To wrap or not. My experience...

[nnifnairb]

I'm still pretty new to smoking, having gotten my MES30 last Christmas, but I probably have upwards of 20 or more smokes under my belt. Until recently, I haven't wrapped anything, except for when I use the 3-2-1 method for St. Luis ribs. Recently, I was doing a cook for an event at work when my smoker fritzed out on me in the middle of the night (luckily this appears to be a fluke, as it's worked perfectly ever since). I had 4 pork butts in there and they had been in about 12 hours at this point, and were sitting between 170 and 180 IT. To finish them, I wrapped them in foil and stuck them in the oven, and later in a faux cambro to transport to work.

When I unwrapped the first butt and dumped it into a pan to pull it, I was amazed at the jiggle. I can only describe it as meat jello. It was soft, juicy, and melted in the mouth, and the flavor was just as amazing. The bark had softened, but bark isn't as important to me in pulled pork since it all gets mixed up anyway. These were by far the best pork butts I've ever made, and I will continue to wrap my butts going forward.

Because of the great experience I had with the pork, I decided to try wrapping my last brisket. It was a choice-grade flat from Costco. I've had great results from these in the past. They've never been quite as juicy as I know they can be, but they were still pretty fantastic. So, I thought why not try to add moisture and speed up the cook by wrapping it? I was really surprised at how fast it powered through the stall. It was basically nonexistent. And this was definitely the juiciest brisket I've ever made. The bark, however, was soggy and the flavor was nowhere near as good as my previous cooks. Personally, I'd much rather sacrifice a little moisture for good bark texture and flavor, especially since I really had nothing to complain about with the others. I am curious about wrapping in butcher paper, but at this point, it almost doesn't seem worth it to me. So I think I won't be wrapping my briskets in the future.

Obviously, everyone has their own preferences, and these are just my experiences. Just thought I'd share to possibly get insights from others with more experience, and to hopefully help those who are thinking about wrapping their cooks.

TL;DR: Wrapping pork butts in foil produced the best pulled pork I've ever made; disappointed with the results of wrapping brisket. The cost to the bark and flavor didn't justify the extra juiciness.

[Huskee]

Lol, I love the TLDR postscript.

I wrap mine too for the same reasons! For briskets, try wrapping after the stall, not at the start of it, say when they hit 170-180. I find this gives me adequate bark that's not affected by the wrap too much. If you wrap at the start of the stall I find the bark to be just pasty rub. Actually, I do my pork butts and chucks the same way, always after the stall. I don't add liquid though, enough still comes out even when wrapping dry.

[OSB]

I dry wrap as well. I notice no difference other then wrapping with liquid just adds to the rub in the liquid instead of on the meat.

[Bumby]

I learned this tip from somewhere on this site and ever since have improved my brisket game!

[nnifnairb]

Interesting, I would bet that's why the pork came out so well, I wrapped after the stall. I may give that a go with the brisket. We'll see. Thanks!

[JeffJ]

I usually only wrap to save time, but am considering it after the stall as Huskee suggests.

[Steve R.]

For brisket, try the peach butcher paper. It will give you all the benefits of foil while not braising away the bark. Only downside is that you lose all the drippings that get soaked into the paper.

[dshaffes]

I agree with the butcher paper, but I've found it does not accelerate the cook time as much as foil.

[Steve R.]

This is definitely true. But I use the paper or foil more as an aid to retaining moisture than to try to accelerate cook time, when it comes to brisket.

[Troutman]

I agree the paper wrap does not affect the cook as much as foil, but foiling (as the poster mentions) has a tendency to destroy the bark and braise the meat. Turns out too much like pot roast for me. Pink paper is the way to go !!

[obiQsmoker]

Appreciate the experience and perspective. As I’m new at this, this kind of exchange is SUPER helpful. Followed Huskee advice and wrapped my first brisket this past weekend after the stall. I felt the bark and flavor were quite good, but it was my first; don’t know any better yet. nnifnairb, would you please post an update with how this evolves for you? (following...)

PS: You prompted me to wrap the Pork Butt I’m cooking tomorrow for a nephew’s wedding reception. Did it nekkid before.

[nnifnairb]

Will do! I may give it another go with wrapping the brisket after the stall, but I think I'd rather try it with paper rather than foil. I'll keep you posted!

[OSB]

I believe it is more the rest in the faux cambro than the wrapping of the pork butt during the cook. I can't stress how important resting your meat is to the outcome of the final product. Sometimes I wrap during the cook and sometimes I don't. If you are wrapping take the advice from others here and wrap after the stall so the bark will set better. For me it simply depends on time constraints. If time is no issue you cant go wrong with going nekkid.

[dahcopilot]

i dont wrap because i have never had an issue from not wrapping, and i like to look at the meat every once in a while. part of the joy of cooking

[nnifnairb]

That was my philosophy as well, until I was forced to finish the butts in the oven. I was shocked at the results.

[JGo37]

I was shocked when I wrapped a butt after the cook and put it in faux cambro. When I pulled it out, juice EXPLODED everywhere - I lost half of it by not being ready for it. Now I cambro butts and shoulders after every cook.

I did the same with a brisket this last weekend, and it didn't seem to affect the flat, but the point melts in my mouth. The flat is super flavorful, I made Texas juice for it, but it's just OK as far as tenderness. No one but me, eating it, knows any better ;o).

Next time I'm wrapping after the stall. It's not so much the stall ending for me, but hitting a temp where smoke absorption stops. I stop adding hickory to the coals at 170F. That's also where I trust the stall is over, because I've had brisket sit at 165F for an hour.