Resting Meat - Redux - what is more important - time or temp?

This is not an unrelated topic to this thread from a couple of days ago.

What is more important to take into consideration when resting brisket - or any meat for that matter: the actual temperature of the meat when you slice, or the time you let it rest?

Let's say we have two roasts and both were pulled off at 190 degrees. One has settled down to 150 degrees in about 30 minutes and I slice. The other is in a preheated cooler and takes 3 hours to settle down to 150 and I slice it. Which loses the most moisture?

I guess what I'm saying is, should I really care about how long it rests, as long as it is sufficient time, or should I care more that the temperature of the meat drops, and in so doing, it reabsorbs the juice...

Short answer, imo:<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> how long it rests, as long as it is sufficient time </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

More fully:

Based on food science, anecdotal evidence, and my opinion, we know that a post-cook rest is very important for meat (including fowl); that the juices redistribute over time after the meat is removed from the hot cooking environment; that overcooking renders the meat fibers less able to hold the juices; that cutting into the meat too soon causes a loss of juices all, most, or some of which would be retained depending on the type and cut of meat and how soon after pulling it it was cut. We also know to expect an increase in the internal temp of the meat (i.e., further cooking) during the beginning of the rest, though how much (and whether or not) this will occur depends also on type and cut of meat, the cooking temp (and whether or not the temp was stable).

With barbecue meats (here I am not including fowl) we're able to cook them past the technically 'done' point because of the quantity of fat and connective tissue they contain. Like 'regular' roasts they need to be rested but they seem to benefit from a much more substantial rest than is typically called for (30 min) when roasting 'regular' roasts to their typical done point (medium-rare or medium). I think that this is because of the increased amount of IM fat/connective tissue; and because the tightly-wrapped higher-internal temp roast continues to cook, albeit gently, which makes the redistribution of juices take longer.

In your example, whether or not one would lose more moisture than the other largely depends on the cut of meat, its internal fat structure and condition, and what the cooking conditions of each brisket were.

In my opinion, it is more likely that the second brisket would taste better because of its longer rest, however I doubt that it would need 3 hours to hit its best point. It can hold that point though, on its own, for a while.