Checking doneness by feel instead of temp, question?


 
MKEvenson

MKEvenson

TVWBB Wizard
Cooked my best brisket yesterday, and took the prob out of the meat half way thru. I checked the doneness by the prob feel not by temp. I think that I had always been afraid to do that not knowing what the meat would "feel " like if I passed the done stage. I know that one can cook tooo long and dry things out but what I don't know is how it would feel inserting the probe. I assume that there would be more resitance than when done, but would this reistance be the same as before you get to the done stage or different?
Probably not a major issue to most of you but I just thought that I should know and being a cheep dude, I don't want to intentionally overcook a good piece of meat just so I can feel what it's like when overdone. Unless I can figure out a way to uncook
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Mark
 
I'm with you man. I really don't feel ready to pony up $100 for a thermapen so I've been using my eye/feel and/or a cheap probe from Walmart. I know I'm going to eventually need to man up, but for now, it's worked out ok. Except for my chicken which I invariably take off early and have to put back on so as to avoid horrible vomiting
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Just can't stand the idea of dry chkn.

Random ramblings...
 
Tip-sensitive digital therms are a must when checking for minimum safe temps, like for chicken, turkey, burgers, non-Q'd pork, and so forth. A bimetal analog therm simply will not do. That said, what you get with Thermapen is speed and accuracy. Less expensive therms can be accurate though speed is slower.

Brisket, ribs, etc., will continue to feel the same for quite a while, though they might be overcooking. That's why it's worth checking a little early, so that you can gauge the time remaining from the first check (as you cook more by feel you'll get a sense of the remaining time from the first check, as you get used to it).
 
Thanks, Kevin. I agree completely. My brisket was tender to varying degress depending where I probed. I usually had been checking temps at the junction of the point and the flat and continued that location with the addition of several others. The thin end of the flat being the least resistance other than the fat in the point.



Mark
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mk evenson:
Cooked my best brisket yesterday, and took the prob out of the meat half way thru. I checked the doneness by the prob feel not by temp. I think that I had always been afraid to do that not knowing what the meat would "feel " like if I passed the done stage. I know that one can cook tooo long and dry things out but what I don't know is how it would feel inserting the probe. I assume that there would be more resitance than when done, but would this reistance be the same as before you get to the done stage or different?
Probably not a major issue to most of you but I just thought that I should know and being a cheep dude, I don't want to intentionally overcook a good piece of meat just so I can feel what it's like when overdone. Unless I can figure out a way to uncook
icon_biggrin.gif


Mark </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Mark,

In my experience, there's not much difference in feel between "done" and "over done" unless you go to the extreme. Start checking a little before you think it might be done, then about every thirty minutes or so, depending on your cook method (high heat, more often; low & slow, less often.)

JimT
 
Good call JimT

The probe will still go in easily... But the taste will be more dry. Catching it right at that sweet spot when it first becomes tender is the game.
 
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