Let's look at some physical facts here

dayzed&confused

#1 water boils at 212 degrees sea level. #2 most of us cook at a higher altitude than that, unless your cooking under water some how. So, doesn't it make since that the food would be done somewhat lower than that 212 degree temperature, especially the higher the altitude? So it makes since to me that living in West Texas, say 2000 feet altitude, that I should not let the internal temperature of my brisket reach it's water boiling point of 208 degrees. At 208 degrees the water in my brisket is going to turn to steam and at that point all of the moisture is going to pressurize and flat ass leave my brisket DRY! Now, I am not a smart man, but it seems to me that I don't want to break that 200 degree threshold. Preferably stay under 190 or so. Any thoughts?

golfandgrill

Did you inject it with water? I would pull it when It feels done regardless of temp. Doubt The Altimeter is going to matter that much. YMMV.

brimee

Dunno about that but my brisket always comes out great when I get internal somewhere around 200-210. So I have no reason to change, keep doin what works...

What temp does the fat boil at?/?/?

Mickey

My head hurts when I give that much thought to anything :-t .... Ok, I thought about it and damn, my head hurts.

Botch

It's not water that makes your brisket moist at 200 F, it's melted collagen.  

Your t-bone, at 125 F, is moist because of water however; because a t-bone has little collagen, if you bring it up to 200 F, the water/juice is driven off, and you have toast.  

DaveRichardson

Brain hurts..... Try this!

www.csgnetwork.com/h2oboilcalc.html

caliking

A little science is a dangerous thing  

The brisket isn't done because the water in it is at boiling point, but because the collagen (a protein) has broken down and the fat has rendered to a certain point (among other things). The boiling point of water at any specific altitude has no bearing on the "doneness" of the food, except for the fact that once water boils, it maintains a constant temp, and so the food itself will take longer to cook at higher altitudes (where water has a lower boiling point).

dayzed&confused

Well hell, I should have known that collagen played the major role in fatty meats. For some reason I didn't consider anything but water. It was late at night and I had a few brewskis so there went my ability to think straight. I have cooked really lean cuts such as pork loin and have dried them out terribly but now I realize that it was the absence of the fat content. Thanks guys for your patience and advice. I never stop learning on this forum although I am more a lurker than a poster. Thanks again, Melvin

DMW

dayzed&confused said:

Well hell, I should have known that collagen played the major role in fatty meats. For some reason I didn't consider anything but water. It was late at night and I had a few brewskis so there went my ability to think straight. I have cooked really lean cuts such as pork loin and have dried them out terribly but now I realize that it was the absence of the fat content. Thanks guys for your patience and advice. I never stop learning on this forum although I am more a lurker than a poster. Thanks again, Melvin

Never stop asking when you have a question. That's the awesome thing about this forum, lots of really smart experienced cooks on here that are ready to give their advice.

henapple

What temp does fat boil at? For me around 85 degrees.

lousubcap

And some of us who call an audible as we go!  

But @DMW has it right-we are all here to learn and improve or eggsperiment with cooks, some of which push the envelope with amazing success.  

RedSkip

Anything above 68 for me...