# Can I finish Ribs, Pork Butt, Brisket, anything in the oven?



## John Goostree (Apr 8, 2019)

I have never seen this discussed, but since you often wrap your meat in foil or butcher paper to stop it from taking on more smoke, I wonder if you can finish it in the oven? If this would negatively affect the cook, why? I would prefer to do this to save money on pellets/wood/charcoal and not have to manage a stick burner fire any longer than needed if I can just finish in the oven.


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## noboundaries (Apr 8, 2019)

If you're wrapping the meat, absolutely you can finish in the oven. Heck, you can finish unwrapped meat in the oven once it has enough smoke on it. 

I haven't done it in a while, but often finished in the oven when I was working and pressed for time.


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## pineywoods (Apr 9, 2019)

As was said above you can finish things in the oven if you want. Once wrapped in foil heat is heat and the meat doesn't care where it comes from. Foiling is more often done to braise the meat not get it out of the smoke. Braising cooks it faster and makes it more tender. I have finished pork butts, briskets, and pork loins in the oven. If doing ribs 3-2-1 or 2-2-1 then you may want to leave them in the smoker because that last hour is out of the foil and back on the grate.


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## mike243 (Apr 9, 2019)

You can uncover the last hour in the oven to set the bbq sauce also no need to go back outside


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## HalfSmoked (Apr 9, 2019)

I have finished brisket ribs beef ribs in the oven and again I don't wrap and they were fine. I may add that this is done at low and slow 225 - 250.

Warren


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## sauced (Apr 9, 2019)

Yes, I have done that many times due to the weather. I do not wrap the meat either and set the oven for 250 degrees


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## radioguy (Apr 9, 2019)

I have been finishing all my briskets in the oven.  4 to 6 hours in the smoker, foil wrap then into a 270F oven ro finish.  I smoke at 260-280F.  Can't tell the difference.  A lot  easier for me.

RG


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## venture (Apr 9, 2019)

Once you get the desired smoke on the meat, your smoker is just an oven anyway.


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## Hawging It (Apr 9, 2019)

Absolutely you can. I have done it many many times. Turns out great!


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## John Goostree (Apr 9, 2019)

Why do people use pellets/wood/charcoal and with a stick burner work to maintain fire temperature when they can finish in the oven?


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## bluewhisper (Apr 9, 2019)

One thing to consider about using the oven to finish is, it will probably make your kitchen/house smell like smoke for a while.


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## HalfSmoked (Apr 10, 2019)

fullborebbq Thanks for the like it is appreciated.

Warren


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## gmc2003 (Apr 10, 2019)

John Goostree said:


> Why do people use pellets/wood/charcoal and with a stick burner work to maintain fire temperature when they can finish in the oven?



Pure enjoyment for me. I love sitting around the smoker with friends and family smoking, drinking, and chewing the fat. It's all about quality time and making memories.

Chris


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## noboundaries (Apr 10, 2019)

John Goostree said:


> Why do people use pellets/wood/charcoal and with a stick burner work to maintain fire temperature when they can finish in the oven?



Wrapping has its advantages, but the flavor and texture difference of no wrapped meat is noticeable. Plus, for those with hands off smokers, the effort between an oven or the smoker is negligible.


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## Hawging It (Apr 11, 2019)

bluewhisper said:


> One thing to consider about using the oven to finish is, it will probably make your kitchen/house smell like smoke for a while.


And that is a wonderful smell. LOL!


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## bluewhisper (Apr 14, 2019)

Sometimes the smell scares people because it really does smell like there's a fire in the house.

But it would smell like a wood-smoke campfire, not a stovetop grease fire.


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## b767captain (May 15, 2019)

radioguy said:


> I have been finishing all my briskets in the oven.  4 to 6 hours in the smoker, foil wrap then into a 270F oven ro finish.  I smoke at 260-280F.  Can't tell the difference.  A lot  easier for me.
> 
> RG


Quick question. Do you leave it wrapped in foil until ready to


noboundaries said:


> I haven't done it in a while, but often finished in the oven when I was working and pressed for time.




Quick question, if finishing a pork butt in the oven do you leave it wrapped in foil until ready to pull? Also, I imagine wrapping it and finishing it in the oven softens the bark. Is that an issue? 

Best

Capt. RL Cremer
P.s. Were you Navy or Coast Guard? Our wings were/are the same.


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## zwiller (May 15, 2019)

Agree you can finish anything in oven and the smell is strong but doable/wife is cool with it and she is picky.  That said, searing ribs on a hot grill is a must for me.  I smoke them one day, wrap in foil, and chill and then grill and sauce another day.


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## markh024 (May 15, 2019)

b767captain said:


> Quick question.  Also, I imagine wrapping it and finishing it in the oven softens the bark. Is that an issue?


Wrapping in foil no matter what will soften your bark. This is why some choose not to wrap at all. Or some choose butcher paper to lessen that softening.  So yes, if you wrap you will soften that bark up.


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## solman (May 15, 2019)

zwiller said:


> That said, searing ribs on a hot grill is a must for me.  I smoke them one day, wrap in foil, and chill and then grill and sauce another day.



i just started doing this with my ribs and i love how it turns out. you get the wood flavor from the smoke, then the char from the grill. i won't do it any other way now.

back on topic: another reason to finish in the kitchen oven is to get a higher temperature that your smoker can't reach or because it's too much work/effort, e.g. when smoking chicken, you can finish it in the oven at 350+ to crisp up the skin.


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## HalfSmoked (May 15, 2019)

That depends on your smoker I have a propane that will top out at 375.

Warren


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## solman (May 15, 2019)

OP mentioned pellet/wood/charcoal, so i assumed it wasn't propane. my propane can get that high too, can't imagine using anything else for high temperature, convenience and ease of use. :)


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## JC in GB (May 15, 2019)

I agree with the other posters here the only thing I don't like about most ovens is the huge hysteresis on the setpoint.


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## levithan9 (May 16, 2019)

I got a Masterbuilt 40 inch smoker that i used when i first started getting into smoking meat. After a few years and wanting to upgrade, I finally ended up with a PITMAKER Safe. After 6 months of fine tuning my method on the Safe, i ran across a situation in which i needed to to use the oven in order to finish the brisket i was cooking.

Me and my wife were headed to the country where her extended family was having an Easter get-together bash. I couldn't get off work early enough on Friday, and she wanted brisket, come hell or high water. She gave up red meat for Lent. I picked up the brisket on my lunch hour, and when i got home at 6:45, i immediately hit the safe with a torch to heat it up. Then lit the charcoal, then lit a separate basket of Hickory and Pecan logs. Started trimming the brisket, threw in the charcoal basket, back to trimming the brisket, then seasoning it, setting the temp in the smoker, throw in the brisket, start cleaning up, waited for about 1.5 hours for the logs to turn to coals, remove the charcoal and dump them into the wood basket....and finally have a few beers while i fine tuned the temp i wanted. It was about 11pm by this time.

I stayed up until about 2. Knowing i had to also pack for the trip, i was worried that the brisket wouldn't be done in time for us to leave at 10 or 11 in the morning.
What to do?

F**K IT...the brisket was about 165-170, and it had the  bark and color i wanted. So i wrapped in butcher paper, placed it in a large foil pan, and put it in the oven at 275. put everything back into the garage, showered and fell immediately to sleep.

When i woke up, the WHOLE HOUSE SMELLED LIKE SMOKED MEAT !!

Knowing my wife pretty well,i was in for Easter weekend ass chewing. When she woke up, she asked why the house smelled like bbq. So i explained. She said it smelled incredible!! Thank you, Lord!!

I packed everything in the truck, and the brisked had finally hit 205. Covered the pan with foil, into the cooler it went, put 2 towels on top of it, tossed it into the back of the truck, and away we went.

Got out to Chappell Hill, and About 5pm, my wife wanted the brisket. It was absolutely perfect. Nice crust for the bark, and tender and juicy throughout the entire cut of meat. I had people coming by and asking for some after word got out that I had the best brisket on the property.

So, on my next cook, i did the same thing. I smoked the brisket in the Safe, and when it was ready, judging by color and bark formation, I pull them, wrap in butcher paper, and set them in my Masterbuilt  at 250. Then i go to bed. By the next morning, theyr're usually almost ready. I probe for tenderness, and into the cooler they go. They always come out perfect.

I do feel that i'm somewhat cheating, but i'm going for constancy. I don't have to stay up all damn night watching the temp fluctuations, adjusting the intake, checking the wood coals..blah blah blah.  And to think, i almost sold the Masterbuilt on Craigslist. I've stayed up all night. And i find that, while i enjoy the cooking process, i'm usually too tired to enjoy the brisket itself.

So yeah, you can use the oven to finish off whatever meat your smoking.


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## jokensmoken (May 17, 2019)

I've finished brisket, butts and ribs in the oven...
This may have been touched on by someone else already...if so sorry about the repeat...
Wrapping meat, whether in butcher paper or foil is not to stop meat from taking on more or too much smoke flavor...meat will only take on smoke flavor for 3-5 hours anyway...
Wrapping is usually done for one of two reasons (or both)...
1. To shorten the cook time
2. To help retain moisture...
Any time you wrap you will sacrifice a bit of bark texture, but wrapping to rest is a must IMHO...
Walt.


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