Quick Drip EZ BBQ Blanket assessment/review(ish)

[Mosca]

I had a pretty long hold planned for yesterday’s brisket. It finished at 6AM, and our shindig was scheduled for 4PM. I didn’t want to use the indoor oven set to 170° because I didn’t want to heat up the kitchen and I’ve never done that before and didn’t want to dry out a really jiggly brisket, so I went with the passive approach.

Outdoor temp yesterday was mid 70°s all day, with a very light breeze. 196° Brisket, wrapped in 6 layers of foil (4 from the foil boat + 2 to ensure a good seal) went into the blanket,




stuffed into one of these,




which was stuffed into this (a Yeti ripoff):




When I say stuffed, I mean stuffed. Like forcefully, both hands. I covered the last inch or so with towels, closed the lid, and went about making ribs, shucking corn, prepping sides, etc.

At 4PM, I opened the lid, removed the brisket, and checked the temp through the foil. My FireBoard Spark inserted randomly about a dozen times read between 143° and 148°. Thin, thick, wherever I measured, it was pretty even. I’m not worried about 143° vs 145° over that short a time span, it’s going to start dropping anyhow right away, and it’s getting eaten right away, too.

So it lost 50° in 10 hours. But that’s not the blanket alone, that’s the blanket inside a thermal bag, inside a cooler designed to transport human organs.

I dunno. It worked, but I’m not impressed with it having any extra ability over any other insulated thing. I would probably get the same result using the free insulated bags that come with a lot of mail order meats: SRF, Creekstone, Click Akayushi, etc. And honestly I didn’t expect to be amazed. Amazed would have been readings of 180° or so! But I’ll be honest, I was expecting 165°ish.

On the other hand, I now know I can reliably hold brisket for 10 hours this way, which is a really good thing to know. And you can, too, with the proper tools.

[LA Pork Butt]

It was June in the New Orleans area and the sun was shining and while I don’t remember the temperature I am sure it was in the 90s. Anyway I had cooked two Boston Butts for a family reunion. We used one and I held the other is a small inexpensive cooler wrapped in an old towel situated in the sun. As it turned out we only needed one. I don’t remember the exact internal temperature when I checked it after getting home at least 12 hours later, but I am sure it was over 140. I suspect the poorer insulation on my cheap cooler allowed the sun to make that cooler behave as an oven. Maybe if you had used the sun with poorer insulation you would have exceeded the internal temperature. It looks like your cooler was in the shade.

[Mosca]

I actually thought about that, too. I think under the right conditions that would work. 90s instead of 70s, and a week or so either side of the solstice to make up for the difference in latitude.