Foil OR No Foil That is the Question

to me it is the Ultimate Sin to wrap briskets, chicken or ribs on the pit!!!!



Why do you use foil and what is your purpose for using it?

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Ill smoke 1/2 the cooking time open and then sometimes ill foil it the last 1/2. In some cases it keeps the exterior for getting to dry.

The last hour of cooking is when I wrap in foil..

Depends on my mood and how much time I have. If I want a good black brisket I will put it in an open pan at about 160. If I am crunched for time I will triple foil my briskets at 165.

I always foil my ribs. Only because I do the 3-2-1 method. Ribs have always been my nemesis. The 3-2-1 method seems to be the only way I can produce a good rib.

I never foil chicken or turkey.

Never foil at the start. I'm with others -- foil 1/2 way or closer to the end.

I like to cook brisket the whole time with no foil.

If im pressed for time and have to up the cooking temp to rush doneness I will wrap in foil after a few hours to prevent charcoal brisket.

I don't like to wrap ribs either. Sometimes I will put a piece of foil over the top of my 1/2 chickens to keep the wings from getting crunchy but the rest is exposed.

My favorite use for foil.

Franklin's BBQ wraps theirs in red butcher paper. It seems to be working for them.

Your like me then and have no experience yourself. But if you are going off what Tx Monthy says then you are probably on the wrong path for good ol hometown bbq. Tx monthly is a bunch of yuppies with a magazine that have no clue as to how real texans feel.

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I use it to feather in over the finish line and keep some moisture. Too much smoke can be a turnoff. Maybe one of these days I'll try and tighten up my game and go without. Experimenting is fun, but it's hard to change something that everyone likes.

Franklins is legit, so are several others on their list. LA Barbecue used to be my favorite until they got publicity from the magazines and foodies.

I wouldn't know about Franklin's. Every time I've been by there, the line is out the door and down the street. Too much good Q in Austin to stand in a line like that.
Just down the street is Micklethewait craft meats food truck. It's some of the best I've ever had. There is usually a line but not as bad as Franklin's.

I used to have the habit of "over smoking" and after several hours with my uncle who cooks competitively, fixed it. The answer is pretty simple. Charcoal, lump charcoal. You don't need to load your stick burner up with logs that are constantly smoking. Try lump charcoal and throw a log or chunks or even chips in once in a while. It takes that bitter smoke right out of the equation. If you see a constant billowing white/grey smoke you can bet it is going to be too smoked.

Yea I have heard good things about franklins but I am not going to ever know. I'm not gonna stand in line for hours for someones BBQ.

For the guys that use foil, why! And if you use foil do you finish it in the oven?

I always use foil to finish most meats. The juices that leach during the finish process I add back to the cut meats for flavor. Oven is not necessary, just steady temps around 225 or 250.

I like to finish mine the last 3-4 hours in foil. Won't win any competitions doing it that way but I'm not a fan of "competition" brisket as I am the moist fall apart brisket. That's how mine turn out and I love it. Hard to change a way of cooking that works and everybody loves that's tried it. Plus at the end if I'm tired and don't want to babysit the pit, I can stick it the oven once it's wrapped in foil. It's not getting anymore smoke anyhow so why not? Plus it makes the house smell amazing.

I always put one wrapped in the cooler to redistribute the juices for at least an hour before slicing. I've never put one in the oven but this is a reason to try!

To keep um moist Gezzzzzzzz

Mine are Always moist and tender Dan without using foil.

Same here. Moist and tender w/o foil is way better than baked ribs in foil. Sure they are edible but if you wrap them in foil you may as well put them in the crockpot with liquid smoke. The result is the same and not near as much trouble.

Done them both ways, tried other's briskets done both ways and I prefer the ones that were wrapped near the end of the cook than unwrapped. Don't know why it would be considered a sin or why one would think it's a lot of trouble. Talked to a guy the other day that has won three brisket competitions and I asked him if he wraps his or not. He said it depends, if he's cooking for competition, he never wraps. But if he's cooking one the way he likes to eat it, just for him or friends, he wraps them at the end.

I wrap in foil ONLY because I always miss my alarm to get up early to get it going. I use the foil just to speed up the process so I don'g get my head cut off by my wife when it comes to dinner time.

If you do not wrap at all during cooking, then why wrap at the end then put it in the cooler? if you do it that way, should you might as well wrap halfway through the cooking on the smoker?

Last but not least. Besides the paper vs foil, What is the difference in wrapping in butcher paper vs foil?

never used butcher paper ... and I am like you on using the foil wrapping to speed up the "cooking" process once it is well smoked. Also use it to bring the internal temperature up to the 195-200 range and maintain for an hour or so based on the size & thickness.

Learning from my dad and his cooking buddies, they never wrapped but the process was long!!! They used homemade open top 2 x 8 foot pits (had about 15 total), cooking for <100-12,000 people, for a noon meal, they would start 6:00-8:00 pm the previous evening, someone or several would stay up all night tending the fire/coals and mopping about every hour, 7:00-8:00 am when others showed back up, kick the fire/coals up to cook the meat to have ready by noonish. Depending on who we were cooking for, oftentimes we would butcher spanish goats and barbado, quartered, and throw on the pits alongside the briskets a few hours into the smoking cycle ... about the only way I care for goat or barbado.

ive never used paper

My question is, if you foil, why leave it on the Pitt and not put it in the oven ? I understand the wrapping and putting in a cooler but not wrapping and still tending a fire?

I usually have multiple types and cuts of meat going throughout the day, so I am keeping the fire going anyway ... reason I leave on the pit. Often times if I am only doing a brisket or two without tossing in ribs, sausage, steaks, etc., I will wrap and finish in the oven, even the following day ... just depends on my schedule.