Brisket flat bark


 
J

J Causey

TVWBB Member
I have been doing small brisket flats lately which have good flavor and are tender but no good bark. These are small as in 3-4 pounds and I have been foiling them at 165 degrees and this past weekend I used butcher paper hoping to increase the quality of the bark, but it didn't happen. I have the 18" WSM and always use water in the pan.

I am usually anywhere from 220-250 for the couple of hours leading up to 165 degrees, then I foil or BP it until it gets to 200-205 degrees, then let it rest in a cooler for about 2-3 hours.

Is it not getting enough time in the smoke to make a good crust? Is it maybe not possible to get a good crust on such a small piece of flat since it only takes about 2-3 hours to get to the 165?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jamie
 
maybe you want to try not foiling. typically takes 5-6 hours for a good bark to set for brisket and even then, after coming out of foil, the bark isnt the greatest.

another thing you can do is make sure the meat side of the flat is trimmed of all fat and silver skin. then take a fork and scrape with the grain to roughen up the meat. creates more surface area for run to hold onto and bark form.
 
J Causey said:
Sounds almost like foiling and good bark are mutually exclusive.
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They are counterproductive to each other. Ive tried using pans and foiling the top of the pan with the bark side up with some success. Though there appears to be a difference between wrapping meat tight and just foiling a pan.

If bark is very important, and your continuing to use very small flats, maybe just work on a foilless product. There is nothing in stone that you must foil.
 
Chris Bjork said:
They are counterproductive to each other. Ive tried using pans and foiling the top of the pan with the bark side up with some success. Though there appears to be a difference between wrapping meat tight and just foiling a pan.

If bark is very important, and your continuing to use very small flats, maybe just work on a foilless product. There is nothing in stone that you must foil.
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Interesting about the difference between foiled top pan and tight wrapping. I think I might just try no foiling next time with these small ones. Then wrap it after it's at 200 or so and let the juices redistribute and rest for a little while.

Thanks for the info.
 
Especially since you're smoking small flats, I'd continue to wrap, but go with a dry pan. I always get quicker bark with a dry pan, and after getting one too many occasional dry briskets, I always wrap briskets now. I'll be trying paper next time, but different rub applications can affect the bark, as well. Too thick a layer doesn't work, but surprisingly, pastes like Chris Lilly's can work really good in the foil. You might try opening the foil at the end, but you gotta have bark before foiling to firm up anything at the end.
 
Dave Russell said:
Especially since you're smoking small flats, I'd continue to wrap, but go with a dry pan. I always get quicker bark with a dry pan, and after getting one too many occasional dry briskets, I always wrap briskets now. I'll be trying paper next time, but different rub applications can affect the bark, as well. Too thick a layer doesn't work, but surprisingly, pastes like Chris Lilly's can work really good in the foil. You might try opening the foil at the end, but you gotta have bark before foiling to firm up anything at the end.
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Are you saying dry pan it from the beginning and then foil the pan or dry pan it after the bark forms?

Thanks,
Jamie
 
I've never tried this, but I wonder how it would work if instead of foiling you dropped it in a foil pan at the same point. The bottom and sides would be covered so you'd get the braising action, but the top would be free to develop bark. A 4# flat should fit nicely in a brownie or small cake pan.
 
Jon Des. said:
I've never tried this, but I wonder how it would work if instead of foiling you dropped it in a foil pan at the same point. The bottom and sides would be covered so you'd get the braising action, but the top would be free to develop bark. A 4# flat should fit nicely in a brownie or small cake pan.
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I've tried that a couple of times, and left uncovered, the braising action didn't seem to be nearly as efficient.
 
In terms of bark, are you guys referring to a bark that is crispy a bit, or a bark that just sticks to the brisket and provides a lot of color. I'm new here and have tried brisket and was wondering what a good bark should be in terms of texture. I know that a dark color that doesn't have a burnt taste is desirable, but didn't know if good brisket bark should be crisper or whether it should have a softer texture similar to the meat.

I was thinking that if a good bark is suppose to be firmer and more on the crispy side, that a torch like one of the Benzomatic ones you use to solder might be able to do that. Smoke till 165, foil till tender, rest in foil and towel wrapped, then remove from foil and blast it with a torch till it shows a bit more color, the moisture is driven off the surface, and you have a firmer or crisper surface. None of this applies though if good bark like you'd want in a competition brisket is not on the crispy side and should be softer.
 
J Causey said:
How hard is it to keep the temp down with an empty water bowl? Do you just keep the vents near closed?
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J, how you set your vents at the beginning of the cook depends on meat load and temp, how much lit fuel, weather, seasoning build-up, how tight or how leaky your cooker is, and what's in the pan. So the vents should be open less to reach a certain temp with an empty pan, than if there's a clay pot base in it, to reach the same temp. The same cooker with water in the pan will obviously need the vents even more open to reach the same temp. These comparisons are for the start of a cook, though, and don't necessarily apply once everything gets hot and most of the charcoal is lit.

As for vent adjustments, some folks say they need to adjust the vents the least with a clay pot base in a dry foiled pan, and others, like myself confess that the pit temp is more steady if using water in the pan. If you know your cooker and know how charcoal burns, you shouldn't have any issues with just a an empty foiled pan, though. I just like the clay pot base for it's basic heat sink benefits, whether while the cooker is doing it's thing or how the temp comes back up quicker after removing the dome to check the meat. I like water in the pan the best, but it does make a difference in your bark development. That's why I never use it if planning on wrapping during the cook, and that's also why I always use it for spares. Water in the pan helps keep the bark on ribs from getting too thick and having spots of "jerky" bark, and I think that wrapping multiple racks of ribs is a PITA.

Back to your question though, in my experience, briskets are better cooked at moderate to high temps. Cook them too slow and they're more apt to dry out, and since I'm gonna wrap them anyway, I'm not too worried about temp spikes. If done early, briskets will really benefit from a good hot rest, so that's not an issue, either.
 
RCBaughn said:
In terms of bark, are you guys referring to a bark that is crispy a bit, or a bark that just sticks to the brisket and provides a lot of color. I'm new here and have tried brisket and was wondering what a good bark should be in terms of texture. I know that a dark color that doesn't have a burnt taste is desirable, but didn't know if good brisket bark should be crisper or whether it should have a softer texture similar to the meat.

I was thinking that if a good bark is suppose to be firmer and more on the crispy side, that a torch like one of the Benzomatic ones you use to solder might be able to do that. Smoke till 165, foil till tender, rest in foil and towel wrapped, then remove from foil and blast it with a torch till it shows a bit more color, the moisture is driven off the surface, and you have a firmer or crisper surface. None of this applies though if good bark like you'd want in a competition brisket is not on the crispy side and should be softer.
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I've heard of using the torch for crisping up chicken skin, but would be afraid of using it on a bark with sugar in the rub, and really have no interest in using a torch for anything but lighting. I'm sure others have tried it, though. You might start a new thread and get a response or two.

The bark texture should be a real contrast to the meat underneath, but not at all too hard, tough, or thick like jerky. Paper wrapped briskets are supposed to be the way to go for better bark while still getting some benefits of foil and increasing cooking efficiency. Unwrapped meat has the cooling effect of evaporation going on working against you, but matter what you do beforehand to get good bark, foil is always gonna take away from it's texture to some degree.
 
Dave Russell said:
J, how you set your vents at the beginning of the cook depends on meat load and temp, how much lit fuel, weather, seasoning build-up, how tight or how leaky your cooker is, and what's in the pan. So the vents should be open less to reach a certain temp with an empty pan, than if there's a clay pot base in it, to reach the same temp. The same cooker with water in the pan will obviously need the vents even more open to reach the same temp. These comparisons are for the start of a cook, though, and don't necessarily apply once everything gets hot and most of the charcoal is lit.

As for vent adjustments, some folks say they need to adjust the vents the least with a clay pot base in a dry foiled pan, and others, like myself confess that the pit temp is more steady if using water in the pan. If you know your cooker and know how charcoal burns, you shouldn't have any issues with just a an empty foiled pan, though. I just like the clay pot base for it's basic heat sink benefits, whether while the cooker is doing it's thing or how the temp comes back up quicker after removing the dome to check the meat. I like water in the pan the best, but it does make a difference in your bark development. That's why I never use it if planning on wrapping during the cook, and that's also why I always use it for spares. Water in the pan helps keep the bark on ribs from getting too thick and having spots of "jerky" bark, and I think that wrapping multiple racks of ribs is a PITA.

Back to your question though, in my experience, briskets are better cooked at moderate to high temps. Cook them too slow and they're more apt to dry out, and since I'm gonna wrap them anyway, I'm not too worried about temp spikes. If done early, briskets will really benefit from a good hot rest, so that's not an issue, either.
Click to expand...

This really makes sense now. I appreciate the explanation. I am going to try the clay pot base next time. Thanks.
 
J, just be careful not to "over-steer" when making vent adjustments with clay or sand in the pan. Much like a boat's momentum, which a rudder only has so much control over, once any mass in the pan reaches a certain temp it'll take a bit for it to cool back down... just how the mass makes a cooker take a bit longer to come up to temp. That's why it's effective. It's a heat sink against smoke wood or charcoal lighting which cause temp spikes, or the cooling effect of winds or taking the lid off. Basically, what I'm saying is to be sure to catch temps as they come up OR fall, by making small adjustments and being patient before making any other changes.
 
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