Just stumbled on a stat about brisket stall temps that blew my mind

I was reading through some old BBQ forums last night and found out that the stall actually happens around 150-160 degrees because of evaporative cooling, not fat rendering. I always thought it was the fat melting and pulling heat away from the meat. Has anyone else ran across a cooking fact that totally changed how you approach a cook?

3 comments

3 Comments

campbell.tara18d ago

And that fridge thing is exactly it. We latch onto the first explanation that fits, then never question it. Like with sourdough - everybody says you have to use filtered water or the chlorine will kill your starter. Turns out most tap water has barely enough chlorine to matter, and the real issue is just getting the hydration right. Or how everyone used to say searing meat "locks in the juices." That's been debunked for decades, but go into any kitchen and people still say it. We just love a neat little story more than we love being right.

foster.charles18d ago

Think about how many times in life we assume the obvious thing is the real cause when it's actually something totally different. That brisket stall fact hits me the same way as finding out that "cold air doesn't come in when you open the fridge, the cold air just falls out because it's denser." Same with why ice floats - everyone says it's because water expands when it freezes, but that's only half the story. The real reason is that the crystalline structure of ice makes it less dense overall, not just bigger. We're just wired to grab the first simple explanation that makes sense in our heads, and it takes a random forum post or a YouTube deep dive to shake us out of it.

jennifer9658d ago

Wait, so you're telling me all those years I spent pressing the cold air back into the fridge with my body wasn't actually doing anything? Great. That's right up there with me believing that cracking your knuckles gives you arthritis, which my grandma swore by, and it turns out it just annoys people. Or how about the old "you lose most of your heat through your head" thing - nope, it's just the first part of your body people think of when they're cold. I guess we're all just walking around with a bunch of neat little lies in our heads, holding onto them like they're gospel...