Spritzing Necessary?

[Dunstablegrizzly]

So I have transitioned to using no water in my pan and have noticed no issues with meat being moist. Now water does provide that insurance of keeping temps from getting out of control but I have no issues with my wsm keeping temps without that heatsink. So this brings me to another conclusion... is spritzing really neccessary? Seen a bunch of youtube vids on this, for example baby back maniac and T-Roy did a rib vid on some ribs to show three diffrent methods of no spritz, apple juice spritz, and some cranberry pomegranate thing. Anyways they all looked the same as far as texture and color somewhat. Now since spritzing stops the cooking process as the meat cools it took longer to cook which in turn is exposed to more smoke. So the ones that were spritz were somewhat darker. So now it brings me to my main question which is should I even bother spritzing my next brisket? I am not a big fan of bark so I usually cook brisket to color them wrap in foil. So do you guys and gals see anything that can go wrong if I dont spritz??

 

[mike243]

Spritzing lets more smoke stick to the meat better, it can also help stop meat drying out. I wont peel the back of ribs off as it will let moisture leak out faster imo. lot of ways to skin-A_cat pick a method and practice till you get where you want to be, no bad way to cook just different

 

[tx smoker]

I have never spritzed ribs...ever, nor do I wrap them. They are never dry or unappealing. I have however started basting/mopping chuck short ribs (Dino ribs) and briskets with a mixture of beef gravy, beef broth, and bourbon and that does seem to help maintain moisture. It also adds a lot of flavor to the droppings which I use at meal time as a dipping sauce versus using BBQ sauce.

Robert

 

[phathead69]

I know if wrong someone will correct me, but I seem to think I read something and goes like this. You can not add moisture to meat, you can slow or mitigate the loss of moisture by say wrapping in foil. Injection of a liquid while it is inside the chunk of meat is still not in "fibers " of the muscle so to speak so it falls under the mitigation area. In others words smoking dried out shoe leather is pretty much going to produce dried out smoke flavoured shoe leather. Now the phosphate stuff I dont know anything about. Like you starting out I spritzed for moisture as shown on videos and reading. Now the only time I spritz is to add some kind of flavor. Take this for what worth.

 

[SmokinAl]

I spritz, or baste, or mop most of the things I smoke.
But that is just works for me.
I actually cook to my wife Judy’s taste.
And she likes it that way, and so do I.
Al

 

[Bearcarver]

I'll Spritz or Baste when grilling, but not when smoking in my MES 40, because I won't open the door for something like that.
I'll only open it for Foiling things & adding Foiling juices at that time (at about 165°).

Bear

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

So I will be trying it maybe this weekend when I do my thighs. I will keep track of it and post how it comes out. I'll pick up a 10 to 12 pound packer to try it.

Now I know pork has a ton of fat so I can see why it isn't a problem. But I'm not too sure of brisket.

 

[sawhorseray]

Hmmmm! I spritz when smoking ribs or a butt on my offset, and now I'm thinking I might not be doing much but adding a ton of time to my cook by lifting the top to spritz. Takes time for the heat loss to recover. I'll try no spritzing next time to see how things go. RAY

 

[SmokyMose]

I'll give ribs a little mist once while cooking if it looks dry and once just for the foil.
I don't spritz anything else, but I baste or mop chicken a little. As you can see, everyone has a method they like. There's no right or wrong as long as it works for you.

 

[SmokyMose]

So I will be trying it maybe this weekend when I do my thighs. I will keep track of it and post how it comes out. I'll pick up a 10 to 12 pound packer to try it.

Now I know pork has a ton of fat so I can see why it isn't a problem. But I'm not too sure of brisket.

Most briskets have quite a bit of fat, especially the point.

 

[sandyut]

Just like this!

I have never spritzed ribs...ever, nor do I wrap them. They are never dry or unappealing.

 

[Dunstablegrizzly]

Ok I know I said I was trying the brisket this weekend but I totally forgot it was Easter so we do a spiral ham every Easter. I'll will push the brisket off until the following weekend.

Now when I do the brisket I've decided to not even trim it. I'll let the fat render out and baste the meat. It's easy to simply push the remaining fat off to the side of the plate as im eating. Again I'm putting the meat in and pulling it to wrap around 160 IT as I'm not a huge fan of bark. I wont spritz at all and will be running dry in my wsm.

 

[tallbm]

Ok I know I said I was trying the brisket this weekend but I totally forgot it was Easter so we do a spiral ham every Easter. I'll will push the brisket off until the following weekend.

Now when I do the brisket I've decided to not even trim it. I'll let the fat render out and baste the meat. It's easy to simply push the remaining fat off to the side of the plate as im eating. Again I'm putting the meat in and pulling it to wrap around 160 IT as I'm not a huge fan of bark. I wont spritz at all and will be running dry in my wsm.

I don't spritz anything and havent had to in my MES. Maybe a different system might make it necessary but so far not for me.
Also with you wraping at 160F I wouldnt bother doing anything to it since you are wrapping at that temp.
Normally I recommend people trim off the thin portion of the brisket so that what is left of the flat is about even thickness. The thinner end of the flat often dries out. Now, with you wrapping at 160F you may not face this problem so give it a whirl and see what you get :)

 

[noboundaries]

I do not spritz anything, except to add flavor. About the only thing I'll spritz these days is a double smoked ham.

Keeping the surface of the meat moist definitely causes more smoke to adhere to the meat. That has been proven with research. BUT, I've never read any research that proves spritzing keeps the INSIDE of meat moist. All the evidence I've read about spritzing and moist insides is anecdotal, not research based. I have read research that proves that spritzing can increase the evaporative flow of water OUT of the meat, but it did not mention collagen, which is what makes briskets and butts juicy, not water.

Spritzing with a concoction of juices and seasonings absolutely adds flavor. Until some researcher spritzes a brisket with water only, and proves the inside of the meat is juicier, I'll skip the spritz.

 

[1MoreFord]

If spritzing added moisture to food the pot roasts would have oceans of gravy inside them.

I also question the wisdom of a moist surface attracting smoke flavor. If it does then why does it seem most everyone wants a dry pellicle surface on smoked fish?

 

[SmokyMose]

If spritzing added moisture to food the pot roasts would have oceans of gravy inside them.

I also question the wisdom of a moist surface attracting smoke flavor. If if does then why does it seem most everyone wants a dry pellicle surface on smoked fish?

I'm curious about the wet surface, too. I've always let my sausage get a bit "tacky" before smoking. I do the same with bacon.

 

[noboundaries]

A pellicle is a surface protein formation that at its base is sticky, not wet, causing more smoke to adhere than a wet surface, and much more than a dry, non-pellicle surface.

 

[Bearcarver]

I'm curious about the wet surface, too. I've always let my sausage get a bit "tacky" before smoking. I do the same with bacon.

Yeah, I quit trying to figure out where they get a "Wet surface allows smoke to stick better than a Dry Surface".
I have found that Smoke sticks better to a Dry Surface than a Wet surface. That's why I put my roasts on a wire cooling rack in a pan, so Smoke can get all the way around the roast, and so the meat isn't sitting in any liquid. I want to smoke it, not make a stew out of it.
Pellicle is a different story. Pellicle makes it sticky---Not Wet !!
My 2 Piasters,

Bear

 

[chopsaw]

My understanding is dry surface lets smoke into the meat , wet surface , all the smoke stays on the outside .

 

[Winterrider]

My understanding is dry surface lets smoke into the meat , wet surface , all the smoke stays on the outside .

This is what I gathered all the time also.