To wrap or not to wrap???

[TexasSmoke]

I am going to smoke another brisket on my #3 this weekend.  I am now hooked on the barbeque pit masters show and they all wrap their briskets.  I was thinking about trying this.

It looks like most say this is an unneeded step in an electric smoker.  Any thoughts / pros / cons?

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[gregbooras]

Ron,

Just an extra step that will not improve the end result unless you are short on time and need to do the Texas Crutch.

Greg

[Libohunden]

I never wrap and they always turn out perfect.

[gregbooras]

Ron,

Until a few months ago, I had never seen a Barbeque Pit Masters show. Now I think I have seen most of them and I find them interesting, but mostly I am looking for new smoke ideas.

The one thing to remember is that all smokers are work differently, so it is important to learn  what it takes to get the job done with your smoker.

The great thing about reading the forums here is that you can become a (let's not say master) but a dang good smoke guy in a short time.

Feel free to experiment and please post your results good and bad and more importantly your recipes.

Greg

[SuperDave]

And I'm an always wrapper.  I prefer the steaming effect for the last half of the smoke. 

[DivotMaker]

I never wrap, while cooking.  Foil is for wrapping during the rest, and for the bottom of the smoker!  When using a water pan, and the right prep on the meat, you get moist brisket.  Remember - the guys & gals on the TV show are using traditional smokers; they have to use those techniques to counter the drying effect of the heat source, we don't.

[va_rider]

Honestly, I used a water pan on my last brisket, and I won't  do it again. I don't think it added anything tit, it, and it didn't allow as good of a bark to form.

[SuperDave]

Honestly, I used a water pan on my last brisket, and I won't  do it again. I don't think it added anything tit, it, and it didn't allow as good of a bark to form.

Aaron, you really hit the nail on the head.  If you really like bark, don't wrap.  If you like all your meat tender, then wrap. 

[va_rider]

The inner meat was still incredibly tender without wrapping or a water pan.

[DivotMaker]

Aaron, if you're not getting good bark, using a water pan, it's probably your rub - not the water pan.  I never fail to get incredible bark on long smokes, or even ribs, using a water pan.  Rubs that don't have the right mix of sugar in them will rarely produce a good bark.  You need a little sugar for the "Maillard reaction" to occur (bark formation).  Up to you to not use a water pan, of course, just adding my 2¢!

[va_rider]

My rub hasn't changed. The water pan is the only thing that changed between great bark, and not great bark. My rub has plenty of sugar in it.

[DivotMaker]

My rub hasn't changed. The water pan is the only thing that changed between great bark, and not great bark. My rub has plenty of sugar in it.

All righty, then. 

[Pork Belly]

Truly there is no simple answer to this.

If you are using a wood fired offset smoker or something like an Ole Hickory Commercial rig then you should wrap, SOMETIMES. The main reason those guys on Pitmasters are wrapping is they are cooking high heat and short hours. Going 275 for eight hours is normal for them, I heard them discussing it on last night's show.

I make a couple hundred pounds of brisket in an Ole Hickory SSG five nights a week. They go 14 hours unwrapped at 220 and are perfect. However if the overnight smoke is not started prior to 4:30 PM, I will have to wrap in the morning. Those briskets & butts would be smoking 11 to 12 hours at 220 until 6:30 AM, then NEED an additional 1.5 to 2 hours wrapped at 270 to be tender.

However if I were making a brisket at the house in my #3, I would never consider wrapping. I would set it for 225 and let it run 14 hours for an average 7-11 pound brisket.
With a water pan in place there is no reason to open that smoker until time has elapsed.

My opinion on Brisket bark is when rubbing them, if you are at the point where you think "It looks good but needs more rub..." Stop applying rub, less is more on brisket, unlike butts and ribs where I prefer "Sandy Beaches"

[DivotMaker]

Man, I bet you see dancing briskets in your sleep, Brian!