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I've seen a lot of discussion about foiling after a cook and wondered if anyone other than me has had a problem with this.

The problem I have is that after foiling, by the time it's ready to eat.. I notice many little holes in the foil.. as if something is dissolving the foil.

For instance, a butt.. I coat it with my rub which contains a lot of salt and other common spices.. nothing else that would cause holes by puncture. The foil I use is heavy duty foil from Costco. I doubt it is the salt that is dissolving the foil.. but possibly something in the smoke is acidic???

What I do now is to wrap the butt with heavy duty plastic wrap followed by the foil.
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I foil mine with HD foil and mine doesn't get holes in it. Are you using any vinegar based products? That might do it. After I smoke a picnic or shoulder I foil only long enough fro it to cool down a little, which takes a long time when foiled. Usually about an hour, then I pull and eat......

I'll pay more attention this weekend, as I am planning on smoking another butt.

BTW your wood carvings are magnificent!!! Very nice...what talent!!!

Can't help you with the Hawthorne though..

dan
Smokenque,

I always use a double layer of heavy duty foil and never had a leak, except when I try to pour out the liquid that forms in the bottom of the foil bed. Last time I foiled a pork butt, to my wife's chagrin, I spilled all the juice on the cabinet and floor. Eeker I still can't understand why she didn't offer to clean it up. Smiler
Actually, the question wasn't about leaks.. rather then erosion of the foil.. Kinda brings back a memory.. seems in the late 70's / early 80's there was concern that dissolved aluminum was a cause of Alzheimer's.. I don't know if that is still the thinking.. but the kitchen I worked around back then got rid of all their aluminum pots and pans in favor of stainless. I think this, as in my question, would only have been a problem when cooking ascetic products like tomatoes or other acetic materials like vinegar.. ???

Heck, I don't understant her reluctance to clean it up either.. Wink Sounds like my SWMBO'd in my house too. Sheesh..
Smokenque, I have had that happen to foil as well. Once I had put a couple finsihed butts in one of those cheap disposible aluminum pans and into the fridge a couple days, when I took the butts out the pan bottom had several pitted spots, which made me wonder about the safety of holding food in them. I found this information on the Reynold's foil website - section 2 gives an explaination.

Why does aluminum foil sometimes melt and leave black specks on the food?
Occasionally when aluminum foil comes in contact with a different metal or a food that is highly salted or acidic, small pinholes are formed in the foil. This is a harmless reaction that does not affect the safety of the food. It is difficult to predict, but may occur under the following conditions:

1. When aluminum and a dissimilar metal are in contact in the presence of moisture, an electrolytic reaction may occur causing a breakdown of the aluminum. To avoid this use aluminum, glass, ceramic, plastic or paper containers. Do not cover sterling silver, silverplate, stainless steel or iron utensils with aluminum foil.

2. A similar reaction may occur when salt, vinegar, highly acidic foods or highly spiced foods come in contact with aluminum foil. The result of these reactions is a harmless aluminum salt. Some aluminum salts are used in medicines to treat stomach disorders. The food can be safely eaten; however, the aluminum salt particles can be removed from the food to improve the appearance of the food.

Reynold's FAQ

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