Home >> baking | By: Phillip Rekhotho | 2024-02-28

Should I cover brisket with foil in an oven?(yes, here's why)

In most recipes, brisket is typically covered with aluminum foil, but what if you don't cover it? In this post, we will find out whether you have to cover brisket in the oven or not.

Summary:

Yes, you should cover brisket with foil in order to improve its taste, tenderness, and juiciness. Covering brisket with foil keeps volatile compounds and steam from escaping and this will make the brisket tender and tasty. Moreover, covering brisket shortens the cooking time of brisket by keeping the steam from escaping the pan.

That being said, brisket is typically covered during the initial stage of the cooking process in the oven, and then the brisket is uncovered and cooked for a few minutes to caramelize. So we're not saying you should cover the brisket throughout the cooking process.

Should you cover the brisket with foil when roasting?

1 — Covering a brisket improves its taste and flavor

Let's find out how not covering the brisket with aluminum foil can negatively impact its taste and flavor.

During the cooking process, chemical reactions occur in the brisket, making the brisket tender and flavorful. Maillard reaction, in particular, plays a tremendous role in the formation of the taste of brisket while at the same time changing the color of the brisket to brown.

When a brisket is cooked or baked, several molecules are responsible for producing its taste, and here are a few of them:

Amino acids:
Amino acids, building blocks of proteins, along with taste-active peptides, are tremendously involved in the formation of the taste of brisket or any meat in general.
Proteins:
Protein is also involved in improving the taste and flavor of the brisket.

Meat is sometimes left to sit for some time before being cut and this is known as the ripening period. During this period, proteins in the brisket are broken down by enzymes, making it more tender and flavorful.
Volatile compounds and fatty acids:
Volatile compounds are responsible for the formation of basic tastes(sweet, sour, bitter, salt, and umami), these basic tastes combine to create the taste of the brisket.
Fat:
Fat has an impact on the taste of brisket or any beef. Not only does it impact the taste, but it also improves the tenderness and the juiciness.

When the brisket or any meat is cooked or roasted uncovered, the taste-forming molecules, volatile compounds, will evaporate and escape the roasting pan or baking tray. This will negatively impact the taste of the brisket. Moreover, the moisture will evaporate, resulting in a tasteless, dry, and chewy brisket.

Of course, we are not necessarily saying that the brisket should remain uncovered throughout the cooking process. What we mean is that covering it for a certain amount of time when baking or roasting can improve its taste.

2 — Covering a brisket improves its tenderness

When brisket is baked or cooked it releases steam, this steam plays a major role in tenderizing the brisket by contributing to breaking down the muscles.

To ensure that the brisket is tender, this steam should be kept from escaping the roasting pan or baking tray, and this is achieved by covering the brisket when baking.

Covering the brisket in the oven prevents the steam from escaping the roasting pan which helps tenderize the brisket. When the steam from the brisket escapes the roasting pan, the tenderness of the brisket won't be as good.

You can improve the tenderness of the brisket by Using marinates, to be more specific, lower pH marinates. To improve the tenderness of the brisket, immerse it in an acidic marinate for a few hours. For marinates, you can use:

Orange juice
Lemon juice
Carbonated drink
Pawpaw leaves extract-based marinate

3 — Covering a brisket improves its juiciness

Moisture from the brisket turns into steam during cooking or roasting. This steam is crucial in making the brisket juicy. When it's allowed to escape the roasting pan by uncovering the roasting pan, the brisket will lose more and more moisture and become dry.

To make sure that the brisket is juicy and moist, cover it when baking or roasting in the oven.

4 — Covering a brisket makes it cook faster

The steam released from the brisket speeds up the breaking down of the muscles of the brisket, and this shortens the cooking time. If the steam is kept from escaping the roasting pan by covering the brisket, the brisket will cook faster.

Not covering the brisket when baking will cause the steam to leave the roasting pan, resulting in a relatively long cooking period.

To ensure that the brisket is cooked faster and thoroughly, cover it when baking in the oven.

So the bottom line is to cover the brisket regardless of whether you're baking at 225, 250, or 300°F. Covering the brisket in the oven is always advisable.

How long to cook brisket wrapped in foil in the oven?

How long the brisket takes to cook depends on several factors, the age of the animal and the nutrition of the animal.

However, one main factor that has a huge impact on the time it takes for a brisket to cook is the baking temperature; high temperatures correlate with less cooking time.

That being said, high temperatures can result in burning the brisket.

Here is how long it takes to cook brisket in the oven at various temperatures:

Table 1: Cooking temperature of brisket at 200, 250, 300, and 350°F
Temperature(°F)	Cooking Time
200	1.5 hours per pound
250	1 hour 15 min. per pound
300	45 minutes per pound

What about at 350°F? How long will brisket cook?

350°F? is too hot for brisket. It's not advisable to go this high, especially if aluminum foil is used for covering because it will soften and leach into the brisket, thus negatively affecting the taste and flavor.

How to keep brisket moist and tender when cooking?

Tough brisket is chewy and sometimes it's just too much for the teeth. Keeping the brisket juicy and tender is paramount; let's take a look at how this can be achieved:

Use marinates: To make the brisket tender, let it sit in an acidic marinate for a few hours. Acidic marinates play a significant role in tenderizing meat as they weaken the muscles.
Ensure the brisket has had time to ripen:
once the animal is slaughtered, its meat begins to ripen until it's cooked.

During the ripening period, the meat becomes soft and soft and easier to cook.

Letting the meat sit for some time at an appropriate temperature can significantly make it tender once it's cooked.
Cover the brisket with foil:
Covering the brisket when cooking will help retain its moisture, thus making it juicy and tender.
Avoid high temperatures:
brisket cooks well at lower temperatures; higher temperatures correlate to tough and chewy brisket. For a juicy brisket, you want the muscles to break down at a slower rate at lower temperatures.

Tips on wrapping brisket

Brisket is also wrapped when it's smoked and when it comes to wrapping it, wrong timing may bring unexpected results. Here's what you should not do when it comes to covering brisket:

Don't wrap or cover the brisket too early: wrapping the brisket before the bark is formed will halt its formation, and you'll be left with a soft exterior brisket.
Don't wrap or cover the brisket too late: It's not advisable to wait until the brisket has lost its moisture and turned into charcoal before wrapping it. Don't wait too long because the brisket will burn.

Conclusion

It's highly recommended to cover brisket with aluminum foil when baking in the oven. This will keep the brisket tender and juicy.

Covering brisket with aluminum foil makes it tender by not allowing the steam to leave the roasting pan. This steam plays a significant role in tenderizing the brisket.

Moreover, covering brisket with foil improves its taste and flavor because it will prevent volatile compounds from leaving the roasting pan during the baking process. These volatile compounds play a tremendous role in making the brisket tasty and flavorful.

Covering brisket with aluminum foil also speeds up the cooking process because it keeps the hot moisture from escaping the roasting pan or baking tray. This hot moisture plays a role in breaking down the muscles of the brisket.

One thing to keep in mind is that brisket is not typically covered with foil throughout the cooking process. Aluminum covering is removed towards the end of the cooking process to allow excess moisture to escape.