Bringing to Room Temp

[SoCalBill]

I have two butts in the fridge rubbed down for a smoke I am doing to start tonight when I get home from work. One is 8lb and the other 7.5 The question how long should I let them sit out to help get them to room temp. The wife is off work today so i can have her pull them for me.

Thanks

[KyNola]

I'm confident the "Food Safety Police" will surely sweep down on my answer but I would pull them out of the frig at least 2 hours prior to ready go into the smoker.

[squirtthecat]

I concur!

[ArnieM]

DANGER! DANGER!  Just kidding.  I agree that two hours is no problem.  Do an FT on them if you can.  This should help them warm up more evenly.  The IT on them will likely only go up 5-8 degrees after two hours, if that much.

[SoCalBill]

The food police would probably come arrest me. I wasn't sure on pork, but on beef I have pulled a 10lb prime rib 8 hours BEFORE going into the oven and the IT was still really cold. The rule of thumbs was 1 hour per pound. I wasn't sure if/what some of you might be doing.

[ArnieM]

I'm good with beef and pretty good with pork.  Poisonous poultry is something else.

Generally, most bacteria is on the surface of the meat.  I always give the meat a wash but try to keep my wife with her soapy scrubby sponge away.  Anyway, washing off the meat and then adding a rub containing salt will do a pretty good job of keeping down bacteria.  Using vinegar when washing also will help kill any bacteria.