Temperature and meat reactions
chef jimmyj
Smoking Guru
Staff Member
Moderator
Group Lead
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
A Jersey Boy in the mountains of Emporium PA
The benefit of SMF is there is lots of ways folks here prepare, cure,and smoke meat. Members get the opportunity to see various options and choose how they want to go. Both cold and warm smoking make tasty bacon.
Here's a little science behind Cold vs. Warm Smoking. First, Marianski points out that smoke penetration is deeper at temps below 100°F and includes the typical temps various regions in Europe use. Second is an article from
Thermoworks describing what changes take place as we cook meat, aka denature the proteins. As the meat surface water proteins denature, smoke flavor can't penetrate and only accumulates on the surface. As you will see, proteins begin to denature at 105°F and by 130°F it is essentially cooked. Any internal temp we take meat beyond 130 is for safety, 145 for pork, and or desired doneness.
Taken from Marianski's web site...
..
Temperature and meat reactions
chef jimmyj
Smoking Guru
Staff Member
Moderator
Group Lead
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
A Jersey Boy in the mountains of Emporium PA
The benefit of SMF is there is lots of ways folks here prepare, cure,and smoke meat. Members get the opportunity to see various options and choose how they want to go. Both cold and warm smoking make tasty bacon.
Here's a little science behind Cold vs. Warm Smoking. First, Marianski points out that smoke penetration is deeper at temps below 100°F and includes the typical temps various regions in Europe use. Second is an article from
Thermoworks describing what changes take place as we cook meat, aka denature the proteins. As the meat surface water proteins denature, smoke flavor can't penetrate and only accumulates on the surface. As you will see, proteins begin to denature at 105°F and by 130°F it is essentially cooked. Any internal temp we take meat beyond 130 is for safety, 145 for pork, and or desired doneness.
Taken from Marianski's web site...
..
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View attachment 451481
Cold smoking allows us total smoke penetration inside of the meat. Very little hardening of the outside surface of the meat or casing occurs and smoke penetrates the meat easily.
Hot smoking dries out the surface of the meat creating a barrier for smoke penetration.
You will find that different sources provide different temperatures for cold smoking. In European countries where most of the cold smoking is done, the upper temperature is accepted as 86° F (30° C). The majority of Russian, Polish and German meat technology books call for 71° F (22° C), some books ask for 77° F (25° C). Fish starts to cook at 85° F (29.4° C) and if you want to make delicious cold smoked salmon that is smoked for a long time, obviously you can not exceed 86° F (30° C). Cold smoking assures us of total smoke penetration inside of the meat. The loss of moisture also is uniform in all areas and the total weight loss falls within 5-20% depending largely on the smoking time. Cold smoking is not a continuous process, it is stopped (no smoke) a few times to allow fresh air into the smoker.
From
Thermoworks. This is an overview of what happens when
Meat is cooked. With bacon we are only concerned with denaturization up to 145°F.
Denaturation begins at roughly 105°F and continues upwards to temperatures in excess of 200°F. Changes in proteins can be seen in the form of changing colors (i.e. red to brown) and can be tracked at each stage by the use of a meat thermometer. Ideal cooking temperatures found on the chef-recommended temperature chartare indications that sufficient denaturation has occurred to render the meat to the color and texture of your choice.
However, just knowing what color and texture it is isn’t good enough for us. We want to know (and we assume you do, too) what’s happening to your meat as it passes through the various temperature stages.
As meat approaches 105°F, the calpains (calcium proteins) begin to denature and lose activity; this happens until about 122°F. Since enzyme activity increases up to those temperatures, slow cooking can provide a significant aging effect during the cooking process. At *125°F meat is rare. Ideally, you’ll want to sear the meat quickly to kill any surface bacteria.
Above 125°F, meat begins to develop a white opacity as heat sensitive myosin (motor proteins) denature. Coagulation produces large enough clumps to scatter light and red meat becomes pink. This is where the meat moves from rare to medium rare (*130°F).
Further cooking (towards *140°F) begins to breakdown the red myoglobin (iron/oxygen binding protein) and turns it into a tan colored hemichrome. It’s at this point that meat turns from pink, to brown and then to grey.
During this time, meat releases a lot of juices and begins to shrink noticeably. In a very rapid succession it can move from medium rare, to medium, to medium well. And, if you’re not careful, you can very quickly overcook your meat.
At *160°F, connective tissue begins to liquify. Proteins repel the water and constrict causing them to get closer together and grow stronger. This is what gives well-done meat it’s tough and dry texture. At the risk of ruining your main course, you would never want to take your higher quality cuts of meat to this temperature.
However, if you’re cooking low and slow with traditional BBQ cuts, it’s taken you hours to get to this point and things are just getting warmed up. As you accelerate past 180°F and up to 200°F, collagen begins to melt and turn into a gelatin. This gelatin is able to absorb up to ten times it’s weight in water. The moisture that is repelled by the protein is absorbed into the gelatin and the meat stays moist.
Cold smoking allows us total smoke penetration inside of the meat. Very little hardening of the outside surface of the meat or casing occurs and smoke penetrates the meat easily.
Hot smoking dries out the surface of the meat creating a barrier for smoke penetration.
You will find that different sources provide different temperatures for cold smoking. In European countries where most of the cold smoking is done, the upper temperature is accepted as 86° F (30° C). The majority of Russian, Polish and German meat technology books call for 71° F (22° C), some books ask for 77° F (25° C). Fish starts to cook at 85° F (29.4° C) and if you want to make delicious cold smoked salmon that is smoked for a long time, obviously you can not exceed 86° F (30° C). Cold smoking assures us of total smoke penetration inside of the meat. The loss of moisture also is uniform in all areas and the total weight loss falls within 5-20% depending largely on the smoking time. Cold smoking is not a continuous process, it is stopped (no smoke) a few times to allow fresh air into the smoker.
From
Thermoworks. This is an overview of what happens when
Meat is cooked. With bacon we are only concerned with denaturization up to 145°F.
Denaturation begins at roughly 105°F and continues upwards to temperatures in excess of 200°F. Changes in proteins can be seen in the form of changing colors (i.e. red to brown) and can be tracked at each stage by the use of a meat thermometer. Ideal cooking temperatures found on the chef-recommended temperature chartare indications that sufficient denaturation has occurred to render the meat to the color and texture of your choice.
However, just knowing what color and texture it is isn’t good enough for us. We want to know (and we assume you do, too) what’s happening to your meat as it passes through the various temperature stages.
As meat approaches 105°F, the calpains (calcium proteins) begin to denature and lose activity; this happens until about 122°F. Since enzyme activity increases up to those temperatures, slow cooking can provide a significant aging effect during the cooking process. At *125°F meat is rare. Ideally, you’ll want to sear the meat quickly to kill any surface bacteria.
Above 125°F, meat begins to develop a white opacity as heat sensitive myosin (motor proteins) denature. Coagulation produces large enough clumps to scatter light and red meat becomes pink. This is where the meat moves from rare to medium rare (*130°F).
Further cooking (towards *140°F) begins to breakdown the red myoglobin (iron/oxygen binding protein) and turns it into a tan colored hemichrome. It’s at this point that meat turns from pink, to brown and then to grey.
During this time, meat releases a lot of juices and begins to shrink noticeably. In a very rapid succession it can move from medium rare, to medium, to medium well. And, if you’re not careful, you can very quickly overcook your meat.
At *160°F, connective tissue begins to liquify. Proteins repel the water and constrict causing them to get closer together and grow stronger. This is what gives well-done meat it’s tough and dry texture. At the risk of ruining your main course, you would never want to take your higher quality cuts of meat to this temperature.
However, if you’re cooking low and slow with traditional BBQ cuts, it’s taken you hours to get to this point and things are just getting warmed up. As you accelerate past 180°F and up to 200°F, collagen begins to melt and turn into a gelatin. This gelatin is able to absorb up to ten times it’s weight in water. The moisture that is repelled by the protein is absorbed into the gelatin and the meat stays moist.
