Cardboard Smoking Platform - Bisket

[Hogan]

Currently reading Raichlen’s Brisket Chronicles where he espouses the use of a cardboard smoking platform under the brisket on the grate.Essentially a piece of cardboard, cut to the exact shape of the trimmed brisket, then wrapped in HD foil and perforated to allow smoke to get through to the underside. Its purpose is to prevent the underside of the brisket from overcooking/burning due to its proximity to the hot firebox. Anyone got any experience/comments on this?

 

[RustyJake]

I use a water/drip pan under any brisket I cook, so that wouldn't be necessary for my situation, in my opinion. Normally it's cooked on the top shelf, as far from the heat source as possible
I guess if you were cooking on the bottom shelf and couldn't put a water/drip pan under it, something like that may help. Even with poking holes in it, I believe it is going to limit the smoke penetration to that side of the meat. Seeing the pellet smoker has a reduced smoke profile already, this may hinder it taking on smoke even more

 

[Hogan]

Thanks for your input, Rusty. In the 6 months I’ve had my Pro 22, I’ve cooked two briskets and half a dozen racks but not encountered any issue with the underside being over cooked/burned. (And only once in the 12 years with my WSM.) If I have any knock against the Pro 22, the upper rack does not have enough room for much more than a water pan. Maybe a rack, but have yet to do three racks in one cook.

Although Raichlen really pushes the foil platform throughout the book, (and like you I have doubts about enough smoke getting through) I don’t recall him ever using it in his videos. Regardless, the question is out there: has anyone tried the cardboard smoking platform?

 

[RustyJake]

I put the brisket on the top shelf, the water pan goes on the main shelf. I do the same on my IW650. I rarely cook/smoke on the bottom shelf.
The body of water and the separation definitely provides a level of protection from direct heat if it existed
Edit to add, had it been last weekend I might have tried the method with one of the briskets I cooked

 

[RayClem]

If you were cooking a brisket over a direct fire or coals, I could see that radiation could cause the bottom of the brisket to overcook. On an offset smoker, that should not be an issue. Since the fire pot of the Traeger is covered by a flame shield and the drip tray, there is even less direct radiation. Like some others I add a baking sheet under my cook to catch drippings from the cook, so that provides an extra layer of protection against direct radiation.

 

[Slimpicker]

The fan induction in a Traeger helps with the direct heat burn but now that I have my 'pimp grill grates', I use the Rusty method now almost always cooking on top shelf, I get way better results of "evenly" cooked meat now, I'd even say the "pimp grates" have already paid for themselves.
I'm gonna start using my old stainless water bowls from my offset days on the bottom shelf now.
I miss adding pickling spices to the water and giving my cook that extra little taste.