Secret to Keeping Smoked Meat Juicy - January 2006 Newsletter

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If you have ever had a problem with "too dry" meat then this newsletter is just for you..

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Give the Meat a little R&R after Cooking

This is something that we have not covered (as far as I can remember) in any of our newsletters.. and it needs to be covered since it is such an important issue. I think this may be something that will solve some problems for some of you who have complained to me about the meat being too dry.

To give you a little scientific knowledge on this.. when meat is cooked and reaches around 110 to 120 degrees the protien strands begin to shrink forcing the moisture out of its hiding places much like squeezing a balloon. The air just moves somewhere else.

In meat the juices tend to move to the cooler areas in the center of the meat and stay there throughout the larger portion of the cook time until:

You puncture the meat with a knife, fork, thermometer probe, etc.
You slice the meat when the meat is done cooking

Both of these are not good and will cause you to lose much of the moisture in the meat resulting in a really dry piece of meat.

So if you cannot puncture the meat how do you check the doneness of the meat or insert a thermometer probe? Well.. you do it very carefully.

The proper way to avoid moisture loss is to insert the thermometer probe to the center of the meat at the very beginning of the cook. You do not poke, puncture or cut the meat after that until after the meat is done and has rested for a certain period of time.

At what point does the meat return from the center of the meat back to its' original location throughout the meat? Well I am going to explain that in detail right after this commercial break..

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Ok.. back to the article now:

We have solved part of the problem of losing moisture by learning not to poke or puncture the meat while it is cooking but now we are going to learn how to allow the juices to return/redistribute throughout the meat before carving, slicing or pulling.

Every meat is different in how long it takes the juices to return but for the most part I like to wait for at least 15 minutes and usually 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the meat.

Ribs, chicken pieces, and other smaller pieces of meat need to rest for about 15 minutes before cutting.

Larger pieces of meat such as pork shoulder, whole chicken or turkey, and brisket should be allowed to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing, carving or pulling.

For the larger pieces, more is better and I recommend a full 30 minutes if possible for maximum juiciness.

If you follow these instruction to the letter, you will immediately notice a more juicy and flavorful piece of meat and you family and friends will vote you in as backyard chef of the year!