Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Resting is more important for things like brisket. I’m trying to remember back to what I learned. I think it’s called accelerated evaporation. If you take it off and slice into it the steam let’s go quickly and the juices flow out fast which makes the meat dry out quickly. Now if you let the meat sit and the juices move back out into the meat fibers while the meat is kept at a temp just above what the government says is safe then the juices will start to gel up in the meat and what you then cut it they won’t come flooding out.

Now resting for hours as a couple others have said is more about having the food ready when you want to eat and not eat when the food is ready.

 

The extended rest also allows for all the fats to melt inside the butt and the meat to absorb that melted fats.

 

Thanks! I'll give it a shot. Next batch will have either pork/bacon in there. But...I would need to smoke a pork butt first and then shred it to put it in the mac and cheese for the next smoke....

Food's ready when it's done. Y'all can work around that (My wife hates my smoking estimates!)

I usually pull pork butts and let them sit for about 20 minutes in foil inside. They always come out good. My usual turkey/chicken/sausages/pork loin (at mid, not shredding) I don't worry about resting and it comes out great.

 

I figured you had a reason.. and again.. I apologize.. it wasn't directed at you in any way... I was just curious why people did it. Clearly you had a good reason to wait so long and I'm ok with that LOL

 

Turkey I usually rest about 10-15 mins much like I do my steaks. Pork Butts I let rest about an hour or so, Brisket I let rest 1+ hours. Sausages and burgers and such are all eat once they are done.

I hate trying to judge when smoked foods will be done so I usually just give myself WAY more time than needed if I can. Then I just wrap, in a towel and in the cooler so they can sit and keep themselves warm till it's time to eat.

 

Turkey I just do turkey breast usually, but I'll give resting a shot. Never had a problem with it though. An hour for butts? Hm. I'll try that next time. (un?)fortunately I have 2 corned beef briskets to run first so might be a few weeks before I get to try that out. I don't do brisket almost ever, but I have done chucks and other stuff instead. I'll have to try resting more!

Pork butts my usual is to smoke into the stall then pull and put it in the oven overnight, then I get up and pull it out. Then it's shredded and delicious at around 6AM. I'll have to play around with some new methods this year!

 

Ya I've tried a lot of different ones. I've just sort of figured out what works for me over the years. Like I've tried the Hot and Fast for Brisket that both @bvbull200 and @Misplaced Nebraskan have both had success with and failed when I tried it. Wasn't to the can't eat point but a huge disappointment for me since my brisket usually comes out really good.

 

You'll have to try spatchcocking a turkey... not only is it WAY better.. but it's Fun As F to say!

 

I don't eat enough for that I don't think. My wife is a vegan, I could do a chicken! I might try some turkey legs this year though, that could be a good one but I usually just do a turkey breast or two, they come out awesome.

I'm also up in New England, brisket ain't as cheap up here as it is down south either

 

I just put the pulled pork on top of the mac. But I do put cooked bacon IN the mac to smoke. 100% recommend doing that. I also cook the mac under the pork butt so it catches the drippings. Makes it even better

 

Ya I'm not in TX so I have to watch for sales. In TX I think you walk into the store and they give you brisket in exchange for a Howdy and a Spent brass casing.

 

Oh yes! Any bird can be spatchcocked.. basically you cut out the backbone and flatten the bird so that it cookes evenly. The thighs and the breasts get to temp closer to the same time so that the breasts don't dry out while trying to get the thighs to temp.

 

Never spatchcocked and still have yet to have a dry bird.

 

They've been cooking birds long before my time.. and likely had no issues .. but trying something new now and then never hurt anyone! HAHA

 

It might, I could be cutting out that backbone, slip and lose a digit.

Honestly I'm not a big turkey person to begin with so I only do them for the holiday and then it's all about the tradition of how it looks. I either smoke or deep fry my turkey. Last year was the first time in about 10-12 years I didn't because my in-laws wanted to roast it in the oven. As dinner was going on I was asked if next year we could go back to my way of doing it.

 

No apology needed. Only way to learn new methods is by asking questions.... I don't think there is a right or wrong way to bbq if that's what you enjoy. We are all always learning still.

 

Unfortunately I'm in a barrel grill, can't put the mac under a pork butt. I mean I guess I kind of could? I'll probably do the pork first and then put that into the mac itself, then to the mac with a round of sausages or something.

Yeah, went down for a vacation and was blown away. Might end up moving there so that would be an adventure

I want to do a duck but I'd try that with oranges in the cavity instead of spatchcocked.

Amen! That's why I do my yankee stuff chicken/turkey/sausages our last gathering, usually everyone takes like a little bit of leftovers. That stuff went like hotcakes though.

 

I'll cook hot 'n fast at times, but the rest is always about the same. Big cuts like brisket and pork shoulder, I like to give myself the ability to rest for two hours. If the cook takes a little longer, I still get my 1 hour.

The basic premise is that the edges of the meat are slightly dried out due to being hotter (surface might be close to cook temp while center only reaches a desired internal temp). When you rest, the meat returns to an equilibrium and the juices left in the center "redistribute" to the drier spots closer to the surface.

AmazingRibs has good info on it:
https://amazingribs.com/more-techni...ce-juiciness-why-resting-and-holding-meat-are

What's worth noting there is that the majority of the article is discussing resting steaks. It isn't until the bottom that they get to large cuts. They also distinguish between "resting" and "holding". What they call "resting" refers to letting a warm piece of meat cool to near room temps. Like taking a steak off the grill, then letting it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before eating.

What we all refer to as "resting", they call "holding", which is the process of pulling a chunk of meat out of the cooker, then letting the temp slowly decrease in a cambro or sealed cooler. The idea there is never to let the meat get cool - it's still usually served well above 150*, so it is different than letting a steak sit on the counter.

I will crank the heat, wrap early, or just have the food ready late if I need to, but I won't skip a 1 hour rest on something like brisket.

Personal preference, though .

 

To correct... my only Hot & Fast attempt was in no way a success I haven't been back to it yet. I'm still waiting on my chainsaw to be repaired