Well, I can tell you that for me personally, I used to ALWAYS foil when I cooked on WSM's... I DID NOT want too, and I tried without numerous times, but I was NEVER as happy with the end result as when I foiled. That all changed last month when I sold my 22.5 WSM and bought a Pit Barrel Cooker (I am not trying to sell a PBC, just sharing my experience)... I had been convinced by a good number of people that I wouldn't have to foil on a PBC... I tried it, and was blown away! The "toothpick test" is really what shocked me... I popped a TP into the slabs of baby-backs that were just finishing up only to have TONS of juice come squirting out. They were outstanding, and for me, the first unfoiled ribs that I personally have ever been super proud to serve
So my question to those who love the end result of their unfoiled ribs... What was I doing wrong on my WSM? If I had to guess, I would say that I was not cooking them hot-n-fast enough...like 290-310 degrees? The common thing that I am starting to see is those that foil are cooking low-n-slow, and those that do not foil are cooking hot-n-fast... Could there be any truth there???