Foil or not foil or brown butcher paper?

[daricksta]

That was a lot of feedback thanks all!
I was reading Steven Raichlen book "Project Smoke" and in his brisket recipe at a certain temperature he wraps in butcher paper.
So I thought I would give it a try.

I haven't seen that book or that series. I've got a bunch of Raichlen books and a DVD set of his first PBS show. When I was at a Portland, OR bookstore I checked out Aaron Franklin's book and I've watched a few of his YouTube videos. He has one where he did a naked brisket, a foiled brisket, and a paper-wrapped brisket. I think the paper-wrapped beat out the others for quality of bark by a hair. In his book he said he wraps the brisket to protect the bark. When it comes to pork ribs he rarely wraps at all.

 

[daricksta]

I got mine from Amazon as well. 18"x150' was around $35. They were out of stock on 24" at the time. Works for me since only use it for briskets and I do the smaller ones so it should last for a while. You'll notice they call it Peach a lot of places.

I got the 24" x 150' because I felt it would be better to have the extra width for when it's needed than to not have it when needed. I only used it once last summer, though.

 

[3montes]

I've been tempted to try the brown butcher paper wrap on a brisket but I just haven't done it yet. I have a huge roll of the brown peach paper just waiting. I'm pretty much a straight forward wood, fire, food guy. I burn oak and apple splits to provide the heat and smoke. Ribs don't get foiled nor does brisket. I do pan my pork butts at 165 but that's because I can't stand to listen to all those great juices sizzling off my tuning plates as they render out of the butts.I want those juices so I keep them in the pan. I will sometimes place a foil tent over the butts if I need to give them a little push through the stall.

I use to foil everything, have all sorts of wires running out of my smoker thinking I needed to know the temp of the smoker and the meat from the very start to the very end. I can tell you I enjoy the process and the end result much more since I went back to just basic, simple smoking food. I can say I have never once injected a single piece of meat with anything. I always figured if you punch a hole in a piece of meat to put juice in it will run out the same hole!

I have always been able to achieve the flavor profile I want through rubs and or brines.

 

[r2 builders]

Ok,
Im probably beating this thread to a pulp (pardon the pun) what about parchment paper which I have on hand.
Any takers on that?

 

[daricksta]

 
I've been tempted to try the brown butcher paper wrap on a brisket but I just haven't done it yet. I have a huge roll of the brown peach paper just waiting. I'm pretty much a straight forward wood, fire, food guy. I burn oak and apple splits to provide the heat and smoke. Ribs don't get foiled nor does brisket. I do pan my pork butts at 165 but that's because I can't stand to listen to all those great juices sizzling off my tuning plates as they render out of the butts.I want those juices so I keep them in the pan. I will sometimes place a foil tent over the butts if I need to give them a little push through the stall.

I use to foil everything, have all sorts of wires running out of my smoker thinking I needed to know the temp of the smoker and the meat from the very start to the very end. I can tell you I enjoy the process and the end result much more since I went back to just basic, simple smoking food. I can say I have never once injected a single piece of meat with anything. I always figured if you punch a hole in a piece of meat to put juice in it will run out the same hole!

I have always been able to achieve the flavor profile I want through rubs and or brines.

You're really old school. I'm moving more towards that direction. I bought the butcher paper before I read about guys like you and Franklin who don't wrap much. I've smoked one pork shoulder and left it on the rack. I might experiment more with panning next year (I only smoke after winter is long gone, except for cheeses and beef jerky) Jeff Phillips likes to finish his brisket in a pan. I'm still working out what technics to try out next.

I don't do the injection thing either, mainly because good quality injectors are expensive for what they are. I'm all about dry rubs but have only brined once. I plan to do more of that with turkey, chicken, and salmon next year. My ultimate goal: to brine a brisket as a precursor to trying my hand at homemade Jewish deli pastrami--sliced thin and piled high on Kosher rye bread with a schmear of Russian dressing, dill pickles on the side.

 

[daricksta]

Ok,
Im probably beating this thread to a pulp (pardon the pun) what about parchment paper which I have on hand.
Any takers on that?

My wife's an experienced home baker. she assured me parchment paper won't work. I think that's primarily because it has a plastic, non-stick liner, and is thinner than butcher paper. after she finishes baking in the oven it's always reduced to browned, crispy paper. Not what you want to wrap smoking meat inside of. Parchment paper's main function, from my understanding, is to provide a virtually non-stick baking vessel for savory and sweet baked dishes made from dough.

 

[SmokyMose]

All I use parchment for is to cover the counter while stuffing or slicing just to make the counter easier to clean up.
Give brining a try, daRicksta. It's really easy and once you've made your own Corned Beef & Pastrami you'll never want to pay $11 a lb again...
Dan

 

[r2 builders]

Butcher paper it is then.
Thanks for all the help.
I will update as I go along.
Friday is brisket day!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Butcher paper it is then.
Thanks for all the help.
I will update as I go along.
Friday is brisket day!

Just a note, Butcher Paper makes a great Table Cover for Picnics, Crab, Clam and Lobster Boils and Crafts. No washing, just roll up everything and toss it. I had a roll stolen by the Kids for drawing and painting. As they got older, they made giant Happy Birthday and Holiday signs. Most recently my Wife used up a roll wrapping dishes and other items before boxing for our move. It absorbs grease so I drain Fried food on butcher paper. My SIL uses it as a small drop cloth for laying out items to spray paint or to mask off larger areas to paint. He also likes to keep dirty parts and tools off the work surface and lays them on butcher paper. You would be surprised how many uses you can find for a Roll...JJ

 

[daricksta]

Butcher paper it is then.
Thanks for all the help.
I will update as I go along.
Friday is brisket day!

r2 builders, remember this:

Have you ever smoked brisket burnt ends?

 

[daricksta]

 
Just a note, Butcher Paper makes a great Table Cover for Picnics, Crab, Clam and Lobster Boils and Crafts. No washing, just roll up everything and toss it. I had a roll stolen by the Kids for drawing and painting. As they got older, they made giant Happy Birthday and Holiday signs. Most recently my Wife used up a roll wrapping dishes and other items before boxing for our move. It absorbs grease so I drain Fried food on butcher paper. My SIL uses it as a small drop cloth for laying out items to spray paint or to mask off larger areas to paint. He also likes to keep dirty parts and tools off the work surface and lays them on butcher paper. You would be surprised how many uses you can find for a Roll...JJ

Thanks for the ideas, Chef JimmyJ! I've got an 150' roll which is more than I'm ever going to need in my lifetime. I don't break out the smoker nearly as often as a lot of other members here.

 

[daricksta]

All I use parchment for is to cover the counter while stuffing or slicing just to make the counter easier to clean up.
Give brining a try, daRicksta. It's really easy and once you've made your own Corned Beef & Pastrami you'll never want to pay $11 a lb again...
Dan

SmokeyMose, you'll just firmed up my resolve. Costco sells USDA Prime whole packer briskets for around $3/lb. Got one of those 16 lb. beauties in my freezer. I'm not a big fan of corned beef but some of that brisket will become my first batch of pastrami, Katz Deli (out of Brooklyn)-style.

 

[SmokyMose]

SmokeyMose, you'll just firmed up my resolve. Costco sells USDA Prime whole packer briskets for around $3/lb. Got one of those 16 lb. beauties in my freezer. I'm not a big fan of corned beef but some of that brisket will become my first batch of pastrami, Katz Deli (out of Brooklyn)-style.

Thumbs Up

 

[r2 builders]

Hey All,
I am smoking a brisket today and would like some advice.
There only two of us so I got 4 pounder.
Here are my parameters:

4 pound brisket.Trimmed the fat cap to 1/4"
Seasoned with garlic oil, cracked pepper and salt
30" 2 door propane smoker.
Ambient temp will be around 78 degrees.
Water pan with a beer and water mix.
Cherry or apple chunks in a CO skillet.
Planning on taking it 175 degrees IT then pull it out and wrab in butcher paper.
Back into the smoker till IT hits 200 degrees.
Wrap in towels and into the cooler.

Thats my plan.
Looking for feedback

 

[r2 builders]

Forgot to ask what you think the time frame would be for all this?

 

[SmokyMose]

Not knowing how hot the smoker will be, I'm going to guess 3 to 4 hrs but THAT IS A GUESS! I used to run a smoker like that and it ran hot. Keep a close eye on it from about 2 hrs. Thickness of the meat makes a difference, too.
Good Luck!
[emoji]128578[/emoji]

 

[r2 builders]

Thank you Sir.
My smoker does run hot.
The lowest temp I can hold is around 240/ 250.
I had figured around 4 hours as well.
I will let you know how it turns out.
Thanks again.

 

[r2 builders]

Didn't do well with brisket.

 

[mike5051]

Just came across this post.  Try posting in the "beef" section for more help.  What was wrong with the brisket?  If it was tough and dry, probably undercooked.  Overcooked would be crumbling apart, but usually still juicy.

Mike

 

[chef jimmyj]

 
Just came across this post.  Try posting in the "beef" section for more help.  What was wrong with the brisket?  If it was tough and dry, probably undercooked.  Overcooked would be crumbling apart, but usually still juicy.

Mike

X2...I suspect it was Tough and Dry...aka Undercooked. This many hours or that IT don't mean Doo-Doo, if the Brisket is not Probe Tender, probe slides in with no resistance. IT could be 195, 200, 205 or even 210. At 250+ an hour per pound is a guideline but the Probe Test tells you it's done...JJ