Plastic Butt eggperiment

Susan Egglaine

7/2/08 rubbed 2-8# butts, one with Elder Ward, one wtih an Emerald rub , wrapped both in plastic wrap
7/3/08 butts went on at 10:30 p.m. plate setter, drip pan, apple juice 250 dome
I left the Emerald butt in the plastic and wrapped in foil. At a recent BBQ event someone said he had heard of people doing this but had not tried it. Would the plastic burn or stick to the butt?
3:30 temp was at 200 bumped it back up to 250
@ 7:30 a.m. the temp was at 275 got it back down a little where it stayed for hours
@ 9:00a.m. the plastic/foil butt was at 174 the unfoiled butt was at 145
3:30 plastic/foil butt hit 194 I pulled it, the plastic did not stick, falling apart, very moist!
@10:00p.m. the unfoiled butt was still at 172 I bumped it up over 300 degrees
@ midnight the temp was 186 (on over 24 hours)I pulled it went and threw it in the fridge and went to bed (getting up one night to check on butts is fun but not two nights
I check both butts with different thermometers to make sure I was getting accurate readings
Going to do a blind test later to see which one we like better

Mike in Abita

I am eagerly awaiting the results portion of this post. I'm assuming with it being wrapped in plastic a drip pan may not be necessary?

Thanks

Susan Egglaine

-split decison on the moistness
-all 4 agreed the plastic wrapped Emerald butt was best for flavor
-yes, my dome therometer was off 30 degrees
-how often do you need to check this?
-HAD FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

reelgem

I wouldn't recommend the plastic. It has chemicals in it and when it's heated they are leached out into the food. There's been a lot of hype of the use of plastics in microwaves, etc. Especially plastic water bottles after they sit in a hot car. The egg does such a great job of keeping things moist without the plastic. Just some info to think about when cooking. Look delicious though, great job!

TNmike

Looks like the 'plastic butt' is barkless. I love the bark mixed in so will probably not use the plastic method. It is interesting though and would have never thought that method. Thanks for the info.

lowercasebill

i agree with reelgem but i would be a bit more 'blunt' in my plastic wrap ain't good for you. maybe one of our canadian friends will chime in here but i believe they just outlawed lots of plastic used for food and water.
when i cook in the microwave and want steam i use a glass bowl as a lid.
does look tasty though.
bill
p.s. i trust you served that in home made buns

Susan Egglaine

Thanks guys! I never thought about plastic food wrap being bad for you :(
I am just an eggspert on hot dog buns. :laugh: Have not tried round buns. (yet)

Beli

Great experimenting something new Susan..let us know how both went. Good luck!!

Fidel

Another internet rumor:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cookplastic.asp

http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update0706a.shtml

http://www.plasticsinfo.org/s_plasticsinfo/sec_level2_faq.asp?CID=703&DID=2837#2

Fidel

I had heard of this method and it is interesting to see your post and results.

My question is, what is the benefit of doing the butt this way in the egg? Do you get any smoke flavor? It looks like there is no bark, which I like a lot, but I don't see how any smoke flavor could be imparted this way.

Maybe mix the meat from the two butts for the best of both worlds.

Susan Egglaine

I just had a day off and wanted to try something new. I mixed wood chips through out the coal. The smoke flavor seemed to be about the same in each. ??
No bark- which I like also! Off tomorrow too, anything else fun/diffferant to try. rainig here, but we need it

Slotmercenary

Fidel,
you beat me to it. you gotta love Snopes.com for taking the wind out of the sails of rumors.
But wait "it must be true" cause it was on the internet.......
the food service industry would go out of business without plastic. HA HA HA ......

You know i also heard that wrapping food in Aluminum foil makes your teeth hurt. and if you eat anything smoked on a second wednesday you will become sterile...