Tin Foil

[RobinC]

I tend not to foil pork butts unless I'm behind schedule. It's not that I'm anti foiling pork butts its just I'm happy with the results I'm getting without the foil so don't bother with that stage. Brisket and ribs I will always foil simply because I think this reduces the chances of the end result being too dry.

I had a cook earlier in the year when cooking multiple butts that I had to foil one of them to push it along time wise. The foil didn't go on until the bark had already formed and the butt was somewhere in the stall stage. Comparing the end results the bark on the foiled butt was a little softer. Having said that we're only talking a little bit different and if I'd been doing blind testing I think I would have been hard pressed to identify the foiled butt.

[Tiny]

Hi,
I tend to rub up very heavy and get a very hard bark on the beast, the foiling definitely softens it but it is still pretty solid. I do unfoil at the end to dry the exterior out a little.

All of my bbq has been done at home and I have not experienced any competition bbq. What I call "bark" is a chewy exterior of my pork that is probably the thickness of a well cut bacon rasher and eats a bit like a piece of jerky. hard yet chewy.

The informed may sample my "bark" and mock itas flaccid, and no chap wants to hear that, but for me foiling leaves a suitably challenging crust that is top tasty.

Cheers
Tiny

[derekmiller]

Nice one Tiny.

[PeanutZA]

That frankly, is the only way you could describe it to put me off wanting to sample your bark.

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[Swindon_Ed]

do you have any method for ensuring the bark isn't softened?

Cook the pork butt for 8-10hrs unwrapped to set the bark, wrap the butt in foil as tight as you can, you don't want any air pockets, and then once the butt is cooked, unwrap the foil for 15 minutes and as it sits in the air the bark will harden back up.