Wrapping briskets in foil at 165 vs letting them ride naked the whole cook, I keep flip flopping
For my first two years I wrapped every brisket in foil once the bark set, right around 165, because that is what a guy at a contest in Amarillo showed me back in 2019. Then last summer I tried leaving two packers totally naked the entire cook on my offset, just spritzing with apple cider vinegar every 45 minutes, and the bark came out way better even if the flat was a touch drier. Now I am stuck somewhere in the middle and honestly I change my mind every single cook. The wrap guys say it saves you from the stall and keeps it juicy, the no wrap guys say foil steams your bark into mush and butcher paper is the only answer. Where do you all land on this, and has anyone actually tested it side by side on the same smoker with the same rub?
Two years of wrapping every single brisket because of one guy at a contest in Amarillo? That is wild to me. You changed your whole game off one conversation and never ran a test on your own pit until last summer. The naked cook gave you better bark, you said so yourself, and the flat was only a touch drier. That sounds like an easy trade to fix with a water pan or a longer rest, not a reason to flip back. Foil at 165 is basically a steam bath, and no amount of contest wisdom changes what physics does to your crust. Run both ways on the same smoker, same rub, same grade of meat, then decide for good.