On 7/13/2013 1:56 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> This was written by Kit Anderson a few years back. Help to understand
> what is happening in the bbq process
>
>
> Collagen
>
>
> Meats are made of muscle, connective tissue, fat and bone. Muscle
> contains proteins and glycogen. As the temperature of the meat
> increases, glycogen, a long chain sugar, is reduced to simple sugars.
> This caramelizes and is responsible for one of the flavor components.
>
> Proteins (flavorless) are denatured to amino acids, which not only
> have flavors themselves, but also undergo Maillard browning reactions
> which adds another flavor component.
>
> While bone adds no flavor itself, the marrow is rich in methyglobulin
> and other proteins. This reacts with smoke nitrites to give us the
> smoke ring. You may have heard that "the sweetest meat is next to the
> bone". The proteins are reduced to amino acids. Nutrasweet is an amino
> acid.
>
> Fat is very simple cells which breakdown to sugars, fatty acids, and
> triglycerides at low temperatures.
>
> Collagen is proteins that have lots of side chain bonds. This makes
> them elastic. It takes more energy to denature them than the simpler
> proteins of muscle tissue. Energy in the form of heat will denature
> these proteins into the flavorful amino acids.
>
> If the temperature is too high, the water in the muscle cells and the
> fat is rendered out before the collagen melts. This results in dry,
> tough meat. Too low and you risk bacterial activity.
>
> Tough cuts of meat like brisket and pork butts benefit from low
> temperature cooking as the collagen adds flavor to the meat. Less
> tough, more expensive cuts do not need this phase and can be cooked at
> high temperatures for shorter periods. That is why ribs take only a
> few hours and briskets take 20.
>

Ed,
Good to see you still here, looks like your working hard to keep the
topic alive. I had to take a long sabbatical due to the nonsense being
posted. I couldn't stay positive. I'm back and more focused. Hope I can
jump back in an help push the bbq message. I really got cynical after my
wife passed back in 2007, but found my way out, found another love and
wife, moved from SC to NC. Breathing easier now. I hope if I ****ed off
anyone still here that they can excuse my past posts.
Michael (Piedmont, The Practical BBQ'r!)