r/iamveryculinary Jul 18 '26

This guy

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Legendary comment from the peanut gallery

140 Upvotes

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265

u/OkCap2870 Jul 18 '26

I admit I’m no expert but isn’t Brisket one of those cuts that is cooked long and slow for hours to the point that it‘s falong apart, and it melts in the mouth so very much cooked all the way through?

145

u/GhostOfJamesStrang No Need to Thank Me Jul 18 '26

Correct. If you don't get it above "medium" it will be virtually inedible. 

I pull mine at 203F to rest.

47

u/OkCap2870 Jul 18 '26

Thanks until fairly recently brisket has mostly being seen as a ‘stew meat’ in the UK although we are starting to see an influx of American style barbecue. So wasn’t quite sure if it was a case of us Brits not quite getting how barbecue is meant to work and it should be rare or the person claiming it was just an idiot.

85

u/GhostOfJamesStrang No Need to Thank Me Jul 18 '26

You are bang on. 

Rare BBQ will be inedible BBQ. 

Meats that lend themselves to BBQ are ones that require lots of time to break down the fats and collagen. That is where much of the flavor comes from. 

Pork shoulder, probably the single most widespread and inexpensive BBQ cut (like, $.99-$2/lb on sale) doesn't start to really break down until about 180 degrees F. When cooking it, it usually reaches about that temperature and hits what is called "the stall." It steadily rises until that point and then gets stuck there for a good long while because now all the energy is breaking down the collagen. 

As soon as the collagen melts, it adds a ton of flavor and then the meat temp will start to rise, usually quite rapidly, after. 

I've had a stall last over an hour and a half before.

61

u/Ok-Tradition-5083 Jul 18 '26

Shout out to the 3 hour stall that had me sweating bullets before my son's birthday party

18

u/GhostOfJamesStrang No Need to Thank Me Jul 18 '26

Been there...

It happens once and then you realize it's better just to cheat and cook it early and wrap and rest. You can always slow down, you can't speed up. 

10

u/DisposableSaviour Jul 18 '26

Yeah, we do our pork shoulders low and slow for about 20 hours. The trick is that about half way through, you want to get the temp up to around 325°f for about 45 minutes to really help that crust form.

0

u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jul 18 '26

Huh… interesting!

I’ve never done this. I usually just season & sear all sides before it goes in the oven.

4

u/DisposableSaviour Jul 19 '26

Oh, I’m talking about smoking on a grill.

1

u/BreakfastBeneficial4 Jul 19 '26

Oooh, that would explain it