Brisket Bark Help

[1buckie]

No wrap at all is a possibility....
This looks a little dark, but pic's in the shade...



Indoors is maybe a bit more accurate....



It's a little soft from the rest period in foil, but not bad

[Sausage Warrior]

Man that's a good looking brisky to me Buckie.

If one can reduce the amount of smoke but keep the heat I've found that I can get away with no wrap and guarantee firm bark. After about 120 degrees I understand that the meat will not absorb more smoke - however, and I think that's a big however, smoke will color the bark and lay on it heavily so it will taste bitter. So I often don't wrap if I can only lightly smoke by using only charcoal after reaching stall or cook in the pellet cooker not warping is a good option.

Unfortunately I rarely do whole brisket since it's usually just the wife and me eating and I don't get enough "practice."

[dmcmaster]

Originally Posted by smoke ninja

Ive never had a problem due to the slather (i would swear mustard increases my bark formation) but i agree you should try try and eliminate as many variables as possible. I lost my way awhile back and my solution was to start from scratch. Just salt and pepper smoke and time. No wrap, no sauce, no spritz, no nothing that wasn't necessary. Built techniques, rubs, and such slowly one thing at a time, starting from the bottom up.

Solid advice, sometimes returning to basics feels like defeat. Then again, a good slap on the nose can get you thinking straight.

[Jason TQ]

I'm a big believer in there are so many ways to cook bbq and not swearing off any one technique. I still don't get mustard at all though. Seemed like an extra step that didn't add much if anything. My rub sticks to meat great without it. I have been wanting to try mayo on chicken though recently. But some folks love it. Mess around with dropping it and see what you like if you haven't.

Wrapping is your culprit more than likely. I wrap and my bark is soft, but nothing wrong with that. I'd keep everything the same (including mustard) but wrap in butcher paper or no wrap and see what happens. Don't change too many variables at once or else you don't know what affected the end result.

And make sure you like the extra bark and not just doing it because others do or to more impress your friends who might not even care . Have fun experimenting! Oh and for home I started cooking hot 325-350 so the cook goes faster and still gets great results. Maybe in the future give those hotter temps a whirl

[QDoc]

I use SGH and coarse black pepper no glue. I start out fat down until I get ready to wrap. I then place the brisket in an aluminum pan with a variation of Rick's Sinful Marinade. I put a few slices of onions and carrots and whole garlic cloves in the marinade and place the Brisket on top of of the vegetables , fat side down. On top I place a sheet of Butcher paper and fold it over the edges of the pan. The purpose is to capture the brisket stock as it cooks but allow the water vapor to evaporate and condense the stock and to prevent the brisket from being coated by too much smoke. When the brisket is tender. I remove the paper, brisket and vegetables from the drippings (stock). I then place the foil pan on a counter top and flip the brisket to meat side down to soften the bark in the juice but not remove it while the brisket rests. I leave it like this for about 15 minutes then remove the brisket and drain the juice into an ice chilled pan. I then flip back to fat down and lightly cover with foil while it rests.
The panned juices are then place in an ice bath to allow setting of the surface fat. Allow the brisket to rest until the fat becomes solid and can easily be removed with a spoon.
The liquid can then be adjusted with seasonings if needed and either added to your favorite sauce or just used as a sauce alone. If allowed to completely cool depending on the reduction, the juice will turn to a gelatinous substance ( smoked brisket stock)

[smoke ninja]

A little bit of inspiration for ya

[1buckie]

Originally Posted by Sausage Warrior

Man that's a good looking brisky to me Buckie.

If one can reduce the amount of smoke but keep the heat I've found that I can get away with no wrap and guarantee firm bark. After about 120 degrees I understand that the meat will not absorb more smoke - however, and I think that's a big however, smoke will color the bark and lay on it heavily so it will taste bitter. So I often don't wrap if I can only lightly smoke by using only charcoal after reaching stall or cook in the pellet cooker not warping is a good option.

Unfortunately I rarely do whole brisket since it's usually just the wife and me eating and I don't get enough "practice."

The smoke ring formation will stop around 140f........meat will take on smoke flavor as long as it's fed smoke......
I usually run smoke the whole way, even, metered & clean burn gets a pretty good flavor....

Every once in awhile, things burn weird doing 'Turds or something that's a little hotter cook & it will have a little bitterness, but as long as it burns clean, a heavier smoke can be had.....

The removing of one piece of the puzzle at a time people have said is a good way to go about it.....that way you can strike upon "The Culprit" more easily....this is a good test in any event:



Nice pics, Ninja....like the "Dance thru The Cook" one at the end....how'd ya do that?

[smoke ninja]

^^^^ pretty cool ha?

It came about as a suggestion from bigabyte during one of my "live" cook threads im so fond of doing.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=186174

Its a GIF i made using photobucket.

[Shooter66]

Man am I learning a lot!!