Holding Smoked Meats

Yes,most of us have kept a probe in the coolered meat .

A large packer may rise 12� or more.

Temp will rise for awhile,and then hold-depending on the volume of meat.

You'll be amazed how long it will remain steaming.

The extra time in the cooler can allow extra cooking and continued breakdown of collagen.

Many like to rest a comp brisket for three hrs.

The butts need to be pulled out a little sooner,if they do three hrs in the cooler.

Tom,

When you are cooking for large groups and catering events do you let your meat rest that long? My briskets always finishes at 3:00am so I have never allowed them to rest that long before I cool them. Could I double wrap them and hold them in a holding cabinet? What temp do you think it should be held at?

Seems like there is a lot of good information in that head of yours. Ever considered putting it all down in ink? If you ever do or already have let me know I would like to have a copy. As always thanks for the help.

Mark

Thanks for the kind words.

I just have what others are gracious enough to share with me.

Smokin' Okie has much of his boundless knowledge on line and a book wouldn't surprise me some day.

The holding cabinets work fine with foiled butts.

I would wrap them several times in heavy plastic wrap and then foil them.

This holds the juice in the meat,rather than gathering out in the foil.

Cambros,etc. work well,also.

There are folks that use the Cookshacks at 140� and hold throughout long cater events.

I'd recommend that you get the butts off about 195� internal.

If you pull as you need them,you can add a little apple juice/bbq sauce mix as you serve to the public.

Thanks for the info!

Mark

I have had very good results using the foil and beach towel wrap in the cooler. I believe keeping the meat at it's finishing temperature for several hours will breakdown additional tissue components and continue the process of denaturation.

Last night, I did 1" pork loins in my smoker until I got 143F internal. I wrapped and stored in the cooler for an additional hour and they were much juicier and softer than straight off the grill. Just the barest amount of pink but thoroughly cooked. I don't like pork loin much at all. Butts and ribs for me!

Same story with a top round. No fat and significant connective tissue. Took it off at 140F internal and held in the cooler for 3 hours. It was moist and completely pink, but not as tough as usual. I thin sliced it for sandwiches and it was great.

I am currently dry-aging an 8lb boneless prime rib that I will cook this Friday or Saturday (it's Monday). I am going to rotisserie it on my gas grill to 140 or 145F and then hold in the cooler for another 2 hours before serving.

I have done a side-by-side test with regular rib roast versus dry aged 7 days and there was a marked difference between the two. The aged roast was better flavored and more tender. The regular roast ran juices and the aged didn't.

All the best,

Lang

Lang (or anyone),

Would you explain the "dry-aging" process? I assuming this is done by leaving in a refrigerator? But, I thought I would ask.

Happy Trails

Here's a link to dry-aging beef at home. Be careful and watch for spoilage. Dry aged beef is definitely superior in taste and tenderness, IMO.

http://www.askthemeatman.com/is_it_possible_to_dry_age_beef_at_home.htm

Have you tried this yourself? I liked the title, "Is It Possible To Dry Age Beef At Home? Here are complete directions for attempting to dry age beef at home. Follow the instructions EXACTLY!"

tjr - "Is it possible to dry age beef at home" is the "question," not the title of the article. No, I have not done this at home personally. A friend of mine who raises beef cattle does dry age his beef (whole rib eye) at home and it's fantastic. He ages 21 days then cuts the rib eye into steaks. It's some of the best eating ever! Of course, his cattle are grass fed. They never eat grain of any kind. He never uses growth hormones or antibiotics. There's quite a stir in the beef cattle community about grass fed versus corn fed. If you ever get a chance to try a true grass fed beef steak you'll know what I mean. And, if you find someone who line-breeds cattle for grass-based genetics you may never eat store bought beef again! It's outta this world!

PS If you intend to try this yourself (I am going to soon) please use common sense. Make sure your fridge is cold enough to keep the meat in the safe zone. I take no responsibility for any bugs you may create during your experiment.

PSS My apologies for getting off topic.

HP,

I have dry-aged 5-6 rib roasts and they have all been flawless. When I get the roast, I wash it in cold water thoroughly, rinse with a strong salt solution and drip dry for 5 minutes. I wrap it in clean cheesecloth and put it in the frig on a rack. I turn it every day. By day three or four, it stops weeping juice and blood and begins to get a dry skin on it. I believe the salt rinse keeps the surface from getting icky (medical term). Leave for 7-10 days. I have never had mold or gunk form on the surface. Every roast has been worthwhile. I slow cook to 140-145F internal and then wrap in foil and towels and finish in a cooler for 1-2 hours. You will not regret it.

Lang

Lang -

Do you change the cheesecloth or just leave it on the whole time?

Lang -

Have you experimented with the number of days that you dry age? What do you prefer?

Also I always thought that dry aging involved warmer temperatures (upper 40- low 50) with meticulous control of humidity. From the link it appears that I am wrong. It doesn't look that hard, just time consuming and expensive.
Mark

I took the cheesecloth off after three days. It was dry and skinning over. I have left it fat cap down. You want to allow for expiration of the liquids in the meat, but you don't want frezer jerky either. I would still use the cheesecloth for a week, but transfer it to butcher paper for any longer to retard further drying. I think a layer of applied lard or butter would seal it nicely for extended aging also. I will try that in the future and report back

I have only gone 7 days historically as I can't seem to wait any longer. I have found that in AZ at 2700ft ASL 7 days drops about 15% of the weight of the meat. It is much better than regular storebought, but I haven't gone longer.

I believe that proper dry-aging is done with a whole or half side for 18-12 days. There is a dry jerky-like outer layer on any dry-aged piece of meat. If you hang a side, the surface area that gets dry is far less than with a cut roast, like I am using, hence less waste. I don't trim the roast; I like the dry bark on a cooked roast--burnt end kind of thing. I believe they cook a bit quicker because of the firmer nature of the meat.

I would cook to an internal of 140-145F and then rest wrapped in a cooler for 1-2 hrs before serving. The internal temp of 145F doesn't allow for the prolonged denaturation of the tissue (tenderness=heat+time) so I think the additional hour or so in the cooler at elevated temps makes a worthwhile difference for juiciness and tenderness.

Cheers--Lang

I read the article atthe link and found it very interesting. I will definitely try this. I remember how good meats used to taste and now they are not the same at all. I was wondering if a regular home refrigerator will get that cold. It says to hold meat at 32� to 34�. Do you have to put a little fan in there with the meat for the air movement? Also how do you maintain 80% humidity?

I always pour about 2 gallons of very hot tap water into my cooler and close the top for about 5-10 minutes before I put the toweled/foiled meat in. Mixing in half boiling and half hot tap is even better.

After about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, a large brisket (brought to about 192F in the CS) is still too hot to to comfortably hold while slicing... zacher

PJack

You must be remembering grass fed and finished beef. It is a better flavor that most people over 40 have forgotten existed. There are some very good websites that carry grassfed meats.

I have never bothered with a fan or temperature gauge. My fridge is cold and the meat has always turned out fine.

Zacher

Great idea to preheat the cooler! THX4DAT

Thanks Lang, I'm off on vacation next week, but when I return, I am going to put my new found knowledge to use. I appreciate all your input. Yes, I'm a tad over 40 and you're right about the younger set. I guess they can't miss what they never experienced. But when I was a kid back in the 50's and 60's meat and potatoes and fish sure tasted better than you can get today.