Saw my brisket go from dry and sad to juicy and perfect in just 6 months. What changed?

I used to wrap my briskets in foil around 160 degrees and they came out more like pot roast than BBQ. Switched to butcher paper at 170 degrees and the bark stayed crunchy while the inside got tender. Is the paper really that much better or am I just doing something else different now?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver52322d agoTop Commenter

Wait, you were wrapping at 160? That's way too early man. That's when the stall is just starting. The meat hasn't even started sweating out moisture yet. 170 is the sweet spot for sure. But seriously, paper vs foil isn't even close. Foil steams the brisket. Paper breathes. You get that black crust that shatters when you bite it. Foil just makes it soggy. Made the switch myself about two years ago. Night and day difference. Bark stays crunchy even after a long rest in the cooler. Never going back.

jade_grant9522d ago

Hang on, I gotta push back a little on the 170 thing. It's not really about a magic number, it's about what the meat looks like. If you wrap at 170, you might already be past the stall and losing some of that fat rendering time in the paper. The stall is just evaporative cooling, wrapping traps that heat. I've had briskets that needed wrapping at 155 because the bark was already set but the fat was still rendering, and others that cruised to 165 before I touched them. Trying to hit a hard number is a good guide for beginners, but you gotta learn to read the meat. The paper vs foil thing is 100% right though, paper is the only way if you want a good bark.