The foil boat wrap is a game changer
Foil wrap? Nah. Butcher paper? No thanks. Give me the Chud Boat.
For the longest time, I felt my briskets were … subpar.
I often struggled with a dry flat in sacrifice of properly cooking the point. I found foil wrapping briskets softened the bark too much. I didn’t like how moist [ewwww he used the word moist!] they were and how the bark would slide off while slicing. I wasn’t much more impressed with my results wrapping in pink butcher paper.
Frankly, I was damn irritated that the king of Texas barbecue meats continued to elude me.
Then, I discovered the foil boat wrapping method, aka the Chud Boat.
This isn’t what solely elevated my brisket cooks, but it’s a large part, and for those of you who are struggling like I once did, I want to share what makes it so great.
But first things first.
What is a foil boat?
It’s a half wrap, of sorts. You leave the top of the brisket exposed while wrapping the bottom and the sides by scrunching up the foil to the edges of the brisket.
I hear it’s the primary wrapping method at Leroy and Lewis, Texas Monthly’s #5 barbecue restaurant in its 2021 Top 50 list. But Bradley Robinson, aka Chuds BBQ, made it popular on his YouTube channel, hence the nickname Chud Boat.
Here’s what Mr. Chuds himself has to say:
“You get the best of [all the wrapping options], meaning all the crispy edges that will be softened by a full wrap of either foil or paper you’re not gonna get with the foil boat. [Brisket in a foil boat is] gonna cook a lot quicker, just like the foil wrap, but because it’s only wrapped on the bottom side, all that steam can escape, yet all the fat rendering out of that thing will be collected at the bottom. And that’s exactly what you want because the bottom is where the toughest meat is.”
Okay, but is it really that much better than the other wrapping methods?
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
I love the crispy bark I get that I never achieved with other wrapping methods. The bark holds together so well when slicing. With the top exposed, you also continue to render the fat cap. At the same time, you’re catching all the juices in the bottom and allowing the flat to confit in a way that maintains the tenderness without allowing it to dry out too much. If you see the sides getting too crispy, you can unscrunch [is that a word?] the side of the boat and cover the meat.
But with all things barbecue, you have to experiment and figure out what works best for you.
Fine. I’ll try it. What advice do you have for me?
I smoke my briskets to 165 degrees internal and then wrap. That’s just as the brisket is hitting the stall and, I’ve found, allows for optimal time for the boat to collect the juices, push through the stall, and develop that crispy bark.