SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the if-god-isn't-real-how-come-meat-can-be-cooked? dept.
Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984
[...] You've just encountered the bane of aspiring pit masters everywhere: the Stall (also known as the Zone or the Plateau), a common phenomenon in low-temperature cooking. What, precisely, causes the stall is a perennial topic of debate among BBQ enthusiasts. Is it a protein called collagen in the meat, which combines with water to convert to gelatin at the 160°F point? Or is it due to the fat rendering, turning lipids to liquid?
Several years ago, Greg Blonder, a Boston College professor, did the experiments and came up with a definitive answer: evaporative cooling. The meat sweats as it cooks, releasing the moisture within, and that moisture evaporates and cools the meat, effectively canceling out the heat from the BBQ. These days, Blonder is the resident science advisor and myth buster at the popular BBQ and grilling site called Amazing Ribs. "I spend a lot of my time settling bar fights, basically," he joked.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/09/let-science-be-your-guide-for-the-perfect-labor-day-bbq/
(Score: 3, Informative) by AthanasiusKircher on Sunday September 09 2018, @11:14AM
No one's talking about "grilling" in the sense of high heat open-lid grilling here, I think.
TFA (and I assume GP) is talking about smoking, which can be done on a grill. Or maybe GP is just talking about low-temp grilling without smoke (though why you'd waste that time on a gas grill or whatever is beyond me). Either way, one can slow-cook on a grill with adequate control... And a slow-cooked smoked brisket is a truly amazing thing.