rikun
Full Fledged Farker
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2012
- Location
- Tampere...
Okay, this is getting pretty ridiculous...
I've done several hundred packer briskets or flats and still struggle every time with the correct probe feel...
I usually cook HnF at around 275-325 F, naked for 2-4 hours and then I foil when the color is right.
I cook them foiled for about 1.5-2.5 hours, and check for doneness after 1 hour in the foil every 20 minutes.
What throws me off is that there seems to be a lot of variation.
I thought I had calibrated my tactile touch to the optimal probe feeling, but then I accidentally overcooked one packer in competition.
The probe slid in there almost without pushing...
It was probably the softest probe feel that I've ever felt and truly was like warm butter.
And the tenderness was almost spot on, just a tiny bit over! I fully anticipated it being way over due to my earlier brisket adventures...
Also the judges agreed that the tenderness was really close.
A few days ago I did bunch of briskets, I pulled one that felt pretty good and let it cool down before slicing and it was pretty close.
It had a lot more resistance than that comp brisket I just mentioned, but was still more overdone...
And then there were the other briskets, they took way longer before they felt even remotely soft.
They all had probe feel that had more resistance than the comp brisket, but they all ended up being pulled beef rather than slices.
What am I missing here? Did I miss the moment when they were probe tender, and after that they just started to tighten up?
I think that happened in the last comp we did. We checked the brisket for probe feel and it felt somewhat soft, but still had resistance.
And then we checked it again in 20 minutes and it definitely had more resistance, so we pulled it. And it was overcooked.
For my tactile senses, it's hard to distinguish between the resistance before brisket is done and the resistance after it's overcooked. How do you know if you've missed your window?
Do you check the temps? Or do you eyeball the amount of moisture present? Look for excessive surface cracking?
I've done several hundred packer briskets or flats and still struggle every time with the correct probe feel...
I usually cook HnF at around 275-325 F, naked for 2-4 hours and then I foil when the color is right.
I cook them foiled for about 1.5-2.5 hours, and check for doneness after 1 hour in the foil every 20 minutes.
What throws me off is that there seems to be a lot of variation.
I thought I had calibrated my tactile touch to the optimal probe feeling, but then I accidentally overcooked one packer in competition.
The probe slid in there almost without pushing...
It was probably the softest probe feel that I've ever felt and truly was like warm butter.
And the tenderness was almost spot on, just a tiny bit over! I fully anticipated it being way over due to my earlier brisket adventures...
Also the judges agreed that the tenderness was really close.
A few days ago I did bunch of briskets, I pulled one that felt pretty good and let it cool down before slicing and it was pretty close.
It had a lot more resistance than that comp brisket I just mentioned, but was still more overdone...
And then there were the other briskets, they took way longer before they felt even remotely soft.
They all had probe feel that had more resistance than the comp brisket, but they all ended up being pulled beef rather than slices.
What am I missing here? Did I miss the moment when they were probe tender, and after that they just started to tighten up?
I think that happened in the last comp we did. We checked the brisket for probe feel and it felt somewhat soft, but still had resistance.
And then we checked it again in 20 minutes and it definitely had more resistance, so we pulled it. And it was overcooked.
For my tactile senses, it's hard to distinguish between the resistance before brisket is done and the resistance after it's overcooked. How do you know if you've missed your window?
Do you check the temps? Or do you eyeball the amount of moisture present? Look for excessive surface cracking?