needs to be kept at safe temperatures.

Relevant information here....
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/dining/bending-the-rules-on-bacteria-and-food-safety.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Catching juice in other ways that are safe? That's for another thread.

 

[DivotMaker]

Back on topic....no, I wouldn't consider the juice in the drain pan safe for several reasons.
Utmost, it needs to be kept at safe temperatures.

Relevant information here....
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/dining/bending-the-rules-on-bacteria-and-food-safety.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Catching juice in other ways that are safe? That's for another thread.

Thank you, Martin!  I agree - I would never use the juice from my drip pan, as much of it comes from the raw meat at the beginning of the smoke.  Not taking that chance!

 

[NDKoze]

I knew the safety experts would be around shortly. If Martin says don't chance it, that is good enough for me.

I don't typically get a ton of juice out of mine as I think with the low and slow smoking most of it is retained in the butt. While it would be nice to capture some of that flavor, I'm not sure it is worth it.

My butts are so moist that I have never felt the need to add more juice to them.

This was a good topic though that may prevent someone from doing something that they shouldn't.

 

[Elliottbte]

That settles that for me.  I'll see what I can do to catch some more of the juices in the bottom of the SI.  No more drip pan juice for me, boiled or not.

 

[damnfingers]

Bringing this up once again.  I've been smoking my butts on the top rack and there is plenty of room to put a pan underneath it to catch any drippings before they get to the bottom of the SI.  Is there any reason not to do this...seems it would keep the bottom a lot cleaner.

 

[SuperDave]

Gene,
There are some folks that think the addition of a foil pan effects the smoke results.  I smoked a butt 2 weeks ago perched high on a rack inside the foil pan itself.  Results were most excellent. 

 

[TARDISgirl]

Bringing this up once again.  I've been smoking my butts on the top rack and there is plenty of room to put a pan underneath it to catch any drippings before they get to the bottom of the SI.  Is there any reason not to do this...seems it would keep the bottom a lot cleaner.

I've done this both times I've done pork butts. It does make for an easier clean up, and as I used a 9x9 inch foil pan, really didn't see how smoke would've been blocked. Either add the liquid gold back in, or use it as a base for homemade sauce.

 

[damnfingers]

TARDISgirl - that was my thinking.  I'm so concerned about the meat being dry that I want to rescue as much drippings as I can to add back in to the finished product.

SuperDave - I can't see any problem with smoke flow around the meat with a foil pan 2" below it.  Thanks for you inputM

 

[NDKoze]

The problem that others have had is that the pan under the meat causes a heat sink that causes larger than normal temperature swings and thus less than perfect results.

I have never had a dry pork butt, so haven't bothered with trying a foil pan.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes. I too think it is kind of a shame to lose all that awesome rendered fat. But do not want to sacrifice the quality of my meat to get it.

 

[TARDISgirl]

Not had a dry pork butt yet. I actually save the rendered fat for sauteeing for another meal. Coffee can full of deliciousness

 

[Pork Belly]

I think the majority of dry pulled pork is from not resting it long enough. If you break it down too soon, all that greasy goodness is going to coat the bottom of the serving dish and never absorb back into the meat. I did two butts in the same smoke last week. One I rested for an hour the other rested three hours. There was a huge difference in them that night and especially later when served as leftovers. The one with the longer rest was far more moist.

 

[NDKoze]

I usually rest mine for 2 hours. You would be surprised how hot it still is after a two hour rest.