Pork Butt Foil or No Foil?

[dave from mesa]

Have 2 on now. Not sure if I should foil after they reach 165-170 or cook it them all the way to 200 and then foil to rest.

What say ye?

thanks

 

[s2k9k]

I say no foil, love that good bark!

 

[smoking b]

I don't foil mine till they come out of the smoker & go to the cooler to rest. I like the bark too much to sacrifice any of it to the foil. I have never had a problem with dry meat either...

 

[humdinger]

If your not in a hurry, let it ride with no foil. Maybe make some notes about how the stall behaves in your smoker at certain temps. I always try to do my learning when no one's lookin! Then talk like a pro when the party is underway!

 

[vtmecheng]

All about how much time you have.  Like others here have said, if time is not an issue don't foil.  Also, if you have time I would take note of the temps and time to see just how long your stall is.

Now let's see some Q-View.

 

[dave from mesa]

Time not an issue. Cooking today for tomorrow. No foil, then.

Smoke the whole time or not add any wood after ????? many hrs. Have heard that after 3-4 hrs no smoke gets into the meat. Don't know if that's true or not.

Stall should be around 165, correct?

thanks

 

[bruno994]

Time not an issue. Cooking today for tomorrow. No foil, then.

Smoke the whole time or not add any wood after ????? many hrs. Have heard that after 3-4 hrs no smoke gets into the meat. Don't know if that's true or not.

Stall should be around 165, correct?

thanks

After 140 IT, you probably won't get any more smoke penetration into the meat, but continued smoke beyond the 165 IT point, could cause some bitterness in the bark. Stall will be around the 165 IT mark as well, the stall will vary depending on the cooking temp, the higher, the less time it will spend there.

 

[smokingribs]

I always foil at 160-170. I use a pan with liquid of choice, I use broth and some garlic and seal the pan with heavy duty foil. I let it go until it reaches 205 and pull the pan. I let it set for 15 min and then uncover. I have had good luck with this.  The foil pans you buy at the dollar store work great and when your done just toss them.

 

[smoking b]

Time not an issue. Cooking today for tomorrow. No foil, then.

Smoke the whole time or not add any wood after ????? many hrs. Have heard that after 3-4 hrs no smoke gets into the meat. Don't know if that's true or not.

Stall should be around 165, correct?

thanks

Not true. The meat will continue to take smoke flavor as long as it is in the smoke - the smoke ring is what quits forming around 140*  I smoke mine the whole time & can tell a definite difference between doing that & stopping the smoke after a few hours.  I usually hit the stall around 160*

After 140 IT, you probably won't get any more smoke penetration into the meat, but continued smoke beyond the 165 IT point, could cause some bitterness in the bark. Stall will be around the 165 IT mark as well, the stall will vary depending on the cooking temp, the higher, the less time it will spend there.

The meat will continue taking smoke as long as smoke is present. The smoke ring is what quits forming around 140*  Never, ever had an issue with bitterness in the bark & I always smoke the whole time now...

 

[pgsmoker64]

No need for me to join the debate other than to agree with Smoking B!

I agree with B

I also do not foil...

Bill

 

[vtmecheng]

May be too late now so sorry if it is.  Because you are cooking it for tomorrow, which means reheating, the foil pan may be a good thing.  It allows you to catch the natural juice from the meat which can be added to the meat tomorrow during the reheat process. This will ensure the meat stays moist. Usually when I reheat the bark becomes soft and isn't as noticeable so you may not gain much for consistency.  Just my $0.02 and either way you will likely have happy eaters tomorrow.

 

[bruno994]

Not true. The meat will continue to take smoke flavor as long as it is in the smoke - the smoke ring is what quits forming around 140*  I smoke mine the whole time & can tell a definite difference between doing that & stopping the smoke after a few hours.  I usually hit the stall around 160*

The meat will continue taking smoke as long as smoke is present. The smoke ring is what quits forming around 140*  Never, ever had an issue with bitterness in the bark & I always smoke the whole time now...

I must disagree with some of the above statements and agree with others. Yes, the smoke ring will be fully developed at somehwere around the 140 IT mark, but eventually, at what point using the IT as a guide I am not sure, but the outer crust (bark) will seal off and prevent any more smoke from penetrating the meat (the one exception would be those using a water pan of some sorts to keep a moist environment in their cooker). If you continue to put smoke, heavy smoke, not TBS after the 160 IT area, that you (maybe not a seasoned smoker like yourself Smoking B, but a newbie) could begin to turn the bark or crust bitter. This is the main reason, especially with beginning smokers I always suggest to foil, along with the added benefit of pushing through the stall a bit quicker. If you like the bark, but worry about oversmoking, just open the foil back up after the IT reaches 190+ or pop it in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes or so uncovered and you will reset the bark. I use this method on my foiled briskets for comps. Works great. Please understand I was not trying to contradict anyone else's beliefs, just further explaining mine. I hope I made sense.

 

[dave from mesa]

Well thanks for the replies.

I am using a water pan but that is about to change. Going to put sand in the pan after this smoke.

Right now I have 2 butts in the smoker. am using a Maverick 732 to check one butt and the smoker temp. Using an Oregon Scientific (don't remember the model). Bought the Maverick because of having so much trouble with the OS. Go figure it works today. One butt is cooking way faster than the other so just to be sure I switched the probes and they are reading the same. Both are within +-2 of 212 in boiling water.

My big problem is that the Maverick shows 239 and the temp is set to 255 on my MEC. I am using the Maverick as my guide.

 

[dave from mesa]

See http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/136064/1st-pulled-pork for the results.