To wrap or not to wrap that is the question!

Gonna smoke a pork butt this weekend. I have always smoked unwrapped as I prefer a firmer crispy bark. I have always heard that the Texas crutch (wrapping it) after 4 hours makes it more tender and avoids the stall. What say you? Also how many of you mop ? Have a blessed Memorial Day as we honor those that gave all!
 
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Hunting Nut

Old Mossy Horns
Mop it, is fine to me.
Put in small aluminum pan and cover tight with foil.
It will be tender and steam a little in own juices.
Good by my standards.
 

agsnchunt

Old Mossy Horns
Iā€™ve posted this in other BBQ threads but Iā€™ll say it again.

Iā€™m doing less than Iā€™ve ever done with BBQ and my results are as good or better.

I donā€™t wrap jack.
I smoke on a gas grill.
I use commercial sauces.

Seriously, Iā€¦
  • put a sheet pan under the grates
  • put the butt on the grill
  • turn 1 burner on medium (YMMV)
  • stick a probe in
  • throw some chunks on a metal tray (on the burner)
  • do chores, visit, have a drank, whatever
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I smoke mine at 225 until it hits 165 or so , then wrap it to help go over the stall hump. If it's for my personal use only I'll leave it wrapped until it hits 195-200 and take it off wrapped, put it into a pan and cover the pan with a towel for an hour.
If I'm trying to impress folks I'll unwrap it for the last hour of cooking which will crisp up the bark a bit more, put it into a warmed cooler and let it rest for 30 minutes then cut and serve.
 

beard&bow

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I'm doing 6 on Sunday. @275 you can just about bet on an hour per pound, if you wrap in the 160 range. If not about an hour and a half per pound. The foil does help it get through the stall faster.

The first 2 hours I let the rub set up. After that, I spray with apple cider vinegar every hour, until I wrap.


Like above, when I wrap I use a foil pan and aluminum foil. When the meat hits 200ish, I unwrap it and let it firm back up. Then pull it at 205.

No way is really the right way. It's all in your preference.
 

Luv2Boutdoors!

Ten Pointer
Haven't smoked in years, but here's how I did mine:
- apply a rub and refrigerate over night
-remove the day of smoking at least an hour before putting it in the smoker
-~250* with about 4-5 hours of smoke
-remove from smoker, using heavy duty foil, add cranberry juice and double wrap in the foil. Stick a probe in it and place in the oven @ 250* until it reaches ~195*
-remove from oven, place in cooler, wrapped in a towel for at least an hour (I'd make the sides at this point)

-Enjoy!!

Let us know how it turns out!
 

Ho ace

Ten Pointer
Contributor
No expert here but I just did one on my Weber Smoky Mountain and foil wrapped at 160 and pulled off at 205. Turned out great with nice bark.

Trying a couple of chuck roasts on the WSM this weekend. They say they are as good as brisket ...we will see.
 

Wncbowhunter

Ten Pointer
Normally do between 1500-2000lbs per year. I smoke for around 5-6 hours or until internal temp is 160. And then wrap. At this point the meat has taken all the smoke it will take. Cook till 195. Fall apart tender and moist. Have done it without wrapping and the biggest difference is moisture content.

So depends on your smoking temperature, choice of wood, smoker and your preferred amount of moisture.

without first, with second
A49B5879-B0D6-426A-9ECD-F6F997DE0076.jpegA9AE1B26-2C25-41A2-A6D5-6F688F3B49DC.jpeg
 

jenkinsnb

Ten Pointer
From somebody who hasnā€™t ever smoked before (aside from wood chips in a gas grill for some chicken legs), what does spraying with cider do and what is the ā€œstall humpā€ that everyone talks about?
 

QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
I smoke until they look right(bark) then wrap. Foil if the smoker is full (12-14 butts), paper if Iā€™m only doing a few. Pull em when they pass the poke test.
 

beard&bow

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
From somebody who hasnā€™t ever smoked before (aside from wood chips in a gas grill for some chicken legs), what does spraying with cider do and what is the ā€œstall humpā€ that everyone talks about?

To me, and this may be all in my head, I notice the bark is a bit darker and a tad more tender. It also seems to help keep the outside from drying out.

The stall is when the meat hits a point where it starts sweating, and due to the evaporation, doesn't rise in temperature for a good while. Sometimes hours. Usually happens in the 160s. If you're not used to it, it can freak you out. If you are, it's still annoying. Lol.
 

beard&bow

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Normally do between 1500-2000lbs per year. I smoke for around 5-6 hours or until internal temp is 160. And then wrap. At this point the meat has taken all the smoke it will take. Cook till 195. Fall apart tender and moist. Have done it without wrapping and the biggest difference is moisture content.

So depends on your smoking temperature, choice of wood, smoker and your preferred amount of moisture.

without first, with second
View attachment 67159View attachment 67160

That is the next style of smoker I want. That looks amazing!
 

NCST8GUY

Frozen H20 Guy
From somebody who hasnā€™t ever smoked before (aside from wood chips in a gas grill for some chicken legs), what does spraying with cider do and what is the ā€œstall humpā€ that everyone talks about?

I SO love this question!

As far as "smoking" goes, there are many people whom consider the right kind of smoke, a "flavor". That doesn't mean a huge ton of white smoke out of your gas grill means you are "smoking" meat lol.

Look up Creosote.

If you are adding "smoke" as a flavor, treat it as such. And no offense, that's hard to pull off on a gas grill.

The "stall" is mostly (though it happens in other circumstances) on LARGE pieces of meat. An 8 pound piece of meat, that has been either frozen, or at the very best cold, is about to be ASSAULTED by HIGH heat! From every outside surface. Once this happens, thermal physics take over. Heat from the outside pushes liquids in the meat towards the inside. On a gas grill, this mostly happens from the bottom, towards the top. On "smokers", the heat hits from all directions, and pushes the liquids towards the center of the meat. That is usually where the thermostat is. So for hours, we see a slow rise in temp, until most of the inner liquids reach the middle, and then the thermometer doesn't rise anymore (whilst more liquids arrive), sometimes for over an hour. This is called the "stall". Very natural when cooking large hunks of meat, but also very dangerous to those whom do not expect it, then freak out, raise the temp on their burners to HIGH, and then wonder why they have a dry butt.

Only thing that can fix a dry butt is gold bonds. I don't recommend it on food however.
 
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Wncbowhunter

Ten Pointer
That is the next style of smoker I want. That looks amazing!
1622158295924.jpeg
Bubbas Grills out of Georgia. Reverse smoke with a rib box in the back. Can do 30-36 butts at a time depending on size of butts.
While like most it takes a while and have to add wood about every 4-5 hours but makes smoking rather easy.
Big fan of these smokers. My smoker buddy just picked up a new one last week so now we have 2 that we can use.
 
View attachment 67171
Bubbas Grills out of Georgia. Reverse smoke with a rib box in the back. Can do 30-36 butts at a time depending on size of butts.
While like most it takes a while and have to add wood about every 4-5 hours but makes smoking rather easy.
Big fan of these smokers. My smoker buddy just picked up a new one last week so now we have 2 that we can use.
Thats a bad arse smoker but Im more interested in technique!
 

ScottyB

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I love cooking on wood but gas is fine if you have a seasoned cookerā€¦.I never wrap :donk:donk:donk:donk in foil but I get them almost to 160 and load them in a coolerā€¦..they will finish in the coolerā€¦ā€¦ nicely
 

beard&bow

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
View attachment 67171
Bubbas Grills out of Georgia. Reverse smoke with a rib box in the back. Can do 30-36 butts at a time depending on size of butts.
While like most it takes a while and have to add wood about every 4-5 hours but makes smoking rather easy.
Big fan of these smokers. My smoker buddy just picked up a new one last week so now we have 2 that we can use.

Thank you! Gonna look into these!
 

georgeeebuck

Ten Pointer
I love cooking on wood but gas is fine if you have a seasoned cookerā€¦.I never wrap :donk:donk:donk:donk in foil but I get them almost to 160 and load them in a coolerā€¦..they will finish in the coolerā€¦ā€¦ nicely
Yep that is the way I always did it ,they where done and tasted good. But after I did one by wrapping in foil and raising it on up to 200 it was much better imho . Juicer, and much more tinder.
 

Hunting Nut

Old Mossy Horns
I agree with most everything above. But, 190 to 195 is great to me.
Personally, using a tinfoil pan is much easier than wrapping, after the initial bare smoking time is done. Just me, I guess.
 

jenkinsnb

Ten Pointer
I SO love this question!

As far as "smoking" goes, there are many people whom consider the right kind of smoke, a "flavor". That doesn't mean a huge ton of white smoke out of your gas grill means you are "smoking" meat lol.

Look up Creosote.

If you are adding "smoke" as a flavor, treat it as such. And no offense, that's hard to pull off on a gas grill.

The "stall" is mostly (though it happens in other circumstances) on LARGE pieces of meat. An 8 pound piece of meat, that has been either frozen, or at the very best cold, is about to be ASSAULTED by HIGH heat! From every outside surface. Once this happens, thermal physics take over. Heat from the outside pushes liquids in the meat towards the inside. On a gas grill, this mostly happens from the bottom, towards the top. On "smokers", the heat hits from all directions, and pushes the liquids towards the center of the meat. That is usually where the thermostat is. So for hours, we see a slow rise in temp, until most of the inner liquids reach the middle, and then the thermometer doesn't rise anymore (whilst more liquids arrive), sometimes for over an hour. This is called the "stall". Very natural when cooking large hunks of meat, but also very dangerous to those whom do not expect it, then freak out, raise the temp on their burners to HIGH, and then wonder why they have a dry butt.

Only thing that can fix a dry butt is gold bonds. I don't recommend it on food however.
Oh no, I mean having wood chips in the grill while quarters are cooking for a half hour or so. Very much not actually smoking anything but it does add a little bit of flavor(for the 30minutes itā€™s cooking). Thereā€™s lots of interesting info there. Thanks!
 
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