Temperature question

[seanwiley]

Say I intend to slow cook a meat till the internal temp hits 160. Is there an ideal cooker temp to aim for? If the cooker is sitting on 225, will a brisket hit 160? or will the meat act as an insulator and the internal temp level off at 145 or something?

Although I had kind of assumed that the meat temp would come up to the cooker temp if left long enough, that didn't seem to be the behavior I was seeing.

just curious if there is a rule of thumb here.

[Firemonkey]

The ideal temp depends on the cut of meat. Some cuts will dry out if exposed to heat too long, and thus we grill them over high heat to attain the desired temp as fast as possible. Consider a steak for example

Other cuts require more time to allow tough connective tissues to render into gelatin and liquid, and make the meat more tender. Consider a butt or ribs which would be tough if cooked too fast.

There are also different characteristics of each type of meat, which determine how fast they absorb heat. You mention a brisket, so I wonder if what you experienced is the plateau, where the connective tissues begin to render. When this happens, the temperatures will level off, sometimes for a couple hours until all the fat is rendered, and then they will resume their climb. Sometimes, people even see a degree or two drop in the meat temps during this period.

Were you cooking a brisket, intending to remove it at 160? If so, you would almost definitely find it very tough. Briskets are typically cooked to 190 or more to tenderize them.

[jdbower]

To add a bit to FM's description, over a long enough timeframe the temperatures of the cooker and the meat will equalize. For example, shoulders are often cooked at 220F and pulled at 195F, not much lower. I had a cut finish in the middle of the night unexpectedly and pulled it out at 205F and had I left it for the remainder of the day it probably would have been at least 215F.

In general, tough cuts like briskets and shoulders are done at low temperatures (~220F) to high internal temperatures (~195F). Poultry and roasts are medium temperatures (~325F) to lower internal temperatures (~150 - but it depends a lot more on the meat since a beef rib roast is good at 135 and chicken is best left to 160 at the breast). Steak is done at high temperatures (~500F) until they just stop mooing. Of course, sometimes breaking the rules of thumb also yields tasty results, other times it yields salmonella.

[mguerra]

Plateau

To amplify on what firemonkey said: you need to understand the concept of the plateau. Briskets and pork roasts (butts) need to be cooked to between 180 and 200 degrees. And at low cooking temperatures from about 200 to maybe 250 or so. As the meat temperature rises, it will hit a plateau and stop rising for quite some time. During this time the fat and tough connective tissue are being broken down and the meat becomes tender. Don't try to short circuit this process. Keep your cooker temperature set and resist the temptation to raise it. Wait out the plateau and let it do its' thing. Eventually all the tough connective tissue will dissolve, tenderizing the meat, and the temp will start rising again. Don't open the cooker, just leave it. As long as you had put enough fuel in there, everything will be OK. The finish temperature of briskets is in no way comparable to steaks.

[seanwiley]

To elaborate on the my goal a little, I was following one of the brisket recipe's in the Bob Bob Gibson cookbook and the instructions are to cook till 160 - 170, pull it off and wrap in foil, then put it back on till 190.

I've never had this fine degree (pun intended) of temp control in the past, so I guess I have never realized the plateau before.

thanks for the good answers! It's cool to understand how things work.

[mguerra]

Foil, or not?

Do a couple with the foil and a couple without any foil, let us know your comparisons.

[mguerra]

high temp brisket

I've been reviewing the brisket threads over on the Weber Smoky Mountain forum. They are really promoting high heat cooks, claiming great results. They cook the brisket at 325 to 350 degrees to about 160 degrees internal, then foil it and cook til tender. They don't finish by temp, but by probing til tender. They get their briskets done quick this way, 4 hours plus or minus, based on size. Anybody here try this? I'm going to try it.

[LarryR]

High Temp Briskets and Foiling

When I'm short on time I do high heat briskets. Works like a charm, I know many guys who ONLY do high heaters.

Foiling at 165: I'd say 50% of my briskets are foiled at 165. It's almost idiot proof and guarantees you a moist brisket. In the beginning I would wrap the brisket in foil. Now I place in a roasting pan and cover w/foil. Much easier to work with.

That said, in ceramics I do not feel the need to foil is as great as in a steel cooker.