There was some talk on another tread about this thing that has become know as the "Texas Crutch", which essentially means to wrap your meat in foil for part of its cooking time. I didnt want to hijack that thread, but I thought that this was an interesting topic.
Personally, I have never understood the reference to wrapping in foil as a "Crutch". In my opinion, unless a person is doing bbq by draping meat over a rudementry support system of roughly hewn sticks over a pit dug in the ground full of wood that has been burned down to embers, then they are using crutches. Our fancy metal welded "pits"(half of which are tuned to the point that they may as well be ovens), are crutches. Our thermometers are crutches. I doubt that our ansesters gloved up before slicing a brisket with a knife sharpened by a laser on plastic cutting board resting on a stainless steel table. Personally, I LIKE crutches as they relate to bbq...they make things safer,cleaner, easier, and most importantly, more accessible to more people. If the only way to create great Q was to undergo years of exhaustive apprenticeship, there would be a lot less great food out there.
Personally, I have never understood the reference to wrapping in foil as a "Crutch". In my opinion, unless a person is doing bbq by draping meat over a rudementry support system of roughly hewn sticks over a pit dug in the ground full of wood that has been burned down to embers, then they are using crutches. Our fancy metal welded "pits"(half of which are tuned to the point that they may as well be ovens), are crutches. Our thermometers are crutches. I doubt that our ansesters gloved up before slicing a brisket with a knife sharpened by a laser on plastic cutting board resting on a stainless steel table. Personally, I LIKE crutches as they relate to bbq...they make things safer,cleaner, easier, and most importantly, more accessible to more people. If the only way to create great Q was to undergo years of exhaustive apprenticeship, there would be a lot less great food out there.