Foil...hold turkey breast

[Steve Petrone]

Held turkey breast for 1 1/2 hours...got 6 ounces of turkey juice! Did I hold it too long? The bird was very good-I cannot imagine getting that much from a resting breast. Would it have been more moist if not held so long?

 

[K Kruger]

Possibly but not necessarily. Did it look and feel moist before you rested it? Was it moist when you ate it? Did you brine? What temp did you pull?

 

[Steve Petrone]

I did brine and pull it at 160. It was surprisingly moist considereing it gave up so much moisture.

 

[Jim Babek]

I have brined all the turkey breasts, turkeys and chickens Ive smoked and wouldnt even attempt it without brining. I believe it gives you alot of wiggle room on, what could be a very difficult, and disappointing meat.

 

[adam clyde]

was the breast still hot? If it was, then I don't think you held it too long. The juices would have come out when you cut anyways.

There's only so much moisture cooked meat can hold. As you rest it, it is able to hold more, but I don't think there is a time threshold where it starts to lose water again.

If you brined, not surprising that it gave up that much - but was still really moist.

One question - how did you hold the meat? Foil/cooler? covered on the counter?

Anyhow, congrats on a successful cook.

 

[Steve Petrone]

The breast was held in a pre-heated cooler. It was still hot.

 

[K Kruger]

Adamclyde's right. It can only hold so much moisture. If you brined and pulled at 160 and your meat was good and moist you done good. I usually get a large quantity of liquid (Yay! Sauce base!)

If the turkey cooks a bit too long (or substantially too long) the meat dries, of course, and its structure changes. When the juices redistribute during the rest, the meat is less able to hold the liquid. You can lose a lot during the rest--more than you would have had the meat not gone too long. If you suspect your bird's overdone you can rest for a shorter period of time, if possible. You'll still lose liquid but the dryness can be mitigated a bit. The meat's structure will still be less able to hold the liquid it could have but the shorter rest helps--a little--if you ever run into this (which I'm sure you never will!).