Page 19 - Barbecue News Magazine September 2021

Practically all the top competitive barbecue teams use the Texas crutch for brisket, ribs, and pork shoulder (butt). It prevents the stall, speeds up cooking, and retains moisture. And it wins trophies. Based on winning results and Blonder’s data, you may want to wrap pork shoulders and beef briskets in heavy duty foil or butcher paper at about 150 to 170°F. By then, the meat has absorbed as much smoke as it can (cold meat attracts more smoke than warm meat). If you wrap the meat then, it powers right through the stall on a steady curve and takes much less time. It also retains more juice. And you’ll get it done in time for dinner. But wrap it tight! If there are leaks, it might still stall.
Keep in mind: Once you remove wrapped meat from the foil and place it back on the cooker, the meat temp will drop. Out of the wrapper, the moist surface will begin evap- orating and cooling almost immediately. That's why it's best to take your meat up to its target temp, about 203°F, before you unwrap it. Otherwise, it could drop to as low as 175°F after unwrapping.
There is another advantage to the crutch. If you did not use too much salt, the liquid “purge” or “drip loss” from the crutch can be used in a sauce or as a jus.
Why did I say you "may" want to wrap the meat? For some cooks, there is a problem with the crutch. The meat does not develop a hard chewy bark on the exterior. A lot of us love those crunchy shards of flavor (yes, please!). If you want a hard bark, the solution is to pull the meat out of the foil when it hits 203°F or so, and hit it with direct heat on a hot grill to dry the exterior.
There is also a third way. The old fashioned way. Skip the foil and the high cooking temps. Just grab a beer and wait it out. Either way, the results will be superb.
Meathead is the barbecue whisperer who founded Amazin- gRibs.com, by far the world's most popular outdoor cooking website. A member of the Barbecue Hall of Fame, he is the author of "Meathead, The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling," a New York Times Best Seller that was also named one of the "100 Best Cookbooks of All Time" by Southern Living magazine. This article was excerpted and modified from his book and website. For 2,000+ free pages of great barbecue and grilling info, visit AmazingRibs.com and take a free trial in the Pitmaster Club.
SEPTEMBER 2021
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