Brisket wrap... paper, foil or covered tin pan?

[Chasdev]

I tried some brisket points last week and in an effort to get max bark, did not wrap or pan.
I got the bark I wanted but it came out a tad dry.
Saw a YouTube video where the author praised using a covered aluminum pan instead of wrapping.
His brisket looked great and jiggled like jello, but there was at least an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pan.
I've always been reluctant to have a brisket sitting in near boiling liquid for hours on end, seems like it would come out as boiled beef.

 

[fxsales1959]

I do pointsd a couple times a year to make burnt ends. I go low and slow (225) I wrap right befor when the stll should occur. Pink butcher paper.

 

[chilerelleno]

Pink butcher paper for Packers and Flats.
Foil covered pan for the final braise-n-glaze on Burnt Ends.

 

[tallbm]

I tried some brisket points last week and in an effort to get max bark, did not wrap or pan.
I got the bark I wanted but it came out a tad dry.
Saw a YouTube video where the author praised using a covered aluminum pan instead of wrapping.
His brisket looked great and jiggled like jello, but there was at least an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pan.
I've always been reluctant to have a brisket sitting in near boiling liquid for hours on end, seems like it would come out as boiled beef.

Of the options, and it being a full packer. I would choose pink butcher paper.

I also would not wrap until Internal Temp (IT) of the meat was about 180F. If you wrap things too early you will wind up with roast beef flavor instead of brisket flavor. To me, flavor is king so I would plan more time and smoke at a hotter smoker temp versus trying to speed through a stall. Just my 2 cents :D

 

[thirdeye]

I've always been reluctant to have a brisket sitting in near boiling liquid for hours on end, seems like it would come out as boiled beef.

You will see many preferences when it comes to wrapping barbecue meats. First off, wrapping was first used for several reasons... It can prevent excess smokiness, it can help shorten a cook, or help meats get through the plateau, and it can help if you have problems with tenderness. I've never liked cooking in pans, but many folks do.

You are correct about meat simmering in juices, it's a fine balance of pit temp and amount of liquid in the wrap. Elevation also is a factor. At my house (5400') water boils at 203°, and foil works better than peach paper. But I will use a hybrid wrap with a foil bottom and paper top.

 

[civilsmoker]

I’m a foil pan and cover person…..

For max bark, I run the smoker at 265 till the point is 170-175 then boat and foil but tent it and leave a small whole at the top of the pan foil interface…..this will control the retained moisture in the pan but maintain the steaming affect to make it giggle…..

 

[civilsmoker]

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/the-“point”-of-beef……pure-goodness.317974/

Example cook of a point……makes me want brisket!

 

[Randy1]

I am not a fan of wrapping nor am I a fan of tallow addition.
Many years ago, I ran a simple test using a Pork Shoulder. I simply cut one in half thinking it would cook faster which of course it did. Bark was good, however the inside meat had very little smoke flavor.
I suggest you should only choose to wrap in pink paper when it looks like it needs wrapping. that may very well be after the stall. Gather all of that smoke flavor you can get.

 

[Chasdev]

I like the idea of not having to go to the trouble to wrap, it's just a mess both wrapping and unwrapping, so I'm going to try an aluminum chafing pan with a cooling rack under the brisket to keep it above the liquid line.
I may just put another pan, same as the first, over the top of the brisket to let out excess water vapor.
Work in progress as they say.

 

[gmc2003]

I use disposable aluminum foil pans to keep the brisket out of the liquids. Just place a small rack in the pan. This will keep the brisket out of the juices. Another option is to layer the bottom of the pan with root veggies and place the brisket on top of the veggies. For me using the pan is quicker and less messy. It also reduces the amount of time the brisket is away from the heat and helps prevent some cooling.

Chris

 

[Danblacksher]

I have had great success with the foil boat method and then covering the top for the rest.

 

[Chasdev]

I found out how Goldie's does their briskets differently.
They don't wrap until the briskets are done cooking and out of the cooker and most importantly they pull them at 194 then wrap in paper with just a light spritz of water on the paper.
They hold them at 140 from 4 hours to overnight based entirely on when they come off the cooker and when they are needed for sale, but they say from 4 to 7 hours is all that's really needed and holding for 12 hours just dries them out.
I suppose if they had a steam cabinet that statement would not apply.
I've been looking for a good "pull temp" and hold time to allow the meat to finish cooking and not become a candidate for chili, perhaps this is it.

 

[Polekitty]

I like the idea of not having to go to the trouble to wrap, it's just a mess both wrapping and unwrapping, so I'm going to try an aluminum chafing pan with a cooling rack under the brisket to keep it above the liquid line.
I may just put another pan, same as the first, over the top of the brisket to let out excess water vapor.
Work in progress as they say.

I smoke a packer at 225 for about 10 hours or until it reaches 165. I toss it in a foil pan on a cooling rack and cover. Let it cook until it gets to 195 and will start probing for tenderness through the foil. No need to uncover. I’ve had them butter tender at 195 and up to 210 it just depends on meat.