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Brisket - foil vs paper

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CheeseheadinAZ
CheeseheadinAZ Posts: 315
in EggHead Forum
I’ve always wrapped with butcher paper however a local bbq guru advised to wrap with foil until you nail it consistently. Any thoughts on pros and cons with both?  
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  • thetrim
    thetrim Posts: 11,357
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    Paper.
    =======================================
    XL 6/06, Mini 6/12, L 10/12, Mini #2 12/14 MiniMax 3/16 Large #2 11/20 Legacy from my FIL - RIP
    Tampa Bay, FL
    EIB 6 Oct 95
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  • 20stone
    20stone Posts: 1,961
    edited December 2017
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    Paper (but only because I am a Texan, and have a sycophantic obsession with Aaron Franklin) 

    Foil
    + steams the meat while cooking, helping tenderize
    - murders your bark, leaving it bleeding in the ditch

    Paper
    + steams as well, but doesn't murder the bark (though going commando is better still, bark-wise)
    + gives you moral high ground/bragging rights (see Franklin, Aaron)
    - only comes in lifetime supply rolls

    Tips on getting it right consistently
    • Buy really good briskets
    • Use a water pan (well) below the meat (others may argue this point)
    • Be good at managing your fire before you put it on (see the tenderloin thread)
    • I am a 275 F guy
    • Wrap (in paper) when you have great bark/color
    • Take it off when it's done (jiggly).  This may be anywhere between 185F and 205F, with the more prime/fattier ones generally being done sooner
    • Relaxation time in a cooler does good things too
    (now only 16 stone)

    Joule SV
    GE induction stove
    Gasser by the community pool (currently unavailable)
    Scale (which one of my friends refuses to use)
    Friends with BGEs and myriad other fired devices (currently unavail IRL)
    Occasional access to a KBQ and Webber Kettle
    Charcuterie and sourdough enthusiast
    Prosciuttos in an undisclosed location

    Austin, TX
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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 17,192
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    Or you could not wrap at all.
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  • Hans61
    Hans61 Posts: 3,901
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    I’m a paper convert. Using paper on pork ribs too 
    “There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body.”
    Coach Finstock Teen Wolf
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  • 20stone
    20stone Posts: 1,961
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    DoubleEgger said:
    Or you could not wrap at all.
    Commando is a legitimate option, though I prefer my results from wrapping in paper on my brisket, beef ribs and pork ribs
    (now only 16 stone)

    Joule SV
    GE induction stove
    Gasser by the community pool (currently unavailable)
    Scale (which one of my friends refuses to use)
    Friends with BGEs and myriad other fired devices (currently unavail IRL)
    Occasional access to a KBQ and Webber Kettle
    Charcuterie and sourdough enthusiast
    Prosciuttos in an undisclosed location

    Austin, TX
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  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
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    @20Stone I haven’t purchased my lifetime supply of pink butcher paper from CGS. Is there an acceptable alternative?
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
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  • 20stone
    20stone Posts: 1,961
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    SciAggie said:
    @20Stone I haven’t purchased my lifetime supply of pink butcher paper from CGS. Is there an acceptable alternative?
    I bought mine at the local butcher supply shop (Allied Kenco), one of the few but notable benefits of living in a huge sprawling sweatshop of a metropolis (the others - world leading healthcare, gelatto, and multiple late night dining options).

    For the record, I bought white, only because back then I wanted to hide my blind devotion to Aaron, who kicked off the whole pink butcher paper thing.


    (now only 16 stone)

    Joule SV
    GE induction stove
    Gasser by the community pool (currently unavailable)
    Scale (which one of my friends refuses to use)
    Friends with BGEs and myriad other fired devices (currently unavail IRL)
    Occasional access to a KBQ and Webber Kettle
    Charcuterie and sourdough enthusiast
    Prosciuttos in an undisclosed location

    Austin, TX
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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 17,192
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    SciAggie said:
    @20Stone I haven’t purchased my lifetime supply of pink butcher paper from CGS. Is there an acceptable alternative?
    This is the reason I don’t wrap in paper. I don’t want to store 1000yds of it. 
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  • 20stone
    20stone Posts: 1,961
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    DoubleEgger said:
    SciAggie said:
    @20Stone I haven’t purchased my lifetime supply of pink butcher paper from CGS. Is there an acceptable alternative?
    This is the reason I don’t wrap in paper. I don’t want to store 1000yds of it. 
    Five years in, I think I am down to my last 750, and that's with me giving it to everyone I know that cooks brisket
    (now only 16 stone)

    Joule SV
    GE induction stove
    Gasser by the community pool (currently unavailable)
    Scale (which one of my friends refuses to use)
    Friends with BGEs and myriad other fired devices (currently unavail IRL)
    Occasional access to a KBQ and Webber Kettle
    Charcuterie and sourdough enthusiast
    Prosciuttos in an undisclosed location

    Austin, TX
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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 17,192
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    20stone said:
    DoubleEgger said:
    SciAggie said:
    @20Stone I haven’t purchased my lifetime supply of pink butcher paper from CGS. Is there an acceptable alternative?
    This is the reason I don’t wrap in paper. I don’t want to store 1000yds of it. 
    Five years in, I think I am down to my last 750, and that's with me giving it to everyone I know that cooks brisket
    Hard to believe that no one has started selling individual pieces for a brisket prepackaged for $1.99. 
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  • GalanteNate_OneEa
    GalanteNate_OneEa Posts: 967
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    Paper...but just cause I watched a video that told me so.
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  • Woodchunk
    Woodchunk Posts: 911
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    SAMs club carries the white.
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  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 16,989
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    nekkid
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,407
    edited December 2017
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    Give the below video a look regarding brisket outcomes:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnRRDSYgdmw 
    Paper if you have the bark set like you want it and still are not across the finish-line; foil to punch it home and finish the cook with a dead-line (sacrificing the bark along the way).  You can remove from the  foil and tighten the bark should your schedule permit.  Nekked if all is running well and you are lazy (like me).  FWIW-
    Edit:  You can buy smaller butcher paper quantities thru Franklin's web-site but you will pay a premium.  
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,970
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    https://youtu.be/lnRRDSYgdmw
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,970
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    This one is long but a pretty comprehensive review of foil vs paper. Just play around with it and see which one you like.

    https://youtu.be/-88rTFaynAQ
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 10,769
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    Ok, I will Be the odd man out...Foil, softer bark is fine with me, I wrap based upon how the cook is going towards my desired finish time and use foil as my throttle...I have used and still have paper, but it does not seem ( to me ) to give it the speed push...
    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,970
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    FWIW, the 2nd best brisket in austin (Valentina’s) is done in foil over mesquite. It’s absolutely incredible.

    There are a lot of ways to do it right so find what you like and get good at that. 
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
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    Neither.  Good quality beef and nekkid.
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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