Brisket: To Foil at 170 or Not To Foil 170?

[disbe81]

Title says it all. Do you guys foil your brisket around 170 and let it finish till its 190 while foiled? I have never foiled mine till it was done and i am putting it in the cooler. Has anyone tried both ways several times and noticed it being juicier or less juicy?

I would think it would draw some of the juice out, and the only reason i would think that, is anytime i foil something and finish cooking it, and usually seems a little dryer then usual, and i notice a lot of juice in the foil when i unwrap it.

Let me know what you guys think, my brisket (and butts) are reaching 150+ now so i need to decide if im going to foil my brisket when i foil my butts.

Thanks!

(One day ill actually post my intro in the roll call and ill post some of these QViews ive got saved on my desktop, lol)

 

[pineywoods]

I had been foiling mine for quite awhile and the last time I didn't and that was the first and only time I won't foil it just wasn't near as juicy without the foil

 

[ddave]

I'm with Piney. The times I didn't foil were the times the end product wasn't as juicy.

Dave

 

[ibrocun]

I have to agree. Foil=more juice.

But I've always done it by time, not temperature.

I normally smoke an untrimmed brisket for 1.5 hrs per lb @ 180*-200*and foil it when it's half way done, regardless of temp.

I've done two in the last year with no foil and they were drier. A lot of my brisket goes into chili, so I was experimenting with it.

 

[disbe81]

Well, im at my stall right now, readings for my brisket have been 165-166 for the last 30 min. I think im gonna try foiling this time and see how it comes out.

Also, i have 2 butts on. 1 was about 7.5 lbs and the other was 6.5 lbs. The temp on the 7.5 lber was 190 when i just foiled it, and the 6.5 lber was at 168. Thats odd that the larger one is finishing first. I am wondering if the larger just went through its plateau though and the smaller one is fixing to come out. Since i foiled so late on the large butt, do you guys think it will be too dry? Also, are you guys taking your butts to 195 or 205 for pulled pork? I think i am going to 200 since its in the middle and i havent done a butt yet, lol.

Thanks again!

 

[fire it up]

To 205 though many folks take it to 200 then let it rest since the temp will rise slightly. Either 200 or 205 will be perfect.

 

[pineywoods]

With the butts I find they have better fat content and I foil sometimes and don't other times and they all come out pretty good. The times often vary on the same cuts of meat it just really depends on how mush connective tissue and collagen there is to break down in a particular piece of meat and none are the same. Moisture content will also play a role and seems no two pieces of meat will retain the same amount for various reasons. I normally go to 200-205 on butts then foil and rest in a warm dry cooler for at least one hour before pulling. You can foil the brisket while in its in the plateau if its that high and many times that will break the plateau. Don't forget the Qview

 

[nozzleman]

Foil definetly makes it juicer but it keeps the bark soft.