should I wrap my mothers day pork butt?
 

Been doing pork butts about a year now, dont them foiled and unfoiled. When they are foiled they definitely cook quicker, but I like the crispy bark on the unwrapped. is there any reason to wrap other than time? does it make the butt juicier or add flavor? if not I would rather leave unwrapped and get a good bark. If wrapping does make the meat better would it be bad to leave unwrapped until 160 then wrap to 190 or so then unwrap and finish on the pit? any help would be appreciated.

thanks

I do my butts without wrapping and I cook at 300 on the grate cooks avrerage 50 min lb best of both fast cook & good bark.

+1....he converted me and I have been doing hot and fast no foil ever since. In my opinion, the bark is best when not foiled, and mine are also always very moist inside.

I foil once they get the color I like. I cook butts Low and Slow though. My way of thinking is Hot and Fast is great for chicken but for BBQ, if your in a hurry, ya should've started your fire earlier.

Lately I have wrapped mine at 160-165 till the bone falls out.....for me that seems to work.....

Sometimes I wrap. Sometimes I don't. Hope this helps......

I like the bark of no foil better, but I like the juices that are saved in the foil that I pour back into the shredded pork. Next one I do, I may try putting a pan on the shelf underneath the butt to see if I can get the best of both worlds.

besides saving time, is there any other benefit to wrapping?

I usually go unwrapped and target the pit temp to between 300-325 degrees... Probably a little hotter than some would agree with, but I can get consistent results.

I have an uncle that does the 270-280 degree thing and then wraps to finish, etc. etc. etc. He goes to festivals and such and cooks and does fairly well... However, when something needs to be cooked for a family get together or someone wants something smoked around here, they always come to me for it and claim my flavor is superior.

Don't know if panning or wrapping alters the flavor that much or not or if it is just a texture thing, but for whatever reason the folks around here prefer non-foiled.

Its a way to introduce different flavors into the meat.

Dont get me wrong , There are times I dont foil and just want pork & bark. thats good too.

The last butt i did I tried two new things. First, I injected with apple juice and cider vinegar. Second, I put a pan underneath with a little of my vinegar sauce so the drippings don't burn. I was left with about 4 cups of juicey goodness to pour back into the pork after pulling. I only poured 2 cups back in.

I will always add these two steps from now and forever.

My method- No foil, 250-275* till done.

I wouldn't even know if we have foil in the house or not.

Yeah, I think I'm trying that on my next butt cook. Did you do the pan from the beginning or do it around 160 when others usually foil? I'm cooking on a UDS and I think I'll probably try introducing the pan around 160-170 to get some drippings.

Next smoke try three similar sized butts, one wrapped, one not wrapped and one wrapped 160-190 then unwrapped. Answer your own question based on your tastes and sense of texture.