Don't bother resting your meat?

[Max]

However, it doesn't change the fact that cooking will continue if you immediately wrap one in foil just off the pit and insulate for a couple of hours or even more, as so many folks recommend. Let's just say that a brisket is pulled off a pit at 190*. Well, sous-vide cooking is done down at around only 135*, if I'm not mistaken. Seems to me that if you wrap that puppy up in foil real quick and hold....I don't care if it's stacked with other briskets in a cooler or in a cambro, or just wrapped in a blanket and left on the counter.

Agreed 100%. Whether you wrap it loosely in foil/just lay it on a cutting board (as I have done if the brisket gets overcooked) or if you wrap it tightly in a cambro (if you managed to pull it out on time), the brisket will continue to cook at various rates. If you rest a overcooked brisket on a cutting board, although it will continue to cook, that is not the reasoning behind why you are resting it.

My issue with meathead, is that although he states you are supposed to rest the brisket, he says the ONLY purpose should be to rest it to continue to let it cook. That is just flat wrong, IMHO. Seems to me we are both getting to the same destination (a rested, juicy brisket), but Meathead doesn't know how he got there.

Technically, it's gonna cook in it's own juices for a while, right? It might sound nit picky, but really, the main reason I raise the issue is because folks take the practice of holding briskets and apply it to pork butts, often over-cooking and drying them out to various degrees if measures aren't taken. After I got my first wsm, I made that mistake for quite a few cooks, where I cooked overnight and would have to hold the butts hot for varying times until supper the next day. Took me a while before I figured out what was going on and why the pork wasn't as moist as the butts off my drum cookers, cooking during the day for shorter cooks and relatively short holding times. Now there's nothing wrong with holding pork butts, I'm just saying that they need to either lose some steam before being wrapped or cooked "al dente". I don't like guesswork and prefer the former....but on the other hand, I really like the texture of the bark right off the pit, pulled as soon as the meat has lost it's steam.

Anyhow....enough of Meathead, pork butts, and semantics. What are your "particulars", when it comes to holding briskets hot after a cook? In other words, do you let the meat lose it's steam any at all before wrapping to hold? Should the pit temp or finished meat temp determine holding time, any tenting time, or level of insulation/holding environment temp? What makes two hours be enough? Or is three or more better? If you trim a lot, do you have to hold hot as long? I'd really appreciate your thoughts.

Regards,
Dave

I am not experienced with pork butts, but this month I want to get a pair of butts and try to smoke them, then pull both and put one of the pulled pork trays back on the pit to finish. I heard about it somewhere (can't remember where now), but it sounded very interesting and I think would be a good way to compare pulled pork to see which way I prefer. I am guessing, you are of the mind that once done smoking a butt, you should pull fairly quickly with a shorter rest period?

Back to brisket, I usually try to trim my fat to get to as close to 1/4 inch across as I can and I rest for at least 2 hours before I slice. I take the brisket off, make sure it's wrapped good in foil, wrap the foiled brisket in a towel, then place in a cooler. I try to make sure the time frame from pulling the brisket from pit to fully wrapped and the cooler closed is > 2 mins. I am not fancy enough for a REAL cambro yet.

I have rested briskets for 6-8 hours before too though and they were still probably 145-160 when I sliced. Delicious too. That was with a large group of guys that went on a mountain hike and we wanted a bbq dinner at the top. Fun times.

 

[Dave Russell]

Agreed 100%. Whether you wrap it loosely in foil/just lay it on a cutting board (as I have done if the brisket gets overcooked) or if you wrap it tightly in a cambro (if you managed to pull it out on time), the brisket will continue to cook at various rates. If you rest a overcooked brisket on a cutting board, although it will continue to cook, that is not the reasoning behind why you are resting it.

My issue with meathead, is that although he states you are supposed to rest the brisket, he says the ONLY purpose should be to rest it to continue to let it cook. That is just flat wrong, IMHO. Seems to me we are both getting to the same destination (a rested, juicy brisket), but Meathead doesn't know how he got there.



I am not experienced with pork butts, but this month I want to get a pair of butts and try to smoke them, then pull both and put one of the pulled pork trays back on the pit to finish. I heard about it somewhere (can't remember where now), but it sounded very interesting and I think would be a good way to compare pulled pork to see which way I prefer. I am guessing, you are of the mind that once done smoking a butt, you should pull fairly quickly with a shorter rest period?

Back to brisket, I usually try to trim my fat to get to as close to 1/4 inch across as I can and I rest for at least 2 hours before I slice. I take the brisket off, make sure it's wrapped good in foil, wrap the foiled brisket in a towel, then place in a cooler. I try to make sure the time frame from pulling the brisket from pit to fully wrapped and the cooler closed is > 2 mins. I am not fancy enough for a REAL cambro yet.

I have rested briskets for 6-8 hours before too though and they were still probably 145-160 when I sliced. Delicious too. That was with a large group of guys that went on a mountain hike and we wanted a bbq dinner at the top. Fun times.

Thanks for the feedback on the brisket resting, Max.

Yes, I prefer a short rest for pork, basically just enough time to lose it's steam, and it doesn't require wrapping in foil. I've pulled while still steaming, and that's a mistake, but I've held for all lengths of time, up to all day, and I'll tell ya what. In terms of moisture and tenderness, a couple of the very best butts I've ever smoked were just tented under foil in a big mixing bowl to pull after I got a shower. They were about 9.5 lbs each and as moist and juicy as any I've smoked, weren't ever wrapped in foil, and were cooked with water in the pan for 16 hours. That was an odd cook where I cooked all day Saturday and into the evening, with the plan to fridge the pulled pork and reheat the next day for Sunday's dinner after Church. It was an eye opener, because I had been wrapping in foil for quite a while and holding all my butts for a couple or several hours at a time. Cooks that long aren't my cup of tea anymore though, since I don't have an ATC, use a lot of lump, and now prefer no water in the pan for butts. Nowadays I like to get up real early and get them done for supper in 12-14 hours, cooking 235-250 grate.

Regards,
Dave

 

[Bob Correll]

Steak Paradise was on the Travel channel today for the umpteenth time.

A Peter Luger's cook was taking/stabbing steaks out of the 800 degree oven with a meat fork, and then rushed to the table (under 2 minutes) and sliced.
These are dry aged Prime, so I'm sure that might make a difference.

A cook at Cattlemen's Steakhouse in Texas was checking for doneness by jabbing the points of his tongs into a section of steak and pulling it apart.

 

[NeilH]

This may have been covered, I haven't read all of this thread but does it matter bringing the steak to room temperature before grilling? Meathead mentions salting it down then putting in fridge two hours before grilling.

 

[Dave/G]

This may have been covered, I haven't read all of this thread but does it matter bringing the steak to room temperature before grilling? Meathead mentions salting it down then putting in fridge two hours before grilling.

Yes. You don't want to put a cold steak on a hot grill. It won't cook properly. As for Meathead, who is this guy? Another self-proclaimed grilling expert?

 

[Tom_M]

Yes. You don't want to put a cold steak on a hot grill. It won't cook properly. As for Meathead, who is this guy? Another self-proclaimed grilling expert?

www.amazingribs.com

 

[Dave/G]

Ya, I know he blogs about cooking. But really, don't let meat rest? IMO, that's insanity. Juices get pushed to the center during cooking and need some time to redistribute. I know that's not an original thought. Otherwise a lot of the steak will be dry. Yes, there will be juice on the plate, but don't waste it. Pour it back over your meat. I just don't get him, but I guess that's why there's horse racing

 

[Davo]

After watching a episode of Masterchef Australia when on a Friday night, the Chefs do some demos to the contestants about techiques and then answer questions on it......one night he grilled some rib-eye steaks and showing how he does the rare, med-rare and medium as well as welldone all in one session regarding time....but then he rested his steaks standing on their edge rather than laying them down and his explaination was that if you lay them down, the juice will escape from the larger surface area but if you stood them on their sides, very little juice will escape because of the reduced surface area and the juice has further to travel.....I tried this myself with 2 x 2 inch thick steaks and it really works..I had very little juice loss and I like my steaks medium. The steaks were very juicy indeed.

 

[RCBaughn]

Steak Paradise was on the Travel channel today for the umpteenth time.

A Peter Luger's cook was taking/stabbing steaks out of the 800 degree oven with a meat fork, and then rushed to the table (under 2 minutes) and sliced.
These are dry aged Prime, so I'm sure that might make a difference.

A cook at Cattlemen's Steakhouse in Texas was checking for doneness by jabbing the points of his tongs into a section of steak and pulling it apart.

Poking really doesn't expose enough of the steak or any meat to let out an obscene amount of juice from what I've read, Seriouseats.com did a study on it and wrote a great article. Slicing it though would open up the fibers a whole hell of a lot more than poking though, and I can imagine that it isn't the recommended thing to do, at least to most of us griller dudes! I'm by no means a professional and on the younger side, but that's my mindset from what I've done and ate off my grill and smoker.

Yes. You don't want to put a cold steak on a hot grill. It won't cook properly.

I usually pull them out but mine are usually still pretty cold when they hit the Spirit. I can't get a good sear on my gasser without overcooking the center if it's room temp. By the time I get a good char and color on the outside I have medium well center. I wonder if starting cold is affecting overall texture in the end or if it doesn't matter as long as it's the right temp?

Same goes for my lamb and beef burgers too though. They ALWAYS go from the fridge to the grill right away. I don't think I have ever been able to pull off a rare or medium rare burger without doing this, but that may come down to my Spirit gasser and grilling technique.

I have a Performer though and have continued this process, but since that thing can get truly rocket hot I may need to start bringing it to room temp since I can get a great sear in no time right at the end.

 

[Dwain Pannell]

Well, I'd say Meathead got what he wanted...49 replies to one post on one website (this one) about his article which generates interest and get folks to go to his site to read it along with other articles and, hopefully, sells products advertised there. In the mean time, he has a couple (or more) good folks here gettin at each other in the controversy he has created. I was at a dinner party this past weekend and gathered around the grill the subject came up. Wonder how many other cooking websites have similar threads. Great business model. It works.

 

[Dave Russell]

Well, I'd say Meathead got what he wanted...49 replies to one post on one website (this one) about his article which generates interest and get folks to go to his site to read it along with other articles and, hopefully, sells products advertised there. In the mean time, he has a couple (or more) good folks here gettin at each other in the controversy he has created. I was at a dinner party this past weekend and gathered around the grill the subject came up. Wonder how many other cooking websites have similar threads. Great business model. It works.

Yep. Folks get bent out of shape over food science, which sometimes can be fuzzy....but lots of buzz for 'ole Meathead.

 

[RCBaughn]

Well, I'd say Meathead got what he wanted...49 replies to one post on one website (this one) about his article which generates interest and get folks to go to his site to read it along with other articles and, hopefully, sells products advertised there. In the mean time, he has a couple (or more) good folks here gettin at each other in the controversy he has created. I was at a dinner party this past weekend and gathered around the grill the subject came up. Wonder how many other cooking websites have similar threads. Great business model. It works.

Yeah last thing I want is to get in some kind of argument really. Debating is good but only as long as it don't get personal. Food science seems to be a bit like politics I guess...... Better stayed away from around good friends you wanna keep!!! LOL.

 

[Gary S]

Well, I'd say Meathead got what he wanted...49 replies to one post on one website (this one) about his article which generates interest and get folks to go to his site to read it along with other articles and, hopefully, sells products advertised there. In the mean time, he has a couple (or more) good folks here gettin at each other in the controversy he has created. I was at a dinner party this past weekend and gathered around the grill the subject came up. Wonder how many other cooking websites have similar threads. Great business model. It works.

Well said Dwain.

 

[DarylB]

Yep. Folks get bent out of shape over food science, which sometimes can be fuzzy....but lots of buzz for 'ole Meathead.

I think it's the nature of the internet business model. And like Dwain said, healthy debate is always good. It makes us push ourselves to think differently and try new things. The good thing is, the members of this forum are able to have a debate then shake hands. That isnt common in internet forums. I'm really new here but that is what I am seeing. We wont all agree on everything and we may have some debate in the process but we are all here to be better cooks and to help others get better. In the end, I will probably experiment with steak the next few times and determine if a different way works better for me. That means meathead, and this forum were effective in making me look at how I do things and pushed me to make sure I am doing it as well as I can.

Great job by all I think.

 

[Dave Russell]

I think it's the nature of the internet business model. And like Dwain said, healthy debate is always good. It makes us push ourselves to think differently and try new things. The good thing is, the members of this forum are able to have a debate then shake hands. That isnt common in internet forums. I'm really new here but that is what I am seeing. We wont all agree on everything and we may have some debate in the process but we are all here to be better cooks and to help others get better. In the end, I will probably experiment with steak the next few times and determine if a different way works better for me. That means meathead, and this forum were effective in making me look at how I do things and pushed me to make sure I am doing it as well as I can.

Great job by all I think.

Daryl, by "bent out of shape", I certainly don't want to imply that's the norm on this forum, but rather the potential controversy that's inevitably created in different forums from Meathead stirring the pot with controversial claims....as it appeared to me that Dwain was suggesting. Probably overstated for the sake of simplicity on my part, though, but I agree with you 100%. Healthy, respectful debate is how we learn, and I'm rather put off from ****ing matches as well as threads that are simply a lot of folks that all agree 100%....but again, I agree with you 100%.