HOLDING AT TEMP

[Hogsy]

When I do a puled pork or lamb, I normally get the kettle up to temp 225-250f then throw the meat on , wait till it hits 190f internal, then double wrap in foil and towels into the esky(cooler,chili bin)until serving
But I've been reading lately about different techniques on pulled meat and wondering how everyone else does there pulled meat?
One thing that caught my attention was HOLDING AT TEMP for as long as possible
By this I mean, once the internal temp of the meat gets up to 180f , drop the temp of the kettle to 180f  and mimic the temp of the meat for as long as it takes to get the meat up to temp in my case 190f
Apparently in doing this the collagen in the meat breaks down a lot more and adds more moisture and flavor to the meat
Just wondering if anyone else cooks using this method? Or what techniques or temps you use for pulled meat

[One Touch Platinum]

I have done lots of pork butts for pulled pork, I pull mine of the Weber once it reaches 200 degrees internal and then wrap it in foil and let it rest until we are ready to eat. I usually let it sit for at least an hour but if it gets done ahead of the scheduled time I will wrap in foil and a towel and put it in a cooler........it will stay hot for several hours and be ready to pull whenever we are ready for dinner. I don't know if there is anything to the mimic temp thing you are talking about making it more moist, I have never had the pork come out anything but VERY juicy. I inject the pork before it goes on the grill but have also done them without injecting.....they still come out moist. I think that pork shoulders are one of the most forgiving meats you can smoke because they are very hard to really screw up unless you burn it or don't cook it until it is fork tender and still try to pull it.

[Idahawk]

Wrapping the meat and putting it an air tight container will keep the meat at one temp for hours , this is often used in cook offs as shoulders can be unpredictable as far as finish times go .

I have a Cambro , some guys use coolers . The meat will sweat inside and even though its not still cooking the meat is still hot and braking down even more.

[etruax]

The BBQ Guru I have on my WSM has a ramp mode which lowers the cooking temp as the internal meat temp rises.

[1buckie]

Mostly covered in what you all have said.............

Most closely related to OTP's method.......

I like to rest, dbl foiled, with heavy towel, in cooler, for 2 ~ 2-1/2 hours....the fatcap is almost always completely gone at that point......

I've held above danger area for as much as 7-1/2 hrs. before, but it's a good idea to check on it past a few hours......

Once it drops to 140f, you have only "X" amount of time before "bad bugs" become possible.....conventional science says 4 hours, but I like to not press the issue........

Safe & Sane .........


I would think holding on cooker, you could stay just above that 140f mark & not force the  meat to actually cook more.......pulled pork can turn to pork mush, if you go too long.........

[Hogsy]

Here's part of the article I was reading



For a prime cut you can take it off as soon as it reaches the target temp, although a prime cut will also benefit from extended time at the target temperature.  For Secondary cuts, it is essential, the "time at temperature" secret is what does all the work!  The secondary (hard working) cuts (generally from the front of the animal) are loaded with connective tissue. Connective tissue is primarily made of collagen, which is tough and difficult to chew. The good news is, collagen is broken down by the long term application of heat. Luckily for us, collagen breaks down into unctuous and delicious gelatine, giving what was a tough cut new life!
 
This magic of the Collagen breaking down starts when the meat reaches 55-60°C (130-140°F), but at that temperature will take a minimum of 48hours to work its magic on a Brisket. In a Sous Vide water bath, this is no problem, but difficult to do in a BBQ or Smoker.

So in BBQ we take advantage of the fact that the Collagen conversion is most rapid at temperatures over 82°C (180°F) internally. It is common for a cooking Brisket to “Stall” at 65 to 70° C (149 to 158° F); this is thought to be because of the massive amount of energy needed to convert Collagen to Gelatine and surface cooling from the meat “sweating”.

Old school BBQ philosophy had us cooking at a dead even temperature, commonly 120-135°C (250-275°F) for 10 or 12 hours until fork tender and roughly 95° C (203° F) internal temperature. Some of the newer theories increase the temperature and shorten the time, but there is no escaping the “Time at Temperature” reality!

Now remember that every piece of meat contains Collagen, not necessarily in thick visible wads but as the wrapper that holds the meat strands into bundles within the muscle. So it follows that the longer you can hold at temperature, the more of the collagen holding the meat together will dissolve and the softer or more tender the meat will become.
This is the secret of Sous Vide and the new frontier of BBQ.

[1buckie]

"Collagen, not necessarily in thick visible wads but as the wrapper that holds the meat strands into bundles within the muscle. So it follows that the longer you can hold at temperature, the more of the collagen holding the meat together will dissolve and the softer or more tender the meat will become."


  This is the thing I've found cooking tri-tip at 190~210f for long periods; at a certain point, it pulls apart in clumps.....another while in the approx. same heat, it pulls apart in strands........

some I've done are maybe a bit more chew than pulled chuck & some are  THE most tender meat I've ever cooked......

Now I see more of what you're getting at about the cooking & the holding...........

I've also cooked that particular cut fairly well thru, foiled, toweled, coolered & a few hours later the 3/4" fatcap was almost completely disintegrated & tenderized the meat.....those ones were done with unsweetened cocoa & were particularly delightful !!!

[Hogsy]

Unsweetened cocoa ...... Do you use that as a rub?

[Hogsy]

I know about the Stall but I keep reading about the Hold
It's similar to resting in the cooler but its more about holding the meat temp between 180-200f for as long as possible

[1buckie]

Unsweetened cocoa ...... Do you use that as a rub?

Yep......

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-beef-recipes/something-different/


It produces a really interesting flavor ( which is not at all like a candy bar or chocolate cake ) esp. if it's cooked down thru the meat in a long, slow cook.....

Got it from a catering / vending guy at Smoke Ring, who says he stole it from someone else there......

I know about the Stall but I keep reading about the Hold
It's similar to resting in the cooler but its more about holding the meat temp between 180-200f for as long as possible

That thread also has some about the cooking at a low heat, extended...... a lot of folks have a tri-tip done in 40~45 min.......this takes 12 hours.......