Technique for wrapping to rest - question

[cael]

Hello all!

I have read many things on wrapping your end product in foil and putting it in a cooler with towels.   I did so last weekend, letting my sirloin tip rest wrapped in foil for 30 min in a soft sided cooler, with a warm pack and towels stuffed full.     But my temp did not rise at all.    In fact, it lowered by 10 degrees.

Should I not be using a soft sided cooler?    Do I have to do more layers of foil?     Any thoughts you might have would be very helpful.

Though the meat was still a fine temp for eating.    I was just curious about the many, many reports of temps climbing for awhile during resting.

Thanks!

 

 

[bikerchef]

30 minutes is a long time for a sirloin tip to rest. 

10 -15 minutes would be about right.

 

[cael]

Ahhh...thanks.    I poked it at 20 and juice ran out in a stream, so I left it another 10.    At that point all the juice stayed in the slice.

Any thoughts on if a hard cooler would be better at keeping the heat than the soft?

 

[mdboatbum]

The cooler isn't technically necessary, but yes, the soft sided cooler will work just fine. The overall idea behind the rest period is to let the meat cool gradually so the fibers relax and the juices are "re-absorbed". Think of it this way: if you put a wet sponge in a plastic bag and squeeze it in your fist, then slice the bag open, a large percentage of the water that was in the sponge is going to run out. If however, you squeeze it in your fist, but then let go of it, after a bit the water you squeezed out of the sponge inside the bag will make its way back into the sponge. You can then slice into the bag and the water will stay in the sponge. Make sense?
As for the temperature rising during the rest period, this is kind of a moving target. It all depends on the size of the piece of meat and the temperature in the pit. A large cut at a pit temp of 350° or so will likely climb 10-12 degrees as the higher heat in the outer part of the meat makes its way into the inner part of the meat. A small cut like your sirloin tip has less thermal mass, and your pit temp was probably in the 225°-250° range, so the internal temp wouldn't climb, as you saw. You were right on in letting it sit another 10 minutes when you saw the juices running out.
Sorry for the long winded explanation, but a lot of folks don't seem to be too clear on the importance of the rest period.

 

[cael]

The cooler isn't technically necessary, but yes, the soft sided cooler will work just fine. The overall idea behind the rest period is to let the meat cool gradually so the fibers relax and the juices are "re-absorbed". Think of it this way: if you put a wet sponge in a plastic bag and squeeze it in your fist, then slice the bag open, a large percentage of the water that was in the sponge is going to run out. If however, you squeeze it in your fist, but then let go of it, after a bit the water you squeezed out of the sponge inside the bag will make its way back into the sponge. You can then slice into the bag and the water will stay in the sponge. Make sense?
As for the temperature rising during the rest period, this is kind of a moving target. It all depends on the size of the piece of meat and the temperature in the pit. A large cut at a pit temp of 350° or so will likely climb 10-12 degrees as the higher heat in the outer part of the meat makes its way into the inner part of the meat. A small cut like your sirloin tip has less thermal mass, and your pit temp was probably in the 225°-250° range, so the internal temp wouldn't climb, as you saw. You were right on in letting it sit another 10 minutes when you saw the juices running out.
Sorry for the long winded explanation, but a lot of folks don't seem to be too clear on the importance of the rest period.

As a newbie I am very grateful for the long winded type.   :)     That was very helpful to know.   I had not thought of the size of the piece of meat, but that makes real sense to me now.    These were small roasts.   

 

[floridasteve]

Good post, BoatBum. :points:

 

[cal1956]

you can let a steak ( or any other meat rest inside your oven in order for the juices to redistribute just preheat your oven to 140 and place the steak inside the oven for  afew minutes depending on how thick the steak is

 for Ribs I use a steam table and let ribs rest for at least an hour at 140 degrees,  2 hours is even better for ribs

at 140 degrees the ribs stay hot enough but still lets the juices redistribute