Showerthought: I keep seeing people poke their brisket way too early to check for tenderness.

I mean, I learned from a pitmaster in Kansas City that you should wait until it hits at least 195 degrees internally before you even think about probing, because poking it before the fat has fully rendered just lets all the good juices run out and dries it up.

4 comments

4 Comments

emmaclark3mo ago

Honestly I go by feel, not just temp. My last one was probe tender at 190 and it was perfect. If it feels like butter, it's done, even if the number is lower. Sticking to a strict temp can sometimes mean you overcook it.

the_harper3mo ago

Totally. It's like when you follow a recipe exactly but your kitchen is way more humid or your oven runs hot. The cake comes out different every time anyway. I stopped timing my scrambled eggs and just watch for the right glossy look. Sometimes it's two minutes, sometimes four. The clock doesn't know what my stove is doing.

vera_lewis21mo ago

Oh boy, do I feel called out here. I'm the idiot who pokes at my brisket like I'm giving it an acupuncture treatment every 30 minutes, convinced I'm being thorough when really I'm just impatient and making a mess. Last time I did that, I ended up with a hole-ridden piece of meat that looked like it survived a tiny knife fight. And my wife walked in and said "did you get in a fight with the cow?" Real confidence booster.

marywilson3mo agoMost Upvoted

My dad used to grill chicken until it was 165 exactly, every time. It was always dry. Now he takes it off when it's just firm, not rubbery, and it's way better. We get so stuck on the rules, the numbers, the right way, that we miss what's actually happening right in front of us. It happens with cooking, with work deadlines, even with raising kids. The manual says one thing, but the real thing in your hands tells you something else.