Well, pull temp was suggested by a few cooking sites. As you know, killing off bacteria is a result of temperature and time. 165 degrees suggested by the FDA is a blanket number for poultry. From Serious Eats:
“Well, here's the thing: Industry standards for food safety are primarily designed to be simple to understand, usually at the expense of accuracy. The rules are set up in a way that any cook can follow then, no matter their skill level, and so that they're easily enforceable by health agencies. But for single-celled organisms, bacteria are surprisingly complex, and despite what any ServSafe chart might have you believe, they refuse to be categorized into a step function. The upshot is that food safety is a function of both temperature
and time.
What the USDA is really looking for is a 7.0 log10 relative reduction in bacteria. That is, a reduction that ensures that out of every 10,000,000 bacteria living on that turkey to start, only one will survive.
Take a look at this simplified chart I drew using data from a USDA guide.
SEE ABOVE ^
According to the USDA's own data, as long as your turkey spends at least 3.7 minutes at or above,150°F (66°C), it is safe to eat. In other words, by the time it's done resting (you do let your turkey rest before carving, right?), you should be good to go.”
I’ve seen folks pulling turkey breasts at 150, 155, and 157. The last ones I did I pulled them when the thickest part hit 155. At a 240 cooking temp, in my smoker, it takes about 30 minutes for a breast that’s already at 150 degrees to go up to 157. As you can see from the table, it only needs to be at 150 for about 4 minutes to have the same “kill rate” as a breast brought up to 165 immediately.
I did probe all three after they rested 10 minutes and the smallest rose to 168, the biggest was about 163. I’ve found pulling early like this yields a juicer and more tender breast.
I can’t control how anyone else cooks theirs at home, so I’m not going to suggest you follow this, but it works for me and no ones gotten sick.
