Why the towel?

funk49 · July 2010

I have seen a few people use a towel and cooler after pulling things off the egg. Why?
Is the towel necessary if you are putting it into a cooler? I know the cooler will keep it warm. So why the towel? Please forgive my stupidity. I'm still a rookie and I'm going to try a chuck shoulder roast.
It only cost me a dollar.(won it) so if it screws up, I won't loose any sleep over it. I'm also thinking of doing a pork tenderloin at the same time. How would you go about it? Or shouldn't I do them both at the same time. Thanks

The Naked Whiz · July 2010

The towel provides more insulation to keep the meat warmer for a longer period of time.

funk49 · July 2010

Thanks, that is what i figured. Another stupid question. Why do you want to keep it warmer for a longer period of time?

Florida Grillin Girl · July 2010

Some people need to hold the meat until a later serving time.

I would cook the pork tenderloin separately from the chuck roast. It is a very lean meat, and it does really well with a higher quick cook over direct heat.

Faith

bobbyb · July 2010

I believe that things like pork butt or shoulder or brisket benefit by holding them in a cooler for several hours.

Rascal · July 2010

As has been said, a towel (or two) insulates the meat. Some even put heated bricks (wrapped in aluminum foil) in the cooler as well. The idea is to keep the meat out of the 40-140 range (danger zone) as much as possible. Happy cookin'!!~~

Grandpas Grub · July 2010

Holding meat after a cook provides a 'rest period' for the juices to redistribute throughout the cut as well as making a cut of meat easier to cut. I cook to food temperature and sometimes there is a pretty big difference between done time and eating time, I use the rest period for the gap in time.

This may be of interest to you - Letting Meat Rest After Cooking

A lot of people use foil then into a cooler. I don't use the cooler because the wrapped meat has to get the air space inside the cooler warm before there is any advantage to the meat. Some people will put in hot bricks and such. Even getting a cooler out is a pain.

I went to walmart or most any fabric store and picked up 2 yards of fleece (stadium blanket) material. That is usually 52" wide by 6 feet.

Using a blanket eliminates any air space having to be warmed up.

I foil the meat keeping the seam upright and wrap the meat in the blanket (fleece). I just leave the blanket on the counter or put it in the car if traveling. I have kept ribs hot (extremly warm) for 3-4 hours and boston butt hot (hot to touch) for 4 to 6 hours.

You will find there are a lot of ways to do most things, and this just how I hold my food during the rest period.

GG

funk49 · July 2010

Thank you all for the info. I love this place.

Unknown · July 2010

If you don't have a cooler, use a towel to wrap it, if not, I would suspect that wrapping it in a towel AND putting it in a cooler is largely redundant - what is the R-value of a towel anyway?

Any way you pull it though, wrapping it in a towel AND putting in in the cooler isn't going to hurt it.

I wouldn't go rushing out to buy a towel if you already have a cooler you can throw it in.

Rascal · July 2010

Thanks for the enlightment!!

Unknown · July 2010

No problem. Details matter (well, except in this case

)

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker · July 2010

wrapping it well (not simply "a towel") would slow the loss of heat to the air in the cooler. and then the cooler stops the loss of that heat to the outside.

i have small cooler (size of a six-pack), so there's not a lot of air to begin with, so yeah, the towel would be inconsequential i guess. but if you had a big cooler, it would help

civil eggineer · July 2010

I also preheat the cooler with hot water for 15 minutes prior to placing the wrapped meat in. You can hold meat very hot for 4+ hours if need be.

WooDoggies · July 2010

One major reason for using a towel inside a cooler I didn't see listed is the towel will protect the inside of the cooler from melting or warping. Butts and briskets will stay very hot for a long time and if there is no insulating barrier between the meat and cooler wall, it will melt the inside... I've seen it happen several times at competitions.

Newspaper or cardboard will work just fine as an insulating layer, too.

john

Unknown · July 2010

Really? I would have thought that the butt wouldn't be more than 250 on the outside which is far below the melting point of the plastic.

Unknown · July 2010

PS obviously you want some sort of barrier like aluminum foil because you don't want to foul the cooler. You need it for beer later after all...

Rascal · July 2010

This Thread Is Too Funny!!

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker · July 2010

my beer cooler has the imprint of the towel itself melted into it... wrapped a brick in with the butt once (first time i used it actually), and the brick (at 250 dome temp) melted the plastic THROUGH the towel.

WooDoggies · July 2010

Cross my heart and hope to die.

john

Unknown · July 2010

That really surprises me. I stand corrected.

Unknown · July 2010

i poured a pot of boiling water into one of mine to preheat it.. serious warpage of the plastic,, not quite ruined but close
bill

The Naked Whiz · July 2010

See page 9: The Technology of Terry Towel Production

WooDoggies · July 2010

Would loved to have seen the expression on your face when you discovered that..... ahhhhhhh, the smell of pork and melting plastic.

john

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker · July 2010

melted a little hole and now that cooler smells of pork to this day.

Unknown · July 2010

melted a little hole and now that cooler smells of pork to this da

I like your 'glass half full' way of thinking.:)

thechief96 · July 2010

Doesn't sound like a bad thing to me.

Mainegg · July 2010

which is kinda a big tease :( smelling like pulled pork and none for the belly..........

Why the towel?

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