Overnight oven rest question


 
J

Jacob

New member
Posted this on Reddit, but I really like the discussion on this forum, so figured I would repeat my question here.

I've been curious to try this overnight oven rest method on a brisket or pork shoulder. I tested out my oven the other night, it's lowest setting is 170, and according to my tests with my ambient probe, it typically runs between 180 and 190 at the highest. Will that work for the overnight rest? I usually pull the meat around 195 to 200, so I don't feel like it will be cooking it anymore. And is this method even worth trying? I feel like I've been seeing it lately, but don't know if it's worth it.
 
A couple of thread on this.
tvwbb.com

Using my electric kitchen oven as a holding oven for brisket

I'm going to cook a brisket for Smoke Day 16 this coming Saturday. I will cook to 165*F, wrap in butcher paper, take it up to 203-205*F, let it cool to about 170*F, then hold it for several hours before eventually slicing at 145*F. I would normally hold for several hours using an empty cooler...
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tvwbb.com

Overnight Pulled Pork Hold in Oven @ 150

Well, I'll certainly be using that little trick again....holding in the oven at around 150 instead of cooling down the protein. Next time I'm doing it on purpose instead of emergency crutch though. Think my next brisket I will do this as well. Heading out today for a family get-together, and...
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HTH.
 
Yeah, 170 is too high of temp I would think, particularly since your coasts even higher. I was so impressed with the 150 overnight rest I am planning my next brisket around it for timing...

Like @DanHoo mentioned, some oven have a "calibration" setting or altitude setting or temp adjustment setting for convection cooking vs normal baking. Some of these may let your tweak your oven to a lower actual temp vs dial temp.
 
Oh okay. I didn't realize that 170 alone was too high. I don't know if I can calibrate my oven or not. I'm basically the least handy person ever, but I will do a little research to try and figure it out.
 
I'm just thinking right now though, I have a sous vide. I'm sure it's out there somewhere on the internet, but I wonder if I could rest it in that?
 
I have held in the oven overnight for noon meals twice. My oven goes to 170ish.
The first one was my best brisket ever, the 2nd dried out a bit (driver error for not having enough liquids in the pan)
Do you have a turkey roaster that you can dial in to about 150? That’s my next overnight experiment.
 
I'm not sure a pork butt needs a long hold, but that's another discussion.

I would pull a brisket at 190, then do the long overnight hold. But that's me.

I seem to recall that I've read at least one thread on this site that has illustrated at least one commercial pitmaster who uses 170 for his long overnight brisket hold. Since he makes a living doing this, it seems to imply 170 would be okay. However, his holding device is going to fluctuate a lot less than a kitchen oven. His would probably be almost laser accurate at 170 (e.g. using an alto-shaam), whereas your kitchen oven might swing between 155 and 190. That's a 35 degree swing.

My old JennAir kitchen oven will hold at 150, so lucky me. However, it has a 45 degree swing! It'll read anywhere from 130 and 175. Nonetheless, it will average 150 during a long hold.

Thermoworks sells a device that will give you the average temp of your oven, so you're not just guessing that your oven reading is correct. As I recall, it reads the temp every minute, and then after 20 minutes, it gives you the average temp. And it will continue giving the average temp - lets call it a moving average. However, even this average temp will swing.

Using Your Square DOT | ThermoWorks Help Center

Getting Started Once you've unboxed your Square DOT, be sure to remove the protective film from the display and pull the tab from the battery compartment. Carefully uncoil the probe cables. The included 4.5-inch Pro-Series High Temp Straight Penetration Probe is designed for internal meat...
help.thermoworks.com help.thermoworks.com

So does a wide swing matter during a long hold?

Holding at 150, I can say it doesn't matter since I've done it with great success quite a few times.

Holding at 170 with a wide swing? I don't know. I'd say there's a good chance it would be fine but give it a try and report back!

Good luck.
 
You can sous vide at 165.
Tightly wrap or cover and keep at 140 and above... to maybe ?
Now to prevent making beef jerky...
I would probably pull a slight bit early, 190s then let it rest a bit and then keep warm for a while. The 180 to 200 seems to render pretty well.
Then again I have no idea what I am talking about
 
There are restaurants that do a very long rest. Or as they call it xxx. Cook, then keep at temp for a long time. 175 is what a lot do. I would say maybe minimum 145 to maybe 165. If cooked. Safety and all. I wonder if we could cook a brisket at 190 or even 170-185. It would take a long time, and that could prove dangerous. The rendering seems to happen 180-200. Not rich enough, nor experienced enough to test all the possibilities.
I dream of a giant alto-schaam or such that can cook a lot of briskets and pulled pork. A giant oven.
 
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My oven will calibrate. I'd check that out. 180 to 190 is way too high. If you did 170 you might pull the brisket a little earlier like others have said. Sous vide will work. I've seen it done on Youtube, but never done it. I imagine it will hurt the bark some, but you'll get the benefits of the long rest.
 
I'm not close to an expert and you can call this trivial but is the topic at discussion here actually a "hold" rather than a "rest"? Is resting something we do after pulling from the cooker, unwrapping, and setting on our countertop for a span of time to stop the cooking process and redistribute juices? And afterwards we hold at a safe temp until we serve?
 
Well then it kind of gets into semantics. People use the terms interchangeably, but what we are talking is a "hold". "Resting" is letting the temp drop to serving temperature which should be around 140. At that point the juices have redistributed and the temperature of the meat is fairly uniform. We are often doing these things simultaneously. The long hold gets to you to 140 slowly, and also theoretically has the benefit of continuing to break down some collagen, and render more fat. How much it does this is up for debate. The biggest thing is getting the temp down before serving to retain the most juices as possible.
 
If you want to experiment, try what you are suggesting with a pork butt instead of a brisket. If nothing else, if your overnight food poisons anyone at least it will be on a less expensive cut of meat. :p
 
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