The tallow wrapped thing

BuddyC

Just wondering about the whole tallow wrapping that is the new craze.  I made some smoked tallow last night and was thinking of doing an injection or a just putting some tallow on the butcher paper and wrapping after the stall. I know the injection would make it moist, but it seems like videos show just putting some tallow on the paper makes it moist internally as well. I really don't want to overdo it with fat, so if tallow on the wrap makes a big difference I' might just do that. I guess my question is, does the tallow on the butcher paper somehow penetrate deep into the meat and make it moist, or does the tallow just make the bark more flavorful and juicy with rendered fat?

GregW

Tallow has become a topic of interest for some. I personally would not inject it, however, I don't see any problem with applying it to the brisket surface or butcher paper. As far as the surface applied tallow penetrating the brisket, I don't believe it will. It will however keep the surface moist and prevent it from drying out.
The use of tallow has been a controversial subject for some. If I had tallow, I would give it a try.
With this being said, I'm in central Alabama- far removed from brisket country.

TEXASBGE2018

My thought is that if someone's brisket is getting so dried out that they feel they need to add extra fat to it then they are either trimming too much or cooking to long. Work on proper technique and prep and you won't have issues. I never wrap briskets and haven't had a dried out brisket in years. 

WeberWho

TEXASBGE2018 said:

My thought is that if someone's brisket is getting so dried out that they feel they need to add extra fat to it then they are either trimming too much or cooking to long. Work on proper technique and prep and you won't have issues. I never wrap briskets and haven't had a dried out brisket in years. 

I could see how it could help with select/choice briskets depending on the situation. 

Botch

I would think the tallow would make your paper “vapor-proof”, it wouldn’t penetrate the meat but it would prevent it from drying out further.  And, like foil, it might soften your bark.  

TEXASBGE2018

WeberWho said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

My thought is that if someone's brisket is getting so dried out that they feel they need to add extra fat to it then they are either trimming too much or cooking to long. Work on proper technique and prep and you won't have issues. I never wrap briskets and haven't had a dried out brisket in years. 

I could see how it could help with select/choice briskets depending on the situation. 

Maybe but I use choice briskets 85% of the time and still don't have the issue.

BuddyC

Out of the 15-20 times I have smoked a brisket, I can't claim that I have never had a brisket turn out a bit dryish in the flat. Most times it ranges from good to very good, but I wanted to do something to guarantee moist this time. Everything is worth trying once. In these videos I watch, the people make it seem like the tallow wrap actually made the internal meat juicier, not just kept it from drying out further but maybe the theory of "vapor-proofing" has some validity. 

4TheGrillOfIt

Give it a try and report the results.  I would not inject extra fat into a piece of meat.  I can see a tallow wrap possibly making a difference in an offset cooker where a tremendous amount of dry air is rolling over the meat, but an Egg is quite another matter.