Smoker Turned Off While Cooking Pork Shoulder? (What To Do)

It’s a nightmare scenario for anyone – you’re in the middle of a long cook on a beautiful pork shoulder when your smoker unexpectedly turns off or stops working properly. 

This leaves your meat vulnerable to dropping into the dangerous temperature “danger zone” between 40°F and 140°F.

Bacteria can rapidly multiply at these temperatures and might make the food not safe. 

But don’t panic just yet – there may still be a way to salvage your pork shoulder.

In this post, I’ll go over what you should do if your smoker turned off while cooking pork shoulder.

What to Do If Your Smoker Turned Off While Cooking?

Assess The Situation

The first step is to figure out how long the pork shoulder was sitting in the danger zone temperature range. This will depend on factors like:

• The internal temperature of the meat when the smoker failed
• The outdoor ambient temperature 
• How long the smoker was off for

If the pork only dipped into the danger zone for an hour or two, it’s more likely to still be safe. 

But if it was four hours or longer, bacterial growth becomes a bigger concern.

Another factor is whether the pork shoulder is a whole muscle cut or if it was injected / moisture-enhanced. 

Whole muscle meats are generally more forgiving, while injected or processed meats can transfer bacteria into the interior more easily.

Should You Keep Cooking Or Not?

Based on your assessment, you’ll need to make a judgment call on whether it’s safe to keep cooking the pork shoulder or not.

If it was out there in the danger zone for a longer period or if you’re just not comfortable with the risks, the safest move is to discard the meat.

Also Read: where to put temp probe in smoker

No smoked meat is worth potential food poisoning or illness.

However, if the dip into unsafe temps was shorter and you have faith in bringing it up to a safe temperature, you may decide to proceed.

Kill Bacteria By Cranking Temps

If you choose to keep cooking based on your assessment, don’t just return to the original cooking temperature. Instead, crank up the heat in your smoker or switch to the oven. 

The goal is to quickly bring the pork shoulder up past 165°F, the standard safe temperature where most bacteria is killed. 

But for an extra margin of safety, take it even higher:

• 190°F: Many pitmasters pull pork at this temp for perfect shredding texture
• 200°F+: At these higher ranges, you get additional pasteurization 
• 205°F – 210°F: An extra high buffer to ensure any lingering bacteria is eliminated

Don’t stop cooking until you achieve an internal temperature reading of at least 200°F all the way through the pork. This high heat blast for an extended period should kill off any bacterial growth concerns. 

Also Check Out Our: Pit Austin XL Wood Fired Pellet Grill and Smoker

Other Food Safety Precautions

Even if you do take the proper temperature precautions, it’s still smart to exercise some extra food safety practices.

You need to watch carefully for any off smells, colors, or tastes that could indicate spoilage

And you can discard any leftovers instead of saving them.

Oh and make sure any reheated portions get taken up to 165°F+ again

Preventing Smoker Failures In The Future

Of course, the easiest way to avoid this stressful situation altogether is taking steps to prevent your smoker from failing or turning off mid-cook. 

Here are a few tips:

• Use a good digital temperature monitoring system with an alarm to alert you to temp drops.

• For pellet smokers, use a pellet tubing grate mod or install a hopper fan to avoid burnbacks/jams

• Make sure your smoker is in good repair with no mechanical faults before long cooks

• Have a backup plan like transferring to your oven if the smoker totally fails

Also Read: Can you use electric smoker in garage

Bottom Line

Assess how long the meat spent in the danger zone, then decide whether to continue cooking or discard it. If you are, quickly bring the internal temperature to at least 200°F to kill any bacteria. 

FAQs 

How Long Can Pork Shoulder Sit Out Before Smoking?

It is recommended to take the pork shoulder out of the fridge about 1 hour before smoking to bring it closer to room temperature, which aids in developing a nice smoke ring on the meat. 

While this is not a firm requirement, it can help reduce smoking time.

Will Pork Shoulder Continue To Cook While Resting?

Yes, a pork shoulder can continue to cook for as long as 30 minutes after being removed from the smoker. This post-cooking period can result in a temperature increase of 5 to 10 degrees, contributing to the overall cooking process. 

It is essential to monitor the internal temperature to ensure the meat does not enter the “Danger Zone” temperature range between 40°F and 140°F.