Why Do You Wrap A Brisket In A Towel?

A brisket is a piece or chunk of meat obtained from the pectoral or breast region of a cow near its front legs. Because muscles in this area of the body are frequently exercised, the meat from this part is therefore exceptionally tough and may need prolonged boiling and heating when cooking. Now, why is it common for briskets to be wrapped in a towel?

People commonly wrap brisket portions of meat in a towel because it keeps the meat both moist and tender too. Due to its excessive strength, brisket is a kind of a fickle beast, so to say.

Consequently, it requires to be smoked for a very long time so that the fat and collagen content in it will break down. However, if you cook it for too long, there is a tendency that it can start to become dry.

This is where wrapping comes in, which will keep the meat warm, moist, and tender for easy consumption. In addition, people mostly wrap brisket portions of meat in foils or towels because many recipes or methods of preparing it demands that you wrap it closely in these items.

This will permit juices to get properly redistributed and generally assist in making them comparatively tender in the final product.

Additionally, wrapping a brisket is easily capable of eliminating air into which the moisture content can vaporize. It is as well to appreciate the fact that a film of brisket juice surrounds its surface, and this juice is maintained hot due to the hot air that circulates in the smoker or oven.

Consequently, the less the air that circulates the meat, the hotter it is likely to become as well. Another alternative way of wrapping a brisket is to hold it in a dry cooler packed full of towels. If you wrap your brisket, you can easily transfer it from the cooker to a cooler with negligible or no mess at all.

When it comes to wrapping a chunk of brisket, all you require is a cooler, strips of tin foil, and a few bits of the towel. You should pull the fully cooked brisket from the grill.

Thereafter, wrap it in aluminium foil, or better still, you can use waxes and butcher paper to allow some airflow around the meat.

This will certainly help in maintaining its crusty exterior. When you keep your brisket in a towel or an aluminium foil, it will maintain it for a long period and in improved condition too.

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Is it safe to wrap the brisket in a towel?

Yeah, it is certainly very safe to wrap up your brisket in a towel or aluminium foil. First, this enables you to cook this tough meat much easier and faster.

Second, by wrapping your brisket in a towel, you are sure that it will retain its texture, flavour, and all other qualities it has.

Finally, it will also be more nutritious because all its juices must have circulated its tissues very well. Consequently, it is both safe and nutritive to keep your brisket wrapped in a foil or towel because it also prevents access to the stored meat by bacteria and other harmful microbes.

When wrapped, you can easily transfer your piece of brisket from the cooker to a cooler without the fear of creating any mess too. So, yes, it is very safe to wrap the brisket in a towel.

How do I wrap the brisket in a towel?

It is very easy to wrap the brisket in a towel. However, if you must do that correctly, there is a sequence you should adopt. To wrap a towel around a brisket, you require some tin foils as well as a few pieces of towel too.

First, you should remove the cooked piece of meat from the grill. Next, wrap the piece of meat in aluminium foil. It is now time for you to swaddle a few old towels together around the wrapped meat before placing it in an ice chest.

Finally, close the lid of the ice chest, leave it alone for a few hours depending on its size. Larger chunks of meat should be left for longer.

When wrapping your brisket, it is highly recommended that you wrap it with a touch of salt. This will add efficiency to the whole process because salt is both bactericidal and bacteriostatic.

What happens if you don’t wrap the brisket in a towel?

Failing or refusing to wrap your brisket in a towel may cause certain changes in it which you will not desire, such as alteration in taste, texture, and flavour.

If you wrap your brisket in a foil or towel, you cause certain things to happen. One, you are eliminating the air into which moisture can evaporate.

Again, a sort of film of juice surrounds its surface, and these juices maintain it hot due to the hot air moving around in the smoker.

Therefore, when you refuse to wrap it, you are retaining the air around the meat into which the juices that can maintain your meat hot will be lost.

Your meat can change in taste, texture, and even appeal to the sight, as a result.  It is therefore much better to keep your brisket fully wrapped at all times.

However, you should know that the less the air that circulates the meat, the hotter it is bound to become. In addition, if you are not in a hurry to finish your piece of meat, you can choose to cook it unwrapped.

After all, it’s your meat, and you are at liberty to use it as best you wish. Although you should know that when you refuse to wrap your brisket, it will take more barrage from smoke, it will also become thicker, and with a drier bark on the outside of the meat itself.

What type of towel can I use to wrap a brisket?

Preferably, your brisket should be wrapped in a towel that will keep it hot for very long hours and also with a well-preserved taste too without any denaturation.

Consequently, you should wrap it in a few old towels and aluminium foil as tightly as possible, but the kind of towel you should use in wrapping it has to be very breathable and is supposed to trap less steam also, thereby keeping it moist during processing in the kitchen without necessarily making the barking kind of soggy. This is the type of towel you need to wrap the brisket in.

What else can be used to wrap a brisket?

The most popular item used in wrapping brackets is a piece of towel. Although this cannot be properly done if there is no breathable paper as well as an aluminium foil which will both allow the retention of moisture to keep it hot for long and also to ensure that it does not develop changes in taste or smell.

Therefore, other items in which you wrap brisket are aluminium foil and special breathable paper meant for this purpose.

FAQs

Should you marinate brisket?

Yes, you should marinate brisket. When you marinate brisket, it breaks down its tough fibres, this will help to make it as tender as possible.

Advisedly, you should marinate your brisket for a period of less than about 2 hours. However, most brisket tissues require to be marinated overnight, and so the enterprise needs adequate preparation.

To make your brisket more tender, make sure that you treat it with lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, or any type of acid-based marinade.

If you want to use a rub on the meat, apply it at least one hour before you smoke the meat, but whatever you do, allow the brisket to come to room temperature before you cook it.

Should you want to rub the dry marinade on your brisket, first, wrap it up tight before putting it in a refrigerator for several hours. Typically, some chunks of brisket may have to be smoked for about 3 to 4 hours especially the fat side at about 250 degrees.

Should you soak a brisket?

Yeah, it is very good to soak your brisket for innumerable reasons. Soaking of brisket is commonly referred to as brining, and after brining your brisket, it becomes moist, tender, and loaded with flavour too.

Brining should be done before smoking, and this will assist the meat to retain its moisture content during the period of cooking. However, when the meat is fully cooked, the moisture will be drawn out and it will evaporate off.

Why Do You Wrap A brisket In A Towel – Conclusion

Brisket is the meat from the pectoral and breast side of a cow that suffers more physical activity than any other part of its body. Consequently, the meat around the brisket is very tough and hence requires diligent cooking to prepare.

For best results, brisket portions should be wrapped in a towel or aluminium foil. Doing this will retain the texture, flavour, and taste of your brisket as well as make tender enough for eating comfortably.