Thread: Ping Marty

Bob Terwilliger <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:
> Had you seen this discussion about barbecue stall?
>
> http://modernistcuisine.com/2012/08/barbecue-stall/
>
> Bob

That's interesting. Naturally the point seems to be to put the meat in smoke
and then sous vide finish it. But then Myhrvold is a KCBS grand champion and
you can't cook sous vide in a contest, so obviously he's mastered the temp
issues in other ways as well.

There are a lot of factors in the stall and perhaps that is the main one but
I think not from experience. For one thing, I can actually observe a temp
decline with certain techniques. Hot starting brisket in a vertical drum
(UDS) over radiant heat causes a strong early rise in temps. When then
placed in a smoker at 225F or so it will actually decline in temp some and
then start marching back up to the wrap/cover point at around 155F.

One problem with sous vide is actually knowing when the meat is tender which
is not a simple function of temperature because every brisket is different.
There is a release point which can be readily detected with the temp probe.
Sometimes it will release at 195F, sometimes not until 208F, sometimes even
higher. At that point it has to be pulled and rested to stop the cooking
because there is a short window between hitting the perfect release for
tenderness and overcooking it. It's hard to maintain that necessary
vigiliance with a probe if you're cooking in a bag in water.

Anyway I want to study this concept a little more since it somewhat implies
that one can control the temp pleateau on the basis of pit moisture.

MartyB