Originally Posted By chesseroo
Originally Posted By SqBobGodPants


How well done it is and its appx. interior temperature are pretty much the same thing, right? I was a restaurant whore for long enough to see chefs press an index finger or thumb on it, only, even though there was a thermometer clipped to their coat pocket. How they could keep track of different donenesses of so many things at once always impressed me.

There are a few factors which if things never change then yes, one can use 'senses' to determine relatively closely a doneness level, but it will still never be as accurate as a temp probe and it would only be possible for less thick cuts (i.e. steaks, chops but not roasts, briskets or chicken).

In a restaurant, those factors are maintained alot more consistently such that a chef can know 2 min per side equals a rare steak which they have cut equally for every portion to be 8 oz and 1.5 inches thick, on a grill exactly at 375F, all sirloin tip from the same source batch, etc. etc.

Just a few factors affecting consistency of cooking 'by eye' that inevitably cause more failures (under or over cooked) than using a probe:
  • alcohol consumption - greatly distorts a person's concept of time, makes them forget to watch the bbq for temps
  • company over - chatting makes one forget length of times for bbq'uing (i have used a pen and paper in the past to write down times something was placed on the Q so at least i could calculate how much time had past)
  • moisture and recipes - try bbq'ing a pork chop and then with an identical cut that was perhaps marinated for an hour or even better, a brined solution --> VASTLY increased time to reach proper internal temp
  • moisture and environment - this varies by region and will have a lesser overall effect on cooking but primarily due to altitude - water and hence moisture in whatever you put on the bbq, boils at different temps based on altitude. Short explanation here:
    http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/culinaryfundamentals/a/highaltcooking.htm
  • season - cooking in winter takes longer especially depending on how reliable your bbq is for maintaining heat; most propane bbq'es are notorious for having 'holes' in which air blowing through causes temps to swing literally second to second thereby increasing cooking times vs a closed unit such as a smoker or a Japanese kamado style unit
  • As previously mentioned, # of items on the bbq at one time doesn't help. 6 steaks, some want them rare, some well done...you need to start some earlier, some later and time them all to get them to come off so people can eat at the same time. Then kids have burgers, different cooking time than steaks...it gets complicated without a written list of drop times.

Lately i've started using a probe to cook pork chops (min. 1 inch thick b/c the fast fry ones are impossibly thin to use a probe) to get the temps exactly at 140F. Beyond that, chops get dry real fast esp. on leftover nights.
Blech.


Oh.

Always call the place you live a house. When you're old, everyone else will call it a home.