Can fat go thru foil ?

My guess would be "no." I would "think" what is happening is the hot drippings heat up the foil which is in contact with your ambient temperature drip pan thus causing condensation. Just my thoughts though. I am far from being a science major!

I hear ya' Waldo. I don't even line my drip pan anymore. Same thing happens inside the smoker. I can understand it dripping down the smoker walls and getting under the foil liner on the bottom of the smoker, but how does it get under the foil on the smoke deflector?? Same thing happens when I foil a brisket without plastic--it goes right through. And this is HD foil??

Actually, I don't mind the grease getting past the foil liner on the bottom of the smoker, since it still holds all the turned-to-rock drippings. And the grease just wipes right off with a paper towel.

If you're using really salty or acid marinades, they may be eating pinholes in the foil. That's why I went with a stainless drip pan. The disposable ones got holes after a few batches of jerky.

just my 2 cents
but i think what is happening is that capillary action is drawing the hot liquid under the foil kind of like what happens with the .223 m16 and water intrusion. lol dates me huh??
i have never had fat eat thru aluminum but i do run into the pinhole thing that tjr mentions above. i stopped that problem by just putting a piece of film between the brisket and the foil
hope it helps some
jack

Thanks folks, I guess I will just have to adjust and re-strategize my foil use. I do use heavy duty foil (sams club commercial roll), and there is way to much to be condensation, besides it is oil and not water. I held a piece up to the light and could see pin holes, whats up wit dat ?,,lol

This happens to me too but I still line with foil as the majority of drippings go into the pan and the small amount of capillary action or whatever wipes up easily. I think it still saves time in overall cleanup. I did see some on the woodbox cover initially too but I make sure to have at least 1 inch of overlap and wrap it real tight. Have not had any grease on the box cover area on the last few smokes.

Hey Waldo, could you see pinholes before you used it? Or after?

tjr, Before, a new piece just torn off the roll. There is like a crunchy lookin repeating "wave" in the foil. I would say this is a defective roll.

Super Sams has to be cheaper for a reason. Its probably not defective. Its probably just their lower standards in order to keep it cheaper. Try a test with Reynolds heavy duty to see if it is the same way.

Silly question (I have them often)

Why foil the grease pan? I just keep old coffee cans around, empty out the drippings and then wash the pan about once and never...

Only time I have that problem has been with certain brands of foil, even HD.

Smokin'

Foil the drip pan! Why? just dump it, hit with garden hose and some dawn, resmoke.

I foiled it cuz it was my wifes favorite pie pan,glass,heavy, so it wouldnt blow in our South Dakota wind. Which is the main reason I bought a cookshack, wind resistance. theres a reason there arent any trees on the high plains. (pst,, she doesnt allow me to use the pie pan,,lol) soooo I was bein sneeky, got caught!! darn cheap foil. Anyways, Raiderbill you coming to Sturgis ?

I know that acid will eat holes in the foil. Most sauces and marinades have acid in them. We've used disposable aluminum pans with good results, placing the meat in them. The smoke still gets to the meat. We put a rack (like a grid that you cool cookies on) inside the pan and place the meat on it. When you get ready to crutch the meat, you can just cover the pan with foil.
A tip for cleaning the grids (which is a big pain) is to place them in a dark colored trash bag and place the bag in the sun for a day. It softens up the grease and scrubs off easier.
Peggy

quote:

Raiderbill you coming to Sturgis ?

Not this year, in the middle of a murder trial that will go another week or 2.
Several of the locals are leaving this Wednesday which is the group I would have been riding with.