I used it in my last cook towards the end and it I've seen people saying to use it at the end to keep meat from drying out. But I'm still not clear on exactly how it helps. Is there more than one reason to use foil? And do I see people saying they foil after they remove it from the cooker? The whole foil thing really has me confuzzled.
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What EXACTLY is the Purpose of Foil During a Cook?
- Thread starter Mike C.
- Start date
Bill Hays
TVWBB Platinum Member
Googling up "Texas Crutch" gets you pretty good answers but you being from Texas, I would have thought you already knew.
Here's a pic of when I 1st heard about it. LOL
Bill
Bill
dsitterson
TVWBB Super Fan
There are probably several reasons to use foil.
I use it on a butt to keep it warm after cooking and keep it juicy.
I also use it to capture juices to use later in a sauce.
I use it for ribs to get them a little extra tender.
It just depends on what I am trying to do. A lot of times I don't foil my ribs. I dont foil my butt if it come out right on time and it just needs a rest. I haven't foiled chicken.
I think it might speed up the cook if you get behind but I don't really know about that.
For me it just adds tenderness for ribs and brisket.
I use it on a butt to keep it warm after cooking and keep it juicy.
I also use it to capture juices to use later in a sauce.
I use it for ribs to get them a little extra tender.
It just depends on what I am trying to do. A lot of times I don't foil my ribs. I dont foil my butt if it come out right on time and it just needs a rest. I haven't foiled chicken.
I think it might speed up the cook if you get behind but I don't really know about that.
For me it just adds tenderness for ribs and brisket.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill Hays:
Googling up "Texas Crutch" gets you pretty good answers but you being from Texas, I would have thought you already knew.
Here's a pic of when I 1st heard about it. LOL
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
So using foil while it's in the smoker is considered cheating? Does it ruin the flavor?
Googling up "Texas Crutch" gets you pretty good answers but you being from Texas, I would have thought you already knew.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
So using foil while it's in the smoker is considered cheating? Does it ruin the flavor?
Bill Hays
TVWBB Platinum Member
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike C.:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill Hays:
Googling up "Texas Crutch" gets you pretty good answers but you being from Texas, I would have thought you already knew.
Here's a pic of when I 1st heard about it. LOL
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
So using foil while it's in the smoker is considered cheating? Does it ruin the flavor? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
No, not at all. A lot of people use it in competitions and in the back yard .. It's all in what you like for finished product and some will use it to speed up a cook. The "Texas Crutch" was a controversial joke many years ago. Sorry..
Bill
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill Hays:
Googling up "Texas Crutch" gets you pretty good answers but you being from Texas, I would have thought you already knew.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
So using foil while it's in the smoker is considered cheating? Does it ruin the flavor? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
No, not at all. A lot of people use it in competitions and in the back yard .. It's all in what you like for finished product and some will use it to speed up a cook. The "Texas Crutch" was a controversial joke many years ago. Sorry..
Bill
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill Hays:
No, not at all. A lot of people use it in competitions and in the back yard .. It's all in what you like for finished product and some will use it to speed up a cook. The "Texas Crutch" was a controversial joke many years ago. Sorry..
Bill </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm planning on ordering Paul Kirks books. I guess I better keep that a secret with the locals...
No, not at all. A lot of people use it in competitions and in the back yard .. It's all in what you like for finished product and some will use it to speed up a cook. The "Texas Crutch" was a controversial joke many years ago. Sorry..
Bill </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm planning on ordering Paul Kirks books. I guess I better keep that a secret with the locals...
Bill Hays
TVWBB Platinum Member
LOL! I think as you research this more, you'll find that most use foil on ribs and brisket. I'm no help on briset but I have found that there's a short window on ribs if you're not using foil. Pull them too soon and they're not quite there, pull them too late and they've dried out on you. Foiling helps to break down the connective tissue sooner and helps keep some of the moisture in the ribs. I think that this difference is where the joke came in.
Good luck with the locals.
Bill
Good luck with the locals.
Bill
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill Hays:
Foiling helps to break down the connective tissue sooner and helps keep some of the moisture in the ribs. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I did a Google search as you suggested and I see people are adding liquid inside the foil and actually closing off the meat if I'm reading correctly. It's like they're steaming the meat. Some said they used apple juice. In Steve Raichlen's book How to Grill, for a St Louis style recipe I believe it was, he says to spray the ribs with apple juice regularly. Is that the same thing? He also said to use foil toward the end. But he wasn't specific. All I did was loosely wrap it in foil thinking it was going to protect the meat from drying out. I'm not sure if I was doing it correctly or not but it DIDN'T dry out.
Foiling helps to break down the connective tissue sooner and helps keep some of the moisture in the ribs. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I did a Google search as you suggested and I see people are adding liquid inside the foil and actually closing off the meat if I'm reading correctly. It's like they're steaming the meat. Some said they used apple juice. In Steve Raichlen's book How to Grill, for a St Louis style recipe I believe it was, he says to spray the ribs with apple juice regularly. Is that the same thing? He also said to use foil toward the end. But he wasn't specific. All I did was loosely wrap it in foil thinking it was going to protect the meat from drying out. I'm not sure if I was doing it correctly or not but it DIDN'T dry out.
Bill Hays
TVWBB Platinum Member
I’m no expert here so others should feel free to chime in here. From what I know, it is steaming but some here will say that once you put some liquid in the foil, it’s called braising. What ever. Yeah, it helps to put something in the pouch and I think that a tighter wrap vs. a loose foil helps. Apple juice is a good choice, I think, but I know a guy from Canada that used to drizzle honey on his (meat side) then sprinkle with brown sugar, turn them meat side down in the foil and wrap tightly. Individually. Of course, everyone removes from the foil near the end to firm them back up. He did very well in comps with this method.
Spraying with apple juice is just that. Ribs are not in the foil. There’s a saying, “If you’re looking, you’re not cooking” and that applies here. It takes time for any type of pit to recover after opening. Some do this religiously, others, myself included, don’t. I might near the end if, while I’m checking for doneness, find that the ribs are looking on the dry side though. You’ll find, during your searches, a 3-2-1 method. This is used loosely but means, 3 hours in the smoke, 2 hours in foil, and 1 hour back on the grate to firm up. Most will say they won’t go 2 hours as it makes them too mushy. Also, this is for spares, not loin backs.
Bill
Spraying with apple juice is just that. Ribs are not in the foil. There’s a saying, “If you’re looking, you’re not cooking” and that applies here. It takes time for any type of pit to recover after opening. Some do this religiously, others, myself included, don’t. I might near the end if, while I’m checking for doneness, find that the ribs are looking on the dry side though. You’ll find, during your searches, a 3-2-1 method. This is used loosely but means, 3 hours in the smoke, 2 hours in foil, and 1 hour back on the grate to firm up. Most will say they won’t go 2 hours as it makes them too mushy. Also, this is for spares, not loin backs.
Bill
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Foiling changes the cooking dynamics. (I'm talking about foiling during the cook, whereby one closes the foil.) Evaporation and dripping is stymied--well, it is in the usual sense; it occurs but stays in the foil. Foil also presents a barrier to direct heat. Normal evaporation of unfoiled meats means the meat's surface is cooler during cooking. Foiling negates this and in doing so evens the cooking process. Moisture conducts heat much better than air. With the foil sealed, drippings and surface juices heat and transfer this heat to the meat and interior juices. This transfer is more efficient so cooking is more even and quicker.
I cook ribs at higher temps and foil about 50% of the time. (For ribs I foil for flavor purposes (I add a juice blend usually), not for cooking purposes.) I foil at the end, from 30 min to 45 or so, and finish to tender in the foil. I remove the ribs and return to the cooker. At high heat (at this point I'll be in the mid-300s or better) the meat's surface firms in a few minutes.
Brisket I foil for cooking purposes. I don't add anything to the foil. I also cook at high heat. About 60-65% of the cook is unfoild (the beginning) and then I finish in foil.
Butts I don't foil. I will low/slow butts if more convenient or I will cook higher (but not as high as I cook brisket).
Basting with a water-based baste (water, stock, juice wine) cools the surface and slows cooking. It can also add flavor. For flavor purposes and for cooling non-flat surfaces basting needs to be frequent. For flavor purposes and for cooling of flat surfaces basting can occur less often.
Fat-based bastes (oil, butter, et. al) decrease evaporation of water from the surface of the meats and thus raise the temps. Fat-based bastes can speed cooking. The can also add flavor. The same applies in terms of basting non-flat and flat surfaces.
I don't baste typical Q meats. I do baste, often, grilled foods.
I cook ribs at higher temps and foil about 50% of the time. (For ribs I foil for flavor purposes (I add a juice blend usually), not for cooking purposes.) I foil at the end, from 30 min to 45 or so, and finish to tender in the foil. I remove the ribs and return to the cooker. At high heat (at this point I'll be in the mid-300s or better) the meat's surface firms in a few minutes.
Brisket I foil for cooking purposes. I don't add anything to the foil. I also cook at high heat. About 60-65% of the cook is unfoild (the beginning) and then I finish in foil.
Butts I don't foil. I will low/slow butts if more convenient or I will cook higher (but not as high as I cook brisket).
Basting with a water-based baste (water, stock, juice wine) cools the surface and slows cooking. It can also add flavor. For flavor purposes and for cooling non-flat surfaces basting needs to be frequent. For flavor purposes and for cooling of flat surfaces basting can occur less often.
Fat-based bastes (oil, butter, et. al) decrease evaporation of water from the surface of the meats and thus raise the temps. Fat-based bastes can speed cooking. The can also add flavor. The same applies in terms of basting non-flat and flat surfaces.
I don't baste typical Q meats. I do baste, often, grilled foods.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
Foiling changes the cooking dynamics...etc etc </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I think you just perfectly described "Texas Crutch" cooking from what I read about it!
So is that part of the secret to cooking faster and getting the same results as a slow cook?
Foiling changes the cooking dynamics...etc etc </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I think you just perfectly described "Texas Crutch" cooking from what I read about it!
So is that part of the secret to cooking faster and getting the same results as a slow cook?
Tom Barineau
TVWBB Super Fan
Kevin--What juice blend do you use when you foil your ribs?? Just curious.
Michael G. (Canada Mike)
TVWBB All-Star
My wife uses a non-smoking technique which is heavy foiling, then quick grilling. The ribs are marinated overnight in a vinegar base marinade, then foiled with a good serving of BBQ sauce. They stay on the grill, in foil, and braise for 90 minutes or so, then are opened and put on the grill for 20 minutes.
Personally, I find them too soft and extremely FOTB, but the method certainly has its fans. The recipe was originally the the New York Cookbook.
I find foiling ribs for an hour, without anything added, OK using a 2-1-1 method, but with baby backs, I wouldn't foil at all.
Personally, I find them too soft and extremely FOTB, but the method certainly has its fans. The recipe was originally the the New York Cookbook.
I find foiling ribs for an hour, without anything added, OK using a 2-1-1 method, but with baby backs, I wouldn't foil at all.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The recipe was originally the the New York Cookbook. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
You mean to tell me Texans are gettin their cookin crutches from New Yorkers?
What is this world coming to?
You mean to tell me Texans are gettin their cookin crutches from New Yorkers?