Puzzled about Foil

[rpm]

Hi all,
I am a little puzzled. My BIL received a Masterbuilt 30 a few years ago and has yet to use it. I am planning to visit with them later this week and help him get started with it. I notice in reading here that everyone seems to wrap their meat in foil after a certain time or temp. I have been smoking with my Cook Shack electric smoker for over 20 years and have never used a single piece of foil to wrap anything while cooking and have had consistently great results. Is there something about a Masterbuilt that requires foil to get good results? Additionally, I am consistently seeing discussions here regarding not getting enough smoke flavor and/or bark. It seems to me that foil may be involved in that issue as well. Afterall, smoke doesn't penetrate foil and while foiled the meat is effectively steaming, not forming bark. In any case, I want to know if I would be making a big mistake to introduce him to his Masterbuilt using the same techniques I have been successfully using with my Cook Shack for years. Planning to do two smokes with him, one spares and the other a butt.
Thanks

 

[JC in GB]

Foiling is used to speed the cook through the stall and also to retain moisture in the meat.

Small electric smokers usually don't produce enough air flow to dry out the meat much so foiling in an electric or water smoker is optional IMHO.

I have done meat foiled, paper wrapped, and naked. All three methods work fine and produce good results.

Naked produces more bark and the bark is drier.

Foil produces a softer bark and paper is somewhere between foil and naked.

The most important things are having steady cook temps, thin blue smoke, and to pull your meat off the pit at the proper doneness level.

My $0.02

JC

 

[73saint]

I rarely use foil either But I’ve got a reverse flow stick burner and don’t find it necessary. I think some pellet smokers tend to need a little “help” through the stall. It’s been my experience those cookshacks are beasts. I’ve got a close friend who is a meat scientist and worked with the USDA for 25 years. His cookshacks cook up a storm.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

As said above, wrapping with foil is to help push through the stall and speed up the cook and isn't a technique exclusive to Masterbuilt electric smokers.
Now, these little MES units do struggle somewhat with smoke production. The remedy has been to either use a smoke tube or tray or do a mailbox mod.

 

[Gecko10]

Foiling is used to speed the cook through the stall and also to retain moisture in the meat.

Small electric smokers usually don't produce enough air flow to dry out the meat much so foiling in an electric or water smoker is optional IMHO.

I have done meat foiled, paper wrapped, and naked. All three methods work fine and produce good results.

Naked produces more bark and the bark is drier.

Foil produces a softer bark and paper is somewhere between foil and naked.

The most important things are having steady cook temps, thin blue smoke, and to pull your meat off the pit at the proper doneness level.

My $0.02

JC

What is "The Stall?"
Thanks

 

[sandyut]

I stopped wrapping after trying without a couple times. never looked back.

 

[JC in GB]

What is "The Stall?"
Thanks

Usually when you are smoking meat you will hit a stall point. This is usually around 160 - 165F.

This is the point of the cook where you seem to run your smoker for 3 hours just to get the temperature to move a couple degrees. This is where most new pit masters will screw up IMHO. There is nothing wrong going on, this is just a natural occurrence.

Wrapping the meat holds in the steam that is evaporating from the meat. With the meat being cooked and steamed at the same time, it pushes the meat out of the stall range faster.

This is the main reason people wrap IMHO. You can cut a significant time off the cook by wrapping.

I have done all three of the popular methods and will change from cook to cook depending on the end results I am looking for.

A lot of times I just go naked because I don't want the hassle of pulling and wrapping.

JC

 

[Winterrider]

I don't wrap in my MES or my pellet anymore. More of a PITA and requires smoker door to be opened which just increases cook time. I rarely open doors once meat is put in until completed, unless going to sauce for last 1/2hr.
You may want to talk him into a tray or tube to help with the smoking so you don't have to add chips every 30-40 mins.

 

[smokerjim]

I never wrap anything in my mes 30 or pellet grill either, like mentioned though tell him to check out the amnps tray or tube and may want to hook up the mailbox mod to. I did this and never looked back. great for smoking cheese also.

 

[rpm]

Just to clarify on the "stall" which many refer to as the "plateau" occurs while the meat is in the process of breaking down the connective tissue and collagen. Once this occurs, the temp starts to rise again. This is why it is imperitive to make it through the plateau and continue on to finish temp thus completing the break down.

 

[Inscrutable]

I was interested also, being a recovering engineer. Actually, the stall is evaporative cooling. While still losing moisture, the energy input is balanced by the evaporative cooling so the temp won’t raise, until the moisture is driven off (and also how/when the bark forms). At higher temps, the energy input outweighs the cooling process and either speeds thru the stall, or sees no stall at all. Makes sense.

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