Vent: I keep seeing people poke their brisket like it's a steak

At a local cook-off last month, I watched three different teams constantly jabbing their briskets with a meat thermometer. They were checking every 30 minutes after the stall, pulling it out each time. Don't they know every time you poke a hole, you're letting all the good juices run out onto the cutting board? I learned from an old-timer in Austin that you check it maybe twice, tops, and you trust the feel more than the number. It's not a race, you know? Has anyone else seen this and just wanted to gently take the thermometer away from them?

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3 Comments

william_carter6mo ago

Oh man, watching that would stress me out... it's like they're trying to turn their brisket into a colander. All those little juice rivers running onto the board, and for what? A number that probably didn't change from the last time they stabbed it. I saw a guy at a smoke-out who must have poked his flat twenty times, and it came out looking drier than my humor. At that point you're just making fancy jerky.

1

the_ray6mo ago

A good probe is a quick check, not a stabbing. You lose way more juice cutting it open to check.

5

haydeng476mo ago

Trust the process, it's how you learn the feel.

2