Hi Eric, thanks for the helpful hints. Is holding to temp. for when you are serving meat a while after it rests or need to travel etc? Is holding it up to temp a way for it to cool more slowly? I am very new and keep seeing the aluminum and towel idea, but I apparently don't get it.
Thanks.
You're welcome. I do occasionally hold food at temp, around 140-150* in a cooker or oven, if it came out too early for the meal. I have even used a slow cooker to hold food in after getting it warmed-up, then wrap the cooker with towels and put in a vehicle to transport for an hour or so. The main reason most of us will place larger cuts into some sort of container, and then insulate, is to allow the internal temperature to drop more slowly during resting. This allows for the meat fibers to relax and let the natural juices redistribute throughout the meat. It also allows more time for lesser/tougher cuts of meat to become more tender.
Resting while in a covered container, or foil, can be substituted by simply leaving the meat on a grate (either removable smoker cooking grate, or accessory grate such as a bakers rack), placing this onto (or in) a baking pan/sheet (for a drip-catch), then covering with a clean towel. This is a method I use to preserve the bark on smoked meats, as it allows the meat to breath and not saturate the bark with steam while it rests. While it does work very well in preserving a hard/crisp bark, one down-side is that the meat will cool a bit faster than if tightly covered and insulated, but with larger cuts of meat such as pork shoulder, it still allows the mass of the meat to hold it's heat for a few hours.
In most cases, foiling of meats can be substituted with some sort of covered pan. I rarely ever use just foil to wrap ribs in, for example. With a little imagination, there are lots of other ways to achieve the same result. You may read of foiling ribs to use a 3-2-1 or 2-2-1 method for ribs, or, foiling pork shoulders for pulled pork before it finishes cooking...same for brisket. It's a personal choice whether you "foil" or not, and each of us have our reasons for doing it, or not. If you don't want a hard bark on the meat probably being the number one reason to foil meats...OK, wait, foiling to speed up cooking and push through the plateau/stall would be the biggest reason...although I don't anymore.
There are lots of methods that everyone uses at some point or another. Sometimes just to experiment and see if we like the outcome. Sometimes to explore the possibilities and achieve a better, more palatable finished product. Foiling is one of those methods. I've foiled or panned & tented/covered meats to finish cooking, and, I've left it on open grates until it reaches my desired texture or internal temperature. I've covered rightly to rest, and, I've used the grate and towel to allow it to breathe. Each method has it's own merits, as well as it's own set of negative impacts. Sometimes we look for a balance of the two that is a compromise of sorts, to achieve our goal with the best possible finished product.
I digressed...since you're new to smoking and looking for answers, I'm guessing this won't be a bad thing...LOL!!!
Glad to help, any time. Anything else comes up, just shout.
Eric