How long can I hold this brisket in ramp mode?

[ROB O]

OH my gosh. Had a brisket I expected to take 15 hours get up to 190 in 8 hours.

Was planning to pull it at 6AM eastern Wednesday morning. Pack it in a heated ice chest w/some bricks and serve Wednesday at noon.

How long do you think I can hold this thing in the pit on ramp?

Failing ramp mode anyone got any ideas?

 

[Nick Prochilo]

I think if you keep it in ramp mode you will dry that bad boy out! I'd take it off when its done and rest. Slice and pull when its ready and re-heat tomorrow!

 

[Nick Prochilo]

Move the meat probe to a different area of the flat. Did you push it to far into the meat? When was the last time you calibrated it?

 

[Finney]

Yea, the probe might be too close to the opposite side of the meat.

 

[ROB O]

N'ah. I tested a couple of different places and with an instant read.

It's cooked.


Think I'm going to foil it and hold in an oven at 140. What'cha think?

 

[LarryWolfe]

Yea, the probe might be too close to the opposite side of the meat.

I agree with Nick and Chris, change the position of the probe and see if you get a different reading. Otherwise I'd chill and reheat priot to serving to prevent drying out. Good luck.

 

[ROB O]

Well it turned out ok. Nice and tender, a little dry but nothing to complain about. There was nothing left.

16 people went through the full packer and 2 racks of ribs.



Most of them had never had real BBQ before so it wasn't like I was cooking in front of judges. Compared to most of the others I'd done it was as soft but the edges of the flat section weren't quite as moist as I'm used to.

One of the things I've been wondering about is whether this brisket was unusually lean. Maybe that's why it cooked so fast.


BTW, 3AM it was down to 150 so I put it back in the pit ( I was cooking ribs) and it went back up to 185.


Still given I held this thing for 16 hours !!!! It wasn't bad at all.

 

[K Kruger]

One of the things I've been wondering about is whether this brisket was unusually lean. Maybe that's why it cooked so fast.


BTW, 3AM it was down to 150 so I put it back in the pit ( I was cooking ribs) and it went back up to 185.

Good that it worked out okay. 150 is an okay temp--it might have well been the return to the pit that made it a little dry. It's hard to tell with leaner meats.

What happens when one continues to apply heat during a roast's resting phase is that it continues to cook. Normally, when meat rests, the juices that were forced into the center of the roast are able to migrate back toward the edges as the proteins reconfigure during resting.

When heat is applied during the rest this process can be altered or arrested, depending on how high the applied heat is and what the temp of the roast is when pulled from the cooker. If the heat is high enough the roast just continues to cook. At a lower temp of applied heat the protein reconfig thing happens but, as heat continues, the proteins lose their ability to maintain this structure and juices leak out of the meat (the same thing that happens in overcooking). This happens first at the edges of the roast then works its way in. When (and how much) this will occur is a crap shoot; it depends on several factors but the line is much finer with already lean meats. You can extend the amount of time you can rest the meat with applied heat if the heat is lower than the temp of the roast when pulled (but above the 'danger zone' of 140, of course). This is an alternative if faced with having to hold meat for an extended period; or pull and rest 20-30 min uncovered, cool quickly in the fridge, wrap, and reheat later. (For brisket, turkey breast, and other leaner meats, I find it better to reheat whole.)

Kevin