Probe ?

[action]

Just wondering what everyone is using for a probe to test your meat for tenderness ? I searched but only seem to come up with temp probes. Just looking for ideas......Maybe something I have laying around.
Thanks
jack

 

[chilerelleno]

Toothpick
Shish kebab skewer
Ice pick
Handheld instant-read digital thermometer
Handheld analog meat thermometer

 

[sandyut]

I use my insta-read digital. gets me a spot check on a different probe location and a tenderness check at the same time.

 

[action]

Thanks I do have an instant-read.....didn't even think of that.....lol....I'm pretty new to this cooking stuff......

 

[sandyut]

all good man! thats why we are all here - to learn and improve with help from our friends!

 

[chilerelleno]

For tenderness I use my fingers and then my teeth since that's what it's going to come down to in the end anyway. Don't know what you could do about it once its cooked any. Poke a bunch of holes in the meat maybe but that's about it that I can think of. If it's tough when you buy it and still tough once you cook it there's not much else you can do that I know of except learn how to buy and cook it for the next time. But then that's how smoking andvlow and slow cooking got started in the first place. Of course you need to slice stuff like brisket across the grain or you're gonna have to do a lot chewing to get it down.

So you poke at and chew on your meat as it's cooking to ascertain it's tenderness in relation to being ready to pull out and serve?
I feel for your family and/or guests.

How many perfectly good pieces of BBQ have been served tough and dry, before their due time because someone was cooking purely by time and/or IT.
When probing tenderness was the true tell tale difference between a tough chew and juicy butter on the palate.

Yes, poke some holes in that meat!

Low-n-Slow at 225° is great, but I can get the same results with Butts and Briskets cooking Extremely Hot-n-Fast at 375°.
There's more than one way to skin a cat!
Regardless, it ain't ready till it probes butter tender.