Just had a chat with an old pitmaster that flipped my thinking on brisket wrap timing

I was out at the Franklin BBQ line in Austin last weekend and got to talking with a guy who's been cooking comps for 20 years. He said wrapping at 165 is just a number people repeat, but you should actually wait until the bark sets and the fat cap starts feeling like soft butter, which for him is usually around 175-180. I always thought earlier was better for speed, but he showed me pictures of his last cook where the bark stayed crunchy all through the hold... made me want to try it my next smoke. You folks ever adjusted your wrap temp based on feel instead of the thermometer?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliot_king27d ago

Read a post on one of the smoking forums where a competition cook said the same thing. He called it the "jiggle test" where you poke the fat cap and if it feels like a water balloon you're good to wrap. Tried it on my last pork butt and it came out way better than when I just wrapped at 165. The bark actually stayed on instead of turning into mush.

skylerw8727d ago

Oh dang, that's a really good point about the bark. So when you did the jiggle test, about what temp did that end up being for you? I've seen some folks say it hits around 175-180 for them but my last brisket took until almost 195 before it felt right. Just curious if your pork butt was anywhere in that range or if it varies that much between cuts.