Hey everyone I bought a pit boss for the 4th and am going to smoke some ribs. I've never done a Texas crutch before and just wanted to see what your recommendations would be. Do you just put some apple juice or other various juices or a concoction of maybe butter, brown sugar and juice? Just wanted to see some opinions on it before hand. I plan on only doing this for about 30-40 minutes. After that I will probably baste with some bbq sauce and finish it off with another maybe 30-40 minutes back on the grill to really work on the bark. Any tips or recommendations are always appreciated, thanks!
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Sjmueller - As a general rule, I simply do not crutch anything. I don't like what it does to the bark or the cook in general. The Texas Crutch was originally an invention of competitive cook who are under a time deadline and it was primarily used to speed up cooks. I'm never under a time deadline and I can't stand the idea of dumping a bunch of brown sugar on a cook and making a meat candy bar. But that's just me.
I wish well on your cook and hope you have a happy and safe 4th Holiday!
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Founding Member & Owner of SnS Grills
- May 2014
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- Charlotte, NC
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Founding Member
- Jul 2014
- 2572
- The Poconos, NEPA
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Smoker:
Landmann Smoke Master Series Heavy Duty Barrel Smoker (COS) - With mods including 2 level rack system with pull-out grates
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BBQPro (cheap big box store model) Stainless steel 4 burnerswith aftermarket rotisserie.
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Pork - especially the darker meat. I love spare ribs and anything made from shoulder/butt meat
Chicken - Mainly the dark meat and wings
Beef Ribeye steak
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Can't list just one: Indian, Chinese, Thai, West Indian/Carribean, Hispanic/Latin American, Ethiopian, Italian, BBQ
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I[m with the others. I recommend you don't crutch ribs. They will be done perfectly in 5-6 hours without it. I think wrapping ribs makes them mushy and steamed-tasting.
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Club Member
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Club Member
- Nov 2014
- 5029
- Near The Villages, FL
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Cookers:
Weber Kettle (used/fair condition; a gift).
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Sous Vide equipment.
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No crutching for me as well. I so enjoy the cook, I often spend time with my smoker when it clearly doesn't need me to be there. Yeah, I'm weird, but when the aroma starts I'm happy to be around.
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Using butcher paper instead of foil these daysLast edited by Thom Emery; July 4, 2016, 11:52 AM.
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Founding Member
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I know I make damn good BBQ cause my 3 dogs have NEVER said no to it. (OTOH, my 13yr old says no to just about everything, except my ribs.)
I wrap for about an hour just so I can get the drippings and use them to make a sauce. I usually put butter and a bit of molasses and just a touch of maple syrup on the meat when cooking ribs or a pork butt. I'll finish up without the wrap after I have brushed the sauce on to let it set.
That said, there are times when I just let it roll without the wrap and it is just as good.
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Club Member
- Jun 2016
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- Beautiful Downtown Berwyn
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Grill: Grilla Original / Weber Genesis EP-330 / OK Joe Bronco Drum
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If you want fall off the bone ribs (which some people like... not me personally), do a 3-2-1. 3 hours low and slow, 2 hours of crutch, 1 hour of high heat. Good bark, no pull at all. Wife used to prefer that until I got good at getting half moon bite ribs.
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Saw Steven Raichlen cook baby backs this way to make his version of the McRib. Tug the bones out and onto a large roll. Something different and i might just try it...
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In Project Smoke, he describes the method in greater detail, then says he feels like he's cheating. And he likes a bit of pull, as do most of the cognoscenti.
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If you're only going to wrap for 30 or 40 minutes, I would think you would lose nearly as much ground (temperature wise) while wrapping as you gain in the 30-40 minutes they are wrapped??? Spritz them if you want to add moisture and skip the wrap. If I wrap at all, it's after the cook to wait/hold/rest til eating time.
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Founding Member
- Jul 2014
- 9698
- Smiths Grove, Ky
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Hi, my name is Darrell. I'm an OTR truck driver for over 25 years. During my off time I love doing backyard cooks. I have a 48" Lang Deluxe smoker, Rec-Tec pellet smoker,1 Weber Genesis 330, 1 Weber Performer (blue), 2 Weber kettles (1 black and 1 Copper), 1 26" Weber kettle, a WSM, 8 Maverick Redi Chek thermometers, a PartyQ, 2 SnS, Grill Grates, Cast Iron grates, 1 ThermoPop (orange) and 2 ThermoPens (pink and orange) and planning on adding more cooking accessories. Now I have an Anova sous vide, the Dragon blower and 2 Chef alarms from Thermoworks.
I recommend doing two racks at the same time. One without the crutch, the other with the crutch and see which one you like the best and go from there. I used to do the crutch then I decided to do some without the crutch and my opinion is the no crutch were a lot better.
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