brisket bark question


 
N

Neil Grant

TVWBB Fan
am planning my first overnight brisket cook and the recipes I've found suggest foiling after 5-6 when little additional smoke flavor is gained. So assuming another 5-6 hours foiled, will there be any bark ?

Or is foiling not necessary ?
 
no expert yet but i've decided i dont like foiling, assuming i have the time. i just did a 12lb brisket for almost 20 hours. no foil obviously. i purchased a higher quality of meat and it was just as moist as foiling a lower quality piece of meat. so for me i'm just spending the extra money on good meat and not foiling going forward. the bark is just too delicious to sacrifice.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Neil Grant:
am planning my first overnight brisket cook and the recipes I've found suggest foiling after 5-6 when little additional smoke flavor is gained. So assuming another 5-6 hours foiled, will there be any bark ?

Or is foiling not necessary ? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Your statement that little smoke flavor is gained is incorrrect. Smoke flavor will accumulate on meat as long as there is burning smoke wood.
I only do flats and use foil. Foil will soften bark not eliminate it. Foiling is not a requirement. Some use it, some don't. I like to foil flats I do because they are not nearly as fat laden as packers. Helps with moisture, speeds up the cook and you can add flavorings. (JMO)
 
OK thx...I had read about the diminishing effect of smoke after an extended period hence the option of transferring to oven for last half of the cook, but who knows...I've only done HH cooks before.

so my first overnight try will be w/o foil during the cook. But is it still recommended to let it rest in foil in a cooler at the end and after that separate the point from the flat ?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">st did a 12lb brisket for almost 20 hours. no foil obviously. i purchased a higher quality of meat and it was just as moist as foiling a lower quality piece of meat. so for me i'm just spending the extra money on good meat and not foiling going forward. the bark is just too delicious to sacrifice. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


I did a 9 pound brisket last weekend and foiled after 5 hours. There was minimal bark but the brisket was very moist and the flavor was great.

I think I am going to try it without the foil next time.
 
You can always return the brisket to the cooker after it's done, unfoiled, to firm or crisp the bark.

I've never cared about bark texture on brisket. Ribs and butts, yes, but not brisket.
 
I agree, bark on brisket isn't like bark on pork. A layer of flavor maybe, but not "bark".

Last one I did, I foiled after about 8-10 hours and let it go for another 6-8 hours, only because I'd been fighting rain, wind etc. overnight was was too tired then next morning to want to pull it off.
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I drained off and reserved the au jus and pulled the brisket off. I really couldn't slice it, it was like pot roast. That sounds wrong, and I felt the same way, until I ate some. I cooled and pulled the fat off the au jus and even used some of that over the meat.

I had some folks that didn't know what it was but could not eat enough of it. It was that good! I now call that my Texas Pot Roast, although my rub really added a little more flavor, the result was awesomeness!

I'm doing one this weekend but don't plant the Pot Roast route this time, but I will purposely do it again. I vacuum sealed and froze a bunch of it up and it was just as good reheated later, and just as baffling to people eating it as fast as they could.

So, foil or not, a good piece of meat can do without, or it can be something different.
 
I always foil my briskets at about 165* just to get through the stall and moisten it up a bit. I inject as well and add aus jus or beef broth to the foil when wrapped. I take to internal of 195*-205 depending on the feel i like the feel of hot knife through butter
 
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