The Hold

[Guttenberg]

So I just came back from Austin and visited Terry Black's and chatted with some of the guys there and checked out their setup. They were cooking tomorrow's food today and hold overnight in an oven at 145, which I'm sure is a huge contribution to their product. I've been holding in a cooler (faux cambro) but for smaller cooks like 1 brisket or a rack of short ribs they cool down too fast to do really long holds.

My oven's minimum temp is 170 - is that too high for a longer hold? Let me know your experience with this

[Steve R.]

Mine will run at 150, so I do this pretty often instead of the cooler for longer holds. Did you try preheating your cooler?

[Dick Anderson]

I like to heat a couple of bricks on top of the smoker for a few hours. A towel, bricks, another towel, then the foil pan with another towel on top. It will hold 150 for 8 hours.

[Steve R.]

I'm going to steal that idea, Dick Anderson.

[Guttenberg]

Yeah that sounds great. Thanks for the tip!

[Jerod Broussard]

There's an outfit in Texas that takes their briskets to 185, then they pack them tightly into a faux cambro overnight and that's the next day's briskets.

Are they using an actual warming oven that stays at about 145? My oven will go down to 170 but it will cycle from 150 up to almost 200. Too hot to leave overnight.

[Guttenberg]

Yeah they’ve got top of the line equipment. My oven also fluctuates about 40 degrees up and Down at least at higher temps. I’ll have to test it out

[texastweeter]

do any of your ovens have warming drawers (the drawers under an oven that most people put cookie sheets and muffin tins in to store), and do you know how to use one that does not have its own element. If not it is easy to learn and with a remote thermometer you should easily be able to dial it down to 140. I have used both mine (which has a dedicated warming element) as well as others that use the heat from the regular oven above. Also lots of ovens have a dehydrate feature. This is usually set at about 140, and as long as your brisket is tightly wrapped, it will not dry out, just soak up the gentle heat.

[HorseDoctor]

Hmmm??? Need to check that out. Learn sumpin new everyday!!!

[Guttenberg]

Awesome idea! I’m gonna give that a shot and see if I can get that to work

[PappyBBQ]

I have a dedicated Viking warming drawer I use. Can set it to 145 and let it ride. So glad I put that in when I remodeled my kitchen. My Viking oven also has a "hold" setting but I can't remember what the temp is for the "hold" setting. I think it's 170.

[N227GB]

It's probably a good idea to do a check on your actual oven temp with a good probe.

[Guttenberg]

Ok, my oven doesn’t really have a warming drawer so went back to the cooler. Started with 10 mins of hot water to prime it, and then once i drained it threw in 2 bricks that I had on top of he rec etc (and then on the grates for a bit right before) with towels on top and bottom.

Just cooked one 4-slab of short ribs so not a lot of weight probably 4lb raw, but they held at 140 degrees for 2 hours and I pulled them when the meat was about 155. Came out great!

With that English cut I feel like it’s really hard for each rib to be perfect though - do you all find the same? Just the thickness tapers down and there was a big vain of fat on two of them.

Excited to try try my new technique with a brisket or a butt

[HorseDoctor]

Don't know how those short ribs could look much better!!! Bet I could eat at least 2 of them...

[fzxdoc]

My oven cycles like Jerod's does, from 150 to 190°F when set on warm.

So I slip the handle of a spatula into the door crack so the oven door stays open just a bit. The temperature then stays around 150-160°F for the entire time.

I also have an Advantium oven (trivection) which allows me to select warming temps. I select 140-165° and it stays right on the money. I use it most of the time unless I do a really big cook.

Kathryn