Did I just ruin my brisket by switching from paper to foil this late in the game?

I've been wrapping my packers in butcher paper for like 5 years now, always got good bark and decent moisture. But last weekend I was out of paper and my buddy swore by foil so I tried it on a 15 pound prime brisket from Costco. Wrapped it at 165, pulled at 203, let it rest for 2 hours. The bark was soft and mushy, not crisp at all. My family still ate it but I was disappointed. When did you switch methods and what made you stick with it?

3 comments

3 Comments

jadej501mo ago

Actually you didn't really "switch" methods since it was a one-time thing. You just ran out of paper and used what you had. That's different than actually deciding foil is better. The soft bark makes sense though. Foil traps all that steam and basically braises the meat instead of letting it breathe like paper does.

lewis.mila1mo ago

Oh man, that's a really good point. I never thought about it like that with the steam vs. breathing thing, but it totally makes sense now.

paulw531mo ago

But wait, the real difference nobody's talking about is the heat conductivity. Foil reflects heat back into the meat way more than paper does, so you're actually cooking the outside faster while the inside stays cooler. That's why you get that weird texture sometimes where the bark is done but the middle is still raw. Paper lets heat pass through more evenly, so your whole piece cooks at a more consistent rate.