2 Briskets and a Butt

[bundy]

WOW, finally got everybody gone (except two grandboys) so will give the final take on the cook out.

The butt was done in 13 1/2 hours ( IT 187* ) FTC for 8 hours and it was still 143* !!! Turned out great!

THe briskets took about 18 hours to get to 185* FTC for 4 1/2 hours and they were still at 159* and also turned out super!

Again thanks for all the help out there.

[classicrockgriller]

Sounds great! Sure would be nice to see some pics.

Try this link to get your pictures going.
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showpost.php?p=768&postcount=11

;D

[TestRocket]

Glad to hear everything turned out to be good. Congrats!

[bundy]

I understand about the pics, I just really struggle with downloading them, will try harder, appears I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

[classicrockgriller]

If you want help with photobucket let me know, I'll help guide you thru it.

[bundy]

I do CRG, Thanks for the offer.....

[Phantom Smoker]

What does FTC mean?

[NePaSmoKer]

What does FTC mean?

Foil
Towel
Cooler

Foil the meat, wrap the foiled meat in an old towel and place into a cooler such as an Igloo (no ice) Put lid down and let the meat do its thing for a few hours.

If you go to photobucket its pretty easy.    http://photobucket.com/

[classicrockgriller]

I do CRG, Thanks for the offer.....

I'll pm you my #.

[Phantom Smoker]

What does FTC mean?

Foil
Towel
Cooler

Foil the meat, wrap the foiled meat in an old towel and place into a cooler such as an Igloo (no ice) Put lid down and let the meat do its thing for a few hours.


What does that do?

If you go to photobucket its pretty easy.    http://photobucket.com/

[EZ Smoker]

Sorry to be so slow to respond, Phantom Smoker.   FTCing serves 3 purposes.

1.  The reason that low-n-slow is the best way to do briskets and pork butts is because the point is not just to GET the meat to a high internal temp, but the KEEP it at a high internal temp for a long time.   This causes a breakdown of the connective tissue inside the meat, resulting in a juicier, more tender pieces of meat.   So FTCing, keeps the meat at a very high temp, allowing for more breakdown of connective tissue without risking overcooking the meat (or drying it out) by keeping it in the hot oven.  

2.  When meat is cooked, the juices move out toward the surface.  If you cut into it immediately after taking it off the heat, you lose too much juice.   FTCing lets the meat rest so that the juices can redistribute, so that the whole piece of meat is juicy.

3.  When you're planning to eat at 7:00 pm and the brisket you're smoking is going to take anywhere from 18 to 24 hours to cook, how do you know when to put it on so that it will be hot and ready to eat at 7:00 pm?   You don't have to know exactly because FTCing will keep the meat very hot for several hours.  I've FTC'd for 6 hours (because my pork butt finished earlier than I expected) and when I pulled it out of the 6-hour FTC, it was so hot it was burning my fingers.   So I plan on 3.5 hours or so of FTCing for briskets and butts, knowing that I can adjust the FTC time either direction if it doesn't finish cooking when I expect it to.  

If FTC is going to be long, or if the weather is cold, it's best to preheat the cooler with some hot water.  


     

[Phantom Smoker]

Thanks alot. This site is awesome for info. Gonna try a brisket and butt soon.

[bundy]

This last batch I put an old heating pad on top of the towel in the cooler on low and the meat was still 150* almost 6 hours later.