by wade » 06 Jul 2015, 14:17
I use a temperature logger on most of my smokes and have found that it depends on both thickness and cooking temperature. The thicker the meat and the higher the cooking temperature the bigger the temperature gradient is going to be within the meat itself and the more the IT will continue to rise when you remove it from the heat.
For things like burgers and sausages that are being grilled I have not noticed much difference as they are quite thin and you are cooking them to over 74 C anyway.
If you are hot roasting a joint at, say, 180-200 C (350- 390 F) then the IT of a typical joint will continue to increase by about 6-8 C (10-14 F) due to the continued heat radiation within the meat. This does not matter too much with pork however with Beef it will make the difference between rare and medium.
When smoking at low temperatures 110-120 C (230-250 F) during the cooking time the temperature has time to equalise throughout the meat and there is almost no further increase. I always cook my beef this way now as it also helps prevent the outsides from becoming overcooked.