Lets talk a little - Bark -

I am no pro by any means but I do have some questions that quickly come to mind. First, What cut of brisket is that? That seems to be a lot of fat on the top or is the flat upside down? Second, you got to 160* in four hours cooking at 250*? That really seems like you were either cooking hotter than you though or it was not that hot. Regardless, I have found that brisket is resilient and can go without foil even in hot temps as long as you have a low sugar rub.

Try removing it from the foil a bit earlier and returning it to the smoker to firm up the bark.

I agree with several points here. Judging from the fat content and the texture of the fat (Yes--- I can tell) the brisket was not properly cooked. Academically it was cooked certainly, but not properly.

First, you either need to adjust your cooking to melt that fat more (flip fat down [depending on equipment], higher temp after the ring set, longer coast) and or trim off some off some of the white fat especially in that zone where it all is. Second, with that much fat, what the heck do you need to foil it that soon if at all.

Finally, we need to know whats in the rub you use. Do you want to have an artificial bark, one that's made with sugar, or a real one, one that's set by heat and smoke and salt on the meat?

The sugar method by the way is not being knocked here, the artificial method has been used with success and accolades in some regions. Some regions' taste buds prefer the sugar laden barks, mostly because they end up glazing it with sauce anyway. Or do you want to gave a traditional, natural and genuine bark - like a German/Czech - which also is popular in some regions - especially where cattle come from - but are not shipped too.

Its a hard decision to make - so since your real close to funkytown in Minnesota, I would start with traditional (thereby nearly guaranteeing you will have a brisket unlike any other) then practice the sugary way until you reach a nice regional balance.

I have an RF and I have no trouble getting nice bark. As a rub I use Kosher Salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and granulated garlic. I foil at 160 and as the brisket is close to being done in the foil I remove from foil and return to smoker uncovered, I cook them at 225 to 250 leave it uncovered and remove when done. The bark always comes out just right IMO. I do however trim the packers of a majority of the heavy white fat.

Two Bears said:

Yes it was untrimmed - I will trim the next one...Also it was a full packer.

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Trimming is not the most important thing. The fat should melt away during a long cook. How long was the total cook? I still have trouble seeing a full packer getting to 160* in 4 hours at 250* cooking temp.

Two Bears said:

One thing that I did differently wasx that I did not use apple juice, just water butter and rub in the pan.

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Hmm, water, butter and rub in a pan? Are you boiling it?

Two Bears said:

Is it ok to run it hotter and still get a moist and tender brisket?

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Sure. In my UDS I usually cook brisket anywhere from 300-350 because I have better things to do than sit around for 18 hours :wink:

Are you sure your thermeter was correct that don't look like 200 degree brisket

Foil and cooking in a pan with alot of liquid would explain alot here.

Cook said:

Foil and cooking in a pan with alot of liquid would explain alot here.

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Yeah, kinda what I am thinking.

Or, it could be a defective cooker. I see you aren't too far away. I bet if you brought up here and dropped it off for the summer I could probably get the kinks worked out for ya. :becky:

Two Bears said:

Is it ok to run it hotter and still get a moist and tender brisket?

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I agree with a few other posters here.
I can say with full confidence that we cook our brisket @ 300-350 degrees and usually have it off the smoker in 4-5 hours.
We let it rest for another few hours - and we have had tremendous success with that hot n' fast method.
I cannot remember the last time I had an extra 18 hours to kill:shock:
Good luck.....

Just curious, why foil? The only time I foil is to speed up the cooking process because I didn't time it right & I'm behind sched. My advice is, try to give yourself enough time & don't foil at all.

I've been cooking briskets for 4 decades and I believe it's totally ok to foil. I've run into the plateau so many times that I regularly foil @ 155-160. But I don't leave it foiled to the end. As soon as the brisky moves through the plateau range the foil comes off for the rest of the cook and the bark sets up really nicely.

Two Bears said:

I only used bout a .75 cup of water, enough to dilute th rub in the bottom of the pan.
I calibrate thermometers every day at work , my thermometer is right on.
The cook was 6 hours total, foiled at 160*at the 4 hour mark.
There was a ton of grease in the pan when it was done.

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I don't know what to say. Cooking a whole packer in 6 hours at 250* seems impossible to me.

Why not foil. Heck I start my brisket in a Dutch oven for a couple of hours

And I though cooking whole packers in my bubba keg in 9 hours was fast! Every cut of meat is different so perhaps it's possible. Also when you foil the internal temp will of course get high, but that doesn't mean it's done. Always check for tenderness to tell when it's done.