[catfish charlie]

OK, so I go to this BBQ joint in Kentucky last week, and the food was awesome.  Advertised as "Texas" Smoked BBQ.  They were cooking strictly with Hickory wood.  People working there were surprizingly open with me about their process - told me they would smoke Butts from 16~18 hours, and I believe the ribs for 7 or 8.  The ribs were so good I couldn't stop licking my fingers as I ate.  The name of the place was Jucy's, which I assumed was just their way of saying tender and juicy.

As I was getting ready to leave, one of the employees reaches into what looked like a stainless steel food warmer, and pulls out a rack of ribs that looked like it was partially shrink wrapped in a heavy plastic.  It was open or cut open on the top, but definitely plastic shrink wrap that the ribs would not fit thru the hole in the top.

This made me start wondering if they were doing some type of post smoke marinade to get them so moist and as I said finger licking good.  It was lunch time when I was there and I thought for a fleeting moment maybe they were left over from the night before, and somehow the shrink wrapping was to keep them fresh and tender until the next day.  Who knows if what I saw in the plastic would taste like what I had just eaten, but it really made me wonder what story was behind that shrink wrap.

They had been rather open with me and I didn't want to push my luck but inquiring about what may have been one of their real secrets that they don't share so I didn't bother to ask.

Anyone have a clue what I may have been looking at?  I know, this is a strange one.

Thanks in advance for all feedback

Catfish Charlie

[AzJohnnyC]

Wrapping meat after it's done, or vac-sealing them with a food saver will seal in the juices and the meat can baste in it's own juices. It keeps them somewhat fresh for a while. That's my take on it.

[jmcrig]

Charlie, here's a link for a youtube video by Chris Marks that might help answer your question. About 5 minutes in is where he shows wrapping.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cRbJ2wjFoY

[azkitch]

It's a secret, but Chris Marks is teaching a class here later on this year. Don't give anyone this thread address...
http://www.azbarbeque.com/forums/bbq-discussion/bbq-island-bbq-bootcamp-with-chris-marks/
Heck, there's only one spot left...Who's jumping?

[jmcrig]

It's a secret, but Chris Marks is teaching a class here later on this year. Don't give anyone this thread address...
http://www.azbarbeque.com/forums/bbq-discussion/bbq-island-bbq-bootcamp-with-chris-marks/
Heck, there's only one spot left...Who's jumping?

You haven't been on Fartbook yet, it's sold out.

[azkitch]

I never see good stuff like that. People are building armies, fertilizing each other's fields (go ahead. Have fun...*) and passing out hearts and teddy bears, populating their aquariums...I love faceboob. Oh, and who's now friends with whom.
Is that the correct usage of 'whom'?

That's pretty funny. Dense people...

[jmcrig]

Now that we've hijacked Charlies thread. Fartbook is alittle much some days.

[azkitch]

I caught myself, and was modifying while you replied, I believe...

I apologize for being an accessory in the hijack...

[catfish charlie]

Charlie, here's a link for a youtube video by Chris Marks that might help answer your question. About 5 minutes in is where he shows wrapping.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cRbJ2wjFoY

You might have something there.  I'm not sure he comes right out and says it in the video, but the fact that the plastic wrap is being put on before the foil would lead me to believe that this is an intermediate step in the cooking, rather than something being done to preserve a finished product.

Here is the web site of that crazy good BBQ I had

http://www.jucysbar-b-q.com/Special.html

[azkitch]

There's another thread talking about which plastic wraps can withstand the heat of a smoker somewhere in here.
A couple weeks ago, I foiled some ribs I was cooking, and they were massively overdone in 4 hours at 230, while last weekend, I didn't foil pork brisket bone cuts--rib tips on steroids--and they were barely done after nearly 6 hours at 300 coasting to 260 by the end of the cook. The St. Louis cut the week before were 2-1-1, not foiled-foiled-not foiled.