Record Long Stall for PP/Boston Butt?

[Hadoken]

Howdy all,
I've had a boston butt on my mini WSM since about 2:30AM with temps ranging from 220-280, average of probably 260 (this cooker is usually rock solid, but it has been temperamental today with rain showers on and off).

At 6:30AM the meat probe on my Maverick 732 read 158, by about 7AM it had dropped to 156, and now at 12:30PM it's down to 154.

Could it really be "the stall" for 6.5 hours and losing temperature? I'm not even sure the meat is safe to eat hovering at 155ish for 6 hours.
Or maybe I should suspect my temp probe that seemed to be working fine for the first 3-4 hours of the cook?

 

[Jaskew82]

Spot check with another probe, that seems too long. I have seen some really long stalls but consistent dropping over that long of a period would make me nervous.

 

[Hadoken]

Just checked it with my thermopop and it reads 154 in 2 different places, spot on with the maverick.
So my bbq temp probe has been telling me I'm cooking hotter than I really am or this is just a honery piece of meat.

I just gave in and foiled it and threw it in a 325 oven while I research if its still even safe to eat.
Any opinions? I'm thinking its time to run and grab some ground beef for burgers.

 

[mchar69]

My opinion is that it's safe. You could have cubed it up, added more rub and sauce in a foil pan, and set it back on for an hour more to get Pork Burnt Ends...

 

[Bartkowiakj]

Once mine usually hits 160 - 170 I foil it and wait until it hits 200-205. I then pull it off and place it back in for about 20 minutes then into the cooler for about 30-45 minutes before pulling No problems

 

[IamMadMan]

It's safe to eat, the temperature of your cooker was above 200° averaging at 260° (well above pasteurization temperatures). The meat was cooking and all is fine. At 250, a pork butt takes about 14-16 hours in my insulated vertical until the bone begins to wiggle like a loose tooth.

 

[m-fine]

The safe temperature varied with time. Pasteurization occurs starting at 130 but you need to hold it there for a long time. The 40-140 for four hour rule quotes 140 simply because it is easier to remember than 40-130. At 150+ for several hours, the meat is completely safe and "fully cooked" although not necessarily tender.

 

[RolandJT]

IamMadMan hinted at this, but does not make it explicit--it is the temp of your cooker (and thus the surface temp of the food) that is the variable you should worry about.

Problems from leaving meat on the counter all day come from the nasties that develop on the surface.

Cooking at 200-225 for 16-24 hours used to be common for whole pork shoulders in some parts of the south, and that was always fine--the inside of the meat may have been between 40 and 140 for a long time (very long in the old slow indirect methods) but that was OK because the outside was in an environment 200+