# To wrap or not to wrap



## specialblend07 (Oct 21, 2015)

So I'm cooking a brisket for some friends this weekend and was curious about wrapping in tinfoil and putting back on the smoker at a certain temp. Is it necessary?

I was going to cook ribs and brisket together at 225 and once the brisket reached 195 I was going to remove and wrap in tinfoil but not place back on the smoker. I would put in a cooler with towels for about an hour then serve. Does this sound right? Or do I need to wrap and put back on the smoker at all? Also, I'll be using my Masterbuilt smoker not my Yoder for this smoke. How long should I keep putting wood in, every hour?


----------



## specialblend07 (Oct 21, 2015)

Anyone?


----------



## dirtworldmike (Oct 21, 2015)

To wrap or not to wrap? This may sound silly, but it just depends what you are trying to accomplish.  You can get a great brisket either way and no one way is the absolute best way. I would suggest you do a search on here "wrapping brisket" and do some reading and then decide for your self. It's too lengthy of a subject to rewrite.

For the record, I never wrap a brisket, but sometimes I do.... LOL

And welcome to the site.


----------



## westby (Oct 22, 2015)

I wrap mine at 165 degrees, put it back on the smoker and take it to 200 (give or take 5 degrees - whenever I feel it is done).  Many do not and let it ride without foiling until it gets to around 200.  Most everyone will wrap after taking it off the smoker and let it rest for 30-60 minutes.  If you don't plan on eating for quite a while, you can wrap in foil, wrap that in an old towel and place in an old cooler.  That will keep it hot for several hours.


----------



## noboundaries (Oct 22, 2015)

You are smoking for others.  Chances are about 1% they are meat smokers (maybe higher in Minnesota), consequently they want tender, juicy meat with smoke flavor.  They won't know perfection.  When I smoke for such a crowd I wrap at the stall, take the meat to 200F IT, probe for tenderness, then when ready let it rest wrapped under towels in a cooler or on the countertop for at least two hours.  Use a fat separator and serve the jus from the wrap with the meat.  You'll be a hero.


----------



## bmaddox (Oct 22, 2015)

Noboundaries said:


> You are smoking for others.  Chances are about 1% they are meat smokers (maybe higher in Minnesota), consequently they want tender, juicy meat with smoke flavor.  They won't know perfection.  When I smoke for such a crowd I wrap at the stall, take the meat to 200F IT, probe for tenderness, then when ready let it rest wrapped under towels in a cooler or on the countertop for at least two hours.  Use a fat separator and serve the jus from the wrap with the meat.  You'll be a hero.


It is like you are inside my head reading my thoughts.... 

This is exactly what I do and it works great. There have been times where I wasn't happy with my brisket but everyone else raved about it and ate every piece.


----------



## specialblend07 (Oct 22, 2015)

Noboundaries said:


> You are smoking for others.  Chances are about 1% they are meat smokers (maybe higher in Minnesota), consequently they want tender, juicy meat with smoke flavor.  They won't know perfection.  When I smoke for such a crowd I wrap at the stall, take the meat to 200F IT, probe for tenderness, then when ready let it rest wrapped under towels in a cooler or on the countertop for at least two hours.  Use a fat separator and serve the jus from the wrap with the meat.  You'll be a hero.


Ok, I just bought a 7.9lb brisket. It's fairly flat, so I'm assuming it's a flat brisket and not the other type. It also appears fairly lean. Got it straight from the butcher.

Actually your estimate isn't far off. None of them smoke meat so I may be in luck here! This will be my second brisket smoke, the first was terrible. Dry as hell. I'm fairly certain I over did it though. I think I'm going to wrap at the stall (what temp should this be around)? I also have a Redi Check thermometer and probe so I can program it to alert me when it hits certain IT temps.

I'll plan to wrap at the stall (160*??), should I put any apple juice inside the wrap or mop/spray during the smoking? then continue to 195*-200* and check doneness with a toothpick. Once It's to my liking I'll put in a cooler with towels for an hour or so. Does this sound like I'm on the same page?


----------



## bmaddox (Oct 22, 2015)

I like to wrap brisket after the stall when the temp starts to climb again. This usually happens around 165.


----------



## seenred (Oct 22, 2015)

Specialblend07 said:


> Ok, I just bought a 7.9lb brisket. It's fairly flat, so I'm assuming it's a flat brisket and not the other type. It also appears fairly lean. Got it straight from the butcher.
> 
> Actually your estimate isn't far off. None of them smoke meat so I may be in luck here! This will be my second brisket smoke, the first was terrible. Dry as hell. I'm fairly certain I over did it though. I think I'm going to wrap at the stall (what temp should this be around)? I also have a Redi Check thermometer and probe so I can program it to alert me when it hits certain IT temps.
> 
> I'll plan to wrap at the stall (160*??), should I put any apple juice inside the wrap or mop/spray during the smoking? then continue to 195*-200* and check doneness with a toothpick. Once It's to my liking I'll put in a cooler with towels for an hour or so. Does this sound like I'm on the same page?


Your plan sounds solid to me.  The actual stall temp may vary by +/- 10 degrees...every piece of meat is different.  Just watch for your internal temperature (IT) to stop steadily rising...it should occur roughly between 160*-175* IT.  That's when you'll foil it.  Apple juice is good as a foiling juice, but for beef I prefer a mixture of beef broth and worchestershire sauce...actually, any liquid that you like would be OK.

In you OP, you also mentioned you're cooking ribs at the same time.  Just want to mention, in case you hadn't considered this...the ribs should cook quite a bit faster than the brisket, so if you want them done at roughly the same time, you'll want to start the brisket first, then add your ribs some time later.  It generally takes a rack of spare ribs around 6 hours, give or take, to get nice and tender (or around 5 hours for baby backs).  There's no hard and fast rule, but the brisket could take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours per raw pound of meat...occasionally even longer.  So if your brisket weighs 8 pounds, it could take between 8 and 16 hours if your cooking in the 225-250* range on your smoker.  

Sorry if that muddies the waters a bit...getting the timing down when smoking multiple cuts of meat at the same time can be a little tricky.  

Good luck...I hope it all turns out great!  Be sure to let us know... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Red


----------



## specialblend07 (Oct 22, 2015)

SeenRed said:


> Your plan sounds solid to me.  The actual stall temp may vary by +/- 10 degrees...every piece of meat is different.  Just watch for your internal temperature (IT) to stop steadily rising...it should occur roughly between 160*-175* IT.  That's when you'll foil it.  Apple juice is good as a foiling juice, but for beef I prefer a mixture of beef broth and worchestershire sauce...actually, any liquid that you like would be OK.
> 
> In you OP, you also mentioned you're cooking ribs at the same time.  Just want to mention, in case you hadn't considered this...the ribs should cook quite a bit faster than the brisket, so if you want them done at roughly the same time, you'll want to start the brisket first, then add your ribs some time later.  It generally takes a rack of spare ribs around 6 hours, give or take, to get nice and tender (or around 5 hours for baby backs).  There's no hard and fast rule, but the brisket could take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours per raw pound of meat...occasionally even longer.  So if your brisket weighs 8 pounds, it could take between 8 and 16 hours if your cooking in the 225-250* range on your smoker.
> 
> ...


Not at all! Thanks for the post, I'll be sure to chime back in when every things cooked!! I like your idea about the broth too, should I inject or not?


----------



## seenred (Oct 22, 2015)

Specialblend07 said:


> Not at all! Thanks for the post, I'll be sure to chime back in when every things cooked!! I like your idea about the broth too, should I inject or not?



Some do inject, but I never have, and my briskets turn out plenty moist and flavorful.  To me it's a personal preference...there's lots of ways of turning out a great brisket.

Best way to decide is to try it both ways and see which you like best.

Red


----------



## noboundaries (Oct 22, 2015)

I rarely inject anything except poultry these days. 

As far as wrap liquids, I prefer sweet with pork, savory with beef, so I'll second using beef broth.  I like to make the broth with "Better Than Bouillon" beef paste (available at any grocery), using 1.5 times the recommended amount for the amount of water I'm using, usually only a cup.


----------



## specialblend07 (Oct 26, 2015)

Well completed my second brisket. Was about 20 times better than my first. I did this on my Masterbuilt and noticed the Redicheck thermometer would show 170 and the one on the unit would say 225. So I ended up cranking the machine to 250 to get the RediCheck to say 225. Must have been why the first one sucked! Started at 10am, wrapped at 168* then pulled at about 11:00pm with a 195* IT. I let it sit in a cooler until I woke up and cut it up at 10:30am. It was just a touch dry, not bad at all though. Still extremely tender!

http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/s...2-4299-9ECA-B60A86DFF4F9_zpsogbwsy6g.jpg.html
http://s1010.photobucket.com/user/s...0-4EED-9E80-24DF7D1A4CCE_zpsokos7clx.jpg.html


----------



## seenred (Oct 26, 2015)

That looks mighty delicious from here...nicely done Specialblend!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





As you've learned, the factory thermometers on those MES's are often not very accurate.  You did the wise thing to monitor your cooker temp with that remote thermometer.  Only way to know for sure what temp you're really cooking at.

Red


----------



## texas trey (Oct 29, 2015)

As far as you saying it being a bit dry, could be due to being a lean cut as stated above.


----------

