Hey I only stopped by to check out what butcher paper used for. Thumbs up for keeping composure explaining the wrapping procedure while fighting the wind.
Great video. The wind was just like a smoke day... seems that it's always something that you didn't think you would have to deal with. Appreciate the detail on the "tuck it in snug" and then what to do with the extra paper at the end. Good stuff. I just subscribed.
Good info and thank you for the lesson. Question, if I don't live in a wind tunnel should I get a large fan and put it at the end of my wrapping table, or should I have a buddy manually throw the long end of the paper at me while I wrap!? haha seriously though, good vid.
I am justing learning to smoke with my digital smoker . What i need to no on any of your meat how long do you cook your meat before wraping it in your paper
When wrapping with butcher paper, do you still keep adding liquid (apple juice) to your pan inside the smoker? Or is this not needed anymore after the crutch process?
I don’t consider a water pan as a crutch; it is there to add moisture to your smoker, which helps keep moisture on your meat. There’s no need to use apple juice as it won’t have any different impact on moisture, and flavors should come from your wood, rub, and injections (should you inject). After wrapping, moisture will be held inside the wrap, so the water pan no longer helps keep moisture on the food. However, depending on your smoker, you may want to leave it and keep it as it also can help regulate temperature inside your smoker. In the 270 Smoker used for this video, the temperature can spike without a water pan. Every cooker is different, but my rule of thumb: if you start with it, finish with it.
You don’t want to use any paper that has a wax on it since that’ll melt right onto your food. Color of the butcher paper doesn’t matter, so long as it doesn’t have a finish on it that will bleed as it gets wet.
I think these were ahoy 14# briskets. When trimming, we want to leave about 1/4”. Watch the rest of the series on brisket and we’ll hopefully answer those questions and more for you!
I’ve seen people do that, but I don’t. The reason to use paper is because it’s breathable and can continue to build the bark while breaking down the fats. The paper will soak up all the fats as they break down, so I’m not sure there is a need for any additional liquid. The paper soaked in the briskets own fat will be plenty to keep great moisture inside. Let it rest in the paper and the results are even better.
The color of the paper doesn’t matter. Most important is that the paper doesn’t have a wax coating on it. You don’t want to melt wax all over your food!
You could, but it’s harder to find and much more expensive. Also, with briskets varying in size, having the two sheets allows you to adjust the width as needed so they work for all sizes.
