Smoking the brisket is a perfect way to please your family or guests, but smoking the perfect brisket requires practice and patience. In addition, smoking brisket takes more time when you need to deal with the stall. However, wrap brisket is a way to speed up the grilling process.
Whether or not to wrap the brisket is one of the most debated topics in the BBQ community. Some grill masters praise the convenience and benefits of wrapping the brisket and the quality of results, while others prefer leaving it bare while cooking.
If you want to choose how to wrap brisket before or after the stall, you must do it correctly. So let us know in this post the right way to wrap brisket before or after the stall.
Check out our article on the 9 best grills for smoking brisket to get that smokey taste we all know and love!
What Does A Stall Mean In BBQ?
The stall is the time for which the temperature of the brisket halts for hours and does not rise despite continuous heating. The stall usually happens at 150 degrees, but a stall can happen at a different temperature and sometimes more than once.
It happens as a result of evaporative cooling. The brisket loses moisture while grilling. This moisture evaporates on the surface and slightly cools the meat. Eventually, the smoker’s heat is insufficient to counteract this cooling effect, and the temperature reaches the dreaded plateau.
Eventually, the excess moisture in the brisket will evaporate, and the temperature will start to rise again. In the meantime, however, the wait can be frustrating. It’s hard to predict how long a brisket stand will remain open. Sometimes it can last an hour, but it can take five or more hours—especially for a big piece of meat—before the temperature increases again. This encourages many cooks to use the Texas crutch.
What is Texas Crutch?
Texas Crutch is a best way to beat the brisket stall. The term used to describe the wrapping procedure is the ridiculous “Texas Crutch.” As the name suggests, it was invented at the storied Texas barbecue joints to keep lean meat, such as beef brisket, from drying out during the smoking process.
There are several methods to do it, and many people will adamantly argue that one method is superior to the others. So, this seems a good time to weigh in and explain why we like to do Texas Crutch the Bearded Butcher’s method.
Why Wrap the Brisket?
Let’s look at the benefits of brisket wrapping before we get into the specifics of cooking and preparing it.
First off, professional pitmasters don’t just prefer to wrap brisket; they also like to wrap ribs and hog butts during cooking. Know how to make perfect BBQ ribs.
Although the majority of pitmasters have their own justifications for wrapping brisket, there are several advantages and drawbacks to doing so.
Benefits of Wrapping the Brisket
When cooking your meat, covering the brisket is essential for several reasons.
Maintains Tender and Moist Meat
It keeps the meat inside tender and moist, which is one of the main benefits of wrapping your brisket.
Stops the flavor of smoked meat
This may benefit some people while being an advantage to others. Brisket will naturally absorb some smoke when cooked in a smoker or grill, modifying the flavor of the meat. Brisket’s smoky flavor can be diminished when it is wrapped, resulting in a much more meaty flavor.
More rapid cooking
Brisket cooking is a laborious procedure that tests the patience of pitmasters. The collagen and fat in the meat are gradually dissolving as it cooks. To prevent overcooking, it’s crucial to often check the interior temperature of the meat. Overcooked brisket will become dry.
Warm Up The Brisket
This is a nice-to-have rather than a deal-breaker. When you remove your brisket from the oven or cooker, the wrap around it keeps it warm.
Freeze Effortlessly
Brisket wrapped in foil has the additional benefit of producing little to no mess or juice runoff. This is perfect if you want to immediately put the brisket in the freezer after cooking it.
Best Wrapping Material for Brisket
This topic has created a lot of discussion for some time, which is preferable for brisket wrapping: foil or butcher paper.
Although foil remains the preferred technique of brisket wrapping for many people, butcher paper has grown in popularity recently. Butcher paper is made primarily to keep any cooking liquids and heat within.
For both of these materials, some individuals have observed that the brisket’s bark has a different appearance. In the end, what you use to wrap your brisket depends on your personal preferences as well as what you may have on hand. It’s worthwhile to try both and discover which you prefer.
What Is The Right Time To Wrap The Brisket?
Wrapping the brisket prevents what is called “stable” when evaporation from the surface of the brisket disrupts the cooking process. It also gives you more control over the final appearance of the shell and can help retain moisture that would otherwise be lost in the cooking of the brisket. Some people know while others don’t know when to wrap brisket. There is no right time to wrap a brisket; it all comes down to personal preference.
Some people wrap the brisket before putting it on the grill. This significantly shortens the cooking time. However, grilling the breast this way will prevent it from getting a crispy exterior and smoky flavor. It also depends on the brisket’s size. Naturally, a smaller brisket will cook more quickly than a larger one. As a result, it will start losing moisture earlier than a huge brisket. You should wrap a small brisket sooner in your cook because one of the key goals of wrapping is to stop moisture loss.
If these things are important, you may have to wait until you get to the store to wrap your brisket. If you wait until the stand, grill the brisket for a few hours, allowing it to develop a smoky flavor and a nice crust. Next, wait for the tent to start. Then remove the brisket from the grill, roll it up and set it aside to finish cooking.
What Temp To Wrap Brisket?
Take the brisket off the fire so you may wrap it as soon as you observe that the temperature readings on the thermometer don’t seem to change. As previously stated, this normally occurs at a temperature of about 150 degrees. It may happen at a low or high temperature, depending on the type of beef and the moisture content in it.
How To Wrap The Brisket
Start with a sheet of butcher paper that is five times as long as the short side of your brisket:
- Your brisket should be placed on the paper width-wise, presentation side facing up. Place it far enough so that you can fully upend and cover the brisket with the bottom edge of the paper (the one closest to you). Tighten it up as much as you can. Keep every fold as close to the edge of the meat as possible to ensure that the paper fits snugly to the brisket’s contours.
- When you have a long triangle running out and away from you, tightly fold the paper over the flat while keeping it closely fitted to the shape of the brisket. To flatten and even out the paper, use your hand.
- To secure the point, turn to the side of the triangle opposite it and tuck some butcher paper beneath the tip. To replicate the triangular fold on the flat side, repeat it on the point side. Once more, use your hand to flatten and smooth the paper.
- Roll the brisket toward the paper’s opposite end while maintaining the paper’s fit with both hands. After rolling the paper up completely, pull it in securely and fold the sides in.
- The brisket should be completely wrapped at this point, and a long, roughly rectangular piece of paper should be protruding away from you. To reduce the rectangle’s length and increase its thickness, fold it over on itself and toward the brisket.
- Roll the brisket over the final paper rectangle while maintaining a tight seal. The presentation side of the paper will be facing up once more, and the double-thick portion will be positioned beneath the brisket.
Now you can put the brisket back in the smoker. Cook at 275 to 285°F for about three hours without interruption, then gradually lower the temperature. Then remove the brisket from the smoker and wait for at least 30 minutes to let it cool before serving.
Did you check out our article on the 9 best grills for smoking brisket to get that smokey taste we all know and love yet? If you haven’t make sure you take a quick peek!
Summing Up
If you want to try your luck experimenting by wrapping your brisket, you should try the technique. Try out several wrapping methods and materials to see which suits you the best. Both options are good as long as you keep the brisket moist to prevent the juices from evaporating. When cooking your brisket, keep in mind that the size of the brisket and the smoker both affect the cooking time. Whatever you choose to cook or the method of wrapping the brisket all are a matter of your choice.
In fact, my grilling experience stems from even before that, when I used to watch my father grill outdoors. Some of my favorite memories growing up were surrounding the grill in the backyard, or a portable grill on the beach or in the park.
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