Hold times

If meat is being held definitely held at 140+, you're good for at least 12-24 hours, BUT I can't say how the brisket / ribs will hold up. Depends how much moisture / humidity is in the Amerique.

In large brisket cooks where 120 qt coolers are loaded with loose packers as they come off the heat,they easily hold 16 hrs-closed up.

We've had to hold comp packers,foiled for 9 hrs and they were steaming.

The 140 hold mode on the AQ will shut off after 6 hours. How long were you planning on holding for?

Tom, how did the comp briskets that were held for 9 hours do for you? Do you think there was a deterioration in your quality on the long hold?

quote:

Originally posted by Wilber:
The 140 hold mode on the AQ will shut off after 6 hours. How long were you planning on holding for?

i just checked my sm066 manual (v10.1) and it states the hold mode persists until turned off manually. has the programming been updated on the newer units??


"Holding

1. The hold mode goes into effect at the end of both cooking modes and will remain in effect until manually turned off.

When you think the product is finished, unplug the AmeriQue. If the product is done to your satisfaction, remove from AmeriQue. If the product is not done to your satisfaction, continue to smoke-cook, checking for doneness at intervals. When the product is finished, you can remove from oven or leave on hold for up to 6 hours."

quote:

Originally posted by lcubed:

quote:

Originally posted by Wilber:
The 140 hold mode on the AQ will shut off after 6 hours. How long were you planning on holding for?

i just checked my sm066 manual (v10.1) and it states the hold mode persists until turned off manually. has the programming been updated on the newer units??


"Holding

1. The hold mode goes into effect at the end of both cooking modes and will remain in effect until manually turned off.

When you think the product is finished, unplug the AmeriQue. If the product is done to your satisfaction, remove from AmeriQue. If the product is not done to your satisfaction, continue to smoke-cook, checking for doneness at intervals. When the product is finished, you can remove from oven or leave on hold for up to 6 hours."

Must have, manual v.13 says the Amerique will go into hold cycle automatically and will hold for a maximum of 6 hours.

quote:

Originally posted by Know Bull:
Tom, how did the comp briskets that were held for 9 hours do for you? Do you think there was a deterioration in your quality on the long hold?

Deterioration in quality comes after the meat has been shredded,sliced, pulled,etc. As long as it is held in a hot box without additional heating, there is a good chance it will be better than when it was put into the cooler.

While I try not to hold my comp briskets for 9 hrs, I've had my share that was there for over 6 hrs. Better early then late.

Like the experienced cook that cal is.

Many comp cooks ,that don't cook hot and fast,we try to get the big meats done early,so we can focus on the meats for turnin.
Many feel that 3-4 hrs hold helps the product,anyway.

Yes,you get some continued cooking from a number of factors.

Like cal said,if the meat is pulled at its tender point,the min. rise from lo/slo cooking doesn't seem to hurt quality.

Ref: the direct question as to quality,my answer would be subjective
.
The reason I remember it, was it was a large state championship/qualifier with many fine brisket cooks and we had some concerns about the holding time.

Comp cooks will tell you that how you placed can also be subjective,i.e." you were placed on a hot table".

That said we did win brisket that day.

Take from this what you will,but we always accept a win.

Thanks for all the help. I plan to finish the cook about 2.5 hrs. before company arrives. Just to be safe that everything is done. The last 45 minutes before serving, I want to slice everything down and put in covered servers and keep at 140f. Do you think this will work?

I always try to slice/pull the very last minute. You can add some liquid like stock or beer to help keep things moist.

quote:

Originally posted by Wilber:

quote:

Originally posted by lcubed:

quote:

Originally posted by Wilber:
The 140 hold mode on the AQ will shut off after 6 hours. How long were you planning on holding for?

i just checked my sm066 manual (v10.1) and it states the hold mode persists until turned off manually. has the programming been updated on the newer units??


"Holding

1. The hold mode goes into effect at the end of both cooking modes and will remain in effect until manually turned off.

When you think the product is finished, unplug the AmeriQue. If the product is done to your satisfaction, remove from AmeriQue. If the product is not done to your satisfaction, continue to smoke-cook, checking for doneness at intervals. When the product is finished, you can remove from oven or leave on hold for up to 6 hours."

Must have, manual v.13 says the Amerique will go into hold cycle automatically and will hold for a maximum of 6 hours.

checked w/ the great people over at cookshack tech support. the hold temp persists til the cooker is manually turned off. they are recommending a max of 6 hour hold for unwrapped items, but the cooker doesn't automatically exit hold at 6 hours.