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How long to smoke brisket Texas crutch
If you’re wondering how long to smoke a brisket using the Texas crutch method, you have come to the right place.
Let’s first get something straight, The Texas crutch is the process of wrapping a piece of barbecue, in this case a piece of brisket, entirely in foil.
This helps retain a lot of the moisture within the meat and increase the internal temperature.
By helping increase the internal temperature, it can be a common method used by many to push a piece of BBQ past the stall.
The stall is basically once the internal temperature flat lines for a long period of time between 150°F in 170°F.
Usually, this period Lasts about 2 to 3 hours.
That is usually the length of time that many seem to consider only wrapping their brisket with the Texas crutch method.
What temperature do you use the Texas crutch on brisket?
You should always be considering the Texas crutch once your brisket reaches an internal temperature of 150°F.
At that point in the cook, the internal temperature will begin to flatline and will take quite a bit longer than usual if you don’t wrap it.
By wrapping at that specific temperature, you can always try and negate any unnecessary length of time for your cooking of your brisket.
When to wrap brisket in foil
Since it takes about 3 to 4 hours to reach the point of temperature that you should be wrapping, that is the length of time that you need to wait to first wrap the brisket in foil.
Foil wrapped brisket in oven
Wrapping your brisket in foil as it is in the oven, is basically the same thing as using the Texas crutch on a brisket in a smoker.
Just because you are cooking a brisket in an oven, does not mean that anything is different between the two cookers.
As you begin to cook your brisket in the oven, just follow the same advice as you would otherwise.
Once the internal temperature reaches 150°F, start wrapping it in foil until it pushes past 170°F.
After that point, feel free to unwrap it or leave it wrapped throughout the rest of the cook.
Texas Crutch temperature
There is a very specific temperature range that you should be using the Texas crutch.
The range is 150°F to 170°F. Most people start wrapping their brisket at the bottom of that range, and then promptly unwrap their brisket once it basically pushes past stall at 170°F.
Once you’re able to nail this down, it can be quite easy to manipulate the internal temperature in your brisket and create very efficient and quick cooks going forward.
Final thoughts
The overall length of time that you should be wrapping your brisket using the Texas crutch is about 2 to 3 hours because that is the length of time it takes for the internal temperature to push past 150°F to 170°F.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.