substitute FTC by vac seal?

[Toker]

Just need to free my mind from this question pls dont make fun of it pls :D (eventhough i know nobody will) when every body say ftc after cooking can i just vac seal instead? Will it gives the same result? Never ftc only vac seal so far thx

[FLBentRider]

IMHO, FTC accomplishes a couple of different things:

1. It allows you to keep the food hot and serve it when you want.

2. It allows the meat to "coast" down to serving temperature, retaining as much moisture as possible.

I have put pork butts in FTC for five hours and when I took it out, it was still too hot to pull..

Vac seal - I have never tried that on hot food.

How did it turn out ?

[Toker]

Frankly i always let it cool before vac seal it. On a vac seal tupperware until its cool enough to vac seal.

[Habanero Smoker]

I rarely FTC, because I generally smoke my food ahead of time. When my product is finished, I loosely tent with foil, wait until it has rested and cooled, and then prepare it for storage; such as vacuum sealing. Except with brisket, which I will splash with beef broth, tightly wrap in foil only, and let it rest until it is cool enough to handle.

If your meat is coming out of the smoker the way you like it, and there is no need to hold it at a given temperature until it will be served, then I would say you don't need to FTC. It couldn't hurt to give it a try to see if it makes any difference.

[Toker]

ok but in general it says to wait a couple of days before eating smoked food because the smoked has to penetrate inside the meat thats why i even vac seal my brisket (but i stop before crushing the meat) i only wait to let it cool to reduce the amount of moisture and to solidifiate the reminig fat to make it easyly vac sealable. But i admit to sometime vac seal it with foil to make it much solide to vac seal break less this way and can vac seal much tight this way. Did not see any change on the tast however. I eat most of my meat 2-3 days later. Cause im alone in my appart i dont make hugh batchs at the same time, sometime i make 2-3 pieces eat one and freeze the rest.

This is how i proceed.

[Habanero Smoker]

That's one of the main reason I smoke/cook my food ahead of time. I find that it gives the flavors time blended, and the food tastes much better.

One caution about using aluminum foil to wrap smoked meats. I've found that if the foil is in contact with the meat for a lengthy period of time, the acids produced by the smoke and the salts that are part of the rub will cause the foil begin to deteriorate. As a precaution, I use a layer of plastic wrap before I wrap in foil.

[Toker]

ah...ok if you say so never thought thx for the warning brother. :D

[iceman]

That's one of the main reason I smoke/cook my food ahead of time. I find that it gives the flavors time blended, and the food tastes much better.

One caution about using aluminum foil to wrap smoked meats. I've found that if the foil is in contact with the meat for a lengthy period of time, the acids produced by the smoke and the salts that are part of the rub will cause the foil begin to deteriorate. As a precaution, I use a layer of plastic wrap before I wrap in foil.

I wish the co op extensions and such would tell more folks about this Hab. Thanks for bringing this up.

[Piker]

Being very new at this smoking stuff and the terminology please tell me what FTC stands for. thks Dave

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

Piker,

Welcome to the forum. For me, I Fill The Cup with my favorite adult beverage, then Follow The Chicks...   :D

Actually, it is Foil, Towel, Cooler. This is taking your stuff out of the smoker, wrapping in foil, then wrapping it in a towel, then throwing it into a cooler. Keeps it hot for hours while you get everything else in sync. A good time buffer.

Arcs_n_Sparks

[Piker]

thanks very much wonderful forum I am enjoying it very much and learning lots thks again Dave