Rest in Foil


 
S

Steve Petrone

TVWBB Platinum Member
The last cook was 2 butts and a nice packer. I took time to cook them slow and REST in foil. The last piece of meat, the point, came off at about 19 hours. Each piece was double wrapped in HD foil with a little apple juice and a dash of Lexington sauce.

They rested for 4 hours. Every drop of liquid was absorbed by the meat. I was amazed that there would be almost zero liquid left in the foil. It was now in the meat. The texture and moistness of the butt and brisket was top notch.

If you skip this step-resting in foil, you are missing an opportunity to to truly put the finnishing touches on your efforts.

For a previous cook, I used plain old apple jelly in the foil. It was surprisingly good.
So the message for those who don't take the time to rest...please do. You will be rewarded.
 
Steve,
I cannot agree more. It is a shame to spend so much time, money and effort to drop the ball (or meat) by skipping this VERY important step.
There should be a big banner on this forum that says "Be Sure To Foil Your BBQ".
 
I just did my 1st 6.7 lb butt last weekend, I thought it turned out great. I just removed it and covered it in foil for an hour, then pulled it. I guess I missed something here. foiling in apple juice & resting for 4 hours? Dont mean to sound dumb, but what is HD foil? Is there a link this proceedure. It sounds great. Also need to learn more about after cook storage.
 
Dudley I personally like ribs with 45 minutes or so of cook time in foil. Then finish out of foil. No rest rquired.

HD=Heavy Duty

The more experienced guys can comment on how long to foil...I am sure a good rest does not take 4 hours...that happened to be how long my last cook rested.

I use less licquid for butts compared to briskets. Again a pro may comment on how much....
 
Most of the time when my butts & brisket are at temp I wrap in plastic wrap and HD foil. Then I let them sit wrapped in towels, in a heated cooler, for a minimum of 2 hours. I've let them sit as long as 4 hours. When I'm lazy or in a hurry I skip the plastic wrap. Personally, I think the plastic wrap makes a difference.

My ribs are a hit & miss type of thing. Sometimes I do & sometimes I don't.
 
I am a total advocate of foil for everything but poultry. For brisket, I wouldn't DREAM of not foiling and resting. It is the biggest difference maker - takes your good BBQ to GREAT BBQ! Sometimes I also use plastic wrap before the foil - just depends on what's going on at the time. I don't generally use any liquid though, and this hasn't proven to be an issue. Maybe I'll try it today when my brisket comes off...

Anyway, I wrap in plastic wrap/foil, or just foil, then wrap in an old, but clean, bath towel and nestle in a cooler. It will hold a safe temp for up to 4 hours, usually. I like to finish the BBQ in afternoon and let it rest for dinner. Fantastic!!
 
Okay, so Steve says that almost every drop of liquid was absorbed by the meat. I assume this is a good thing. But if one wraps the meat in plastic, as some have suggested, that will keep the meat from absorbing the liquid. How can this be good? I'm not knocking it--just wanting to know what the plastic does to make the meat better. I've foiled before but not used plastic. Thanks for the help! This is a great forum.
 
The concept of wrapping brisket or butt in plastic and then foil for a rest makes sense if you assume the writer hasn't been cooking in foil. I think there's a bit of confusion here in that some are discussing cooking with foil vs. resting in foil.
 
With really limited brisket experience, I can say I have cooked about every kind of brisket.

Dry. Tough. Rubbery. Pot roasty. etc.

I do not have THE answer on the best COOKING techniques. However, I have found that a good long rest in foil (with a little liquid) will add moisture to the meat. It will improve the texture. It will improve the flavor...if done right.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Steve Petrone:
I was amazed that there would be almost zero liquid left in the foil. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>As meat cools its ability to absorb liquid increases. This is more pronounced in cuts that tend to be thoroughly cooked and that have thick fibers, like most from the chuck, the plate and brisket. Overcooking by a margin will limit or negate the potential.

If you are a fan of adding a few T of the rested meat's juices to your sauce as I am, either overdo the liquid addition so you're more likely to have some left or open the foil a little after an hour and nab a couple tablespoons.

Note that differences between the structures of various cuts (how the IM fat and connective tissue is distributed), cook temps, finish temps, moisture content at finish, and so on, can affect how much liquid is absorbed so this 10-lb packer cooked almost exactly like that 10-lb packer might absorb more or less liquid.
 
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