The Legendary Texas Crutch - Foil

They can have my foil when they pry it from my "Cold.......Dead.......Hand"s :boxing:

nailed it!

being a newbie to this forum, i must say that Bamabuzzard nailed this topic!

i never heard of this 'crutch' but can see its merits (but not sure how you'd get that which i crave...bark!)

bbq is the end result...and the journey is supposed to be a culinary adventure to be shared with as many friends as possible!

Bamabuzzard said:

I don't foil because I don't want to nor do I need. When I bbq I'm in no rush to "get it done" in a certain amount of time and I can attain the same tenderness without it. So I really don't need it. But many do and I see nothing "wrong" with it. The most important thing is the final product and having a good time. If both are accomplished then what can be "wrong" about that?

People need to lighten up a bit. This is bbq not frickin' Bible Theology. :tsk:

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I never used foil and I looked down my nose at the little people who did. I pitied their misguided misuse of foil.... Then I slept late one day and didn't get my butt and ribs on until 2PM.... If we were going to eat that night, I had to do something!

Having read that meat stops taking on smoke at about 165*, I figured that the smoker is just a clumsy oven after that point. I sucked in my pride and foiled my butt and my ribs.... Considered leaving them on the smoker.... and took them inside to the kitchen oven and cooked them the rest of the way at 300 in foil! :disgust: But, brothers, though I sinned on that day, my Q was ready on time and my bark came back after an extra 20 minutes in the oven out of the foil. I sinned and it was good.

I promised myself to keep it a secret...and I have to this day. I even built a privacy fence to hide my shame every time I cook after sleeping in...which I do a lot now.

RevZiLLa said:

... and took them inside to the kitchen oven and cooked them the rest of the way at 300 in foil! :disgust: But, brothers, though I sinned on that day, my Q was ready on time and my bark came back after an extra 20 minutes in the oven out of the foil. I sinned and it was good.

I promised myself to keep it a secret...and I have to this day. I even built a privacy fence to hide my shame every time I cook after sleeping in...which I do a lot now.

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excellent story! interesting to know that the bark was reincarnated...

like i said, the end resut is good q...period!

I say to each there own. I've had successes and failures both with and without foil. What you are cooking, how you are cooking, where you are cooking, the weather you are cooking in, and so much more... sometimes you have to and sometimes you don't. An usually its just about your technique, what you are most comfortable with.

None of the old cookers I grew up around ever thought of using foil, so I didn't have any idea it was a tool until I found this forum. Until I started using it, my que was always inconsistent and unpredictable. Once I learned about how to use it from the brethren, my product improved immensely and became much more consistently good (would never claim great). I aspire to become one of those great pitmasters who don't have to use it, but I am currently working through what I would term my "foil period" on the way to learning how to do without. (I am from Texas, BTW.) At the moment, I rank it along with Thermapens, remote thermos, and my IQ110 as things I never knew about in my pre-brethren days but I don't want to be without when smoking.

Oly thing better than foil are alum pans.