Watery Meat

[Matt-Mattheque]

Newb here cooking on a WSM 18.5” and I’m scratching my head over something. I cooked a beef tenderloin and prime rib on 2 separate cooks. Both cooked at around 250 to an internal temp of 135 or so. The problem is the both were wet and tasted watery inside. Sounds weird but that’s the only way to describe it. Watery! What am I doing wrong? Do I need to dry brine longer and uncovered vs covered? Do I need to cook hotter? They were both from the same grocery store so is there a chance that they inject their meat with water? I’ve done pulled pork and ribs and didn’t have the same problem. They were from other stores.

 

[Randy]

When we do prime rib we dry rub it at least 24 hours beforehand put it on a wire rack with a pan under it and put it in the refrigerator to dry out. I don't know about the tenderloin sorry

 

[Tye R.]

Another vote for dry brining

 

[CaseyMcC]

Newb here cooking on a WSM 18.5” and I’m scratching my head over something. I cooked a beef tenderloin and prime rib on 2 separate cooks. Both cooked at around 250 to an internal temp of 135 or so. The problem is the both were wet and tasted watery inside. Sounds weird but that’s the only way to describe it. Watery! What am I doing wrong? Do I need to dry brine longer and uncovered vs covered? Do I need to cook hotter? They were both from the same grocery store so is there a chance that they inject their meat with water? I’ve done pulled pork and ribs and didn’t have the same problem. They were from other stores.

yes dry brine uncovered for at least 12 hours. for the rib roast, take off the hard fat cap from the top. it won't render at wsm temps. you can bump the temp up as well. 300 won't hurt those cuts.

 

[Matt-Mattheque]

When we do prime rib we dry rub it at least 24 hours beforehand put it on a wire rack with a pan under it and put it in the refrigerator to dry out. I don't know about the tenderloin sorry

Thanks Randy! Do you dry brine uncovered?

 

[Matt-Mattheque]

yes dry brine uncovered for at least 12 hours. for the rib roast, take off the hard fat cap from the top. it won't render at wsm temps. you can bump the temp up as well. 300 won't hurt those cuts.

Thanks Casey! I did remove the fat cap and some of the silver skin. I frenched the bones and made myself an amazing burger with the trimmings and rendered beef tallow from the fat cap.

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

I've never heard of that. Are you used to eating dry aged beef or something? Some meat packers do "enhance" their meat with a brine solution. It basically adds water weight to the meat so it's something to out for. I don't know if it happens with beef. It's usually poultry or pork. Usually it helps retain moisture which is a good thing. Now with big roasts like that the inside of the meat can taste really bland so dry brining is a way to get some salt into the meat and potentially pull out some moisture. This is why I prefer cutting those roasts into steaks. You get a lot more browned surface and seasoning to meat ratio. I prefer a ribeye over prime rib any day of the week.