Brisket flat bark


 
Dave Russell said:
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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I understand what you are saying. I will need some practice I'm sure...maybe something cheap to try first.
 
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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I think Dave covered everything else very well, but I'll add my $0.02 on this: not that difficult. A full water bowl is just a heat sink, or buffer. It keeps temps from changing quickly, but that's all.
 
Dave Russell said:
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.
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The rub I've been using recently has very little sugar in it, so it may not burn as bad if using a torch. Although even a small amount of brown sugar may end up getting that acrid taste. Don't want my ribs to taste like the top of a creme brûlée.

I'll give the parchment paper a go next time. I guess it wicking away moisture would tend to help keep the bark where it was at before it was wrapped a little better than just foil. I wonder how a paper then foil wrap would perform? May need to experiment with that next time.
 
Jon Des. said:
I think Dave covered everything else very well, but I'll add my $0.02 on this: not that difficult. A full water bowl is just a heat sink, or buffer. It keeps temps from changing quickly, but that's all.
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So it sounds like its not too difficult to keep it low, just watch the fluctuations. I use the minion method and lite about 30 briquettes and fully open the vents to get it up to temp, should I change anything?
 
Sounds like you're on the right track J. I usually start cutting the bottom vents back when I get 50 degrees from the target temp. If you aren't doing high heat then you can probably light a few less coals.
 
Thanks a ton Dave, when I smoke my next ribs I'm going to give this a go. I say ribs instead of brisket because I have them already thawing in the fridge. My uncle had leftover meat from his hog killing last year and I always get them. :cool: I'll let y'all know how it does crisping up the bark, and it should be the same for brisket since I don't use a lot of sugar in any of my rubs.

J, I only light 10-12 coals with my smoker and it gets up to temp in about 45 minutes, and it has a terra cotta planter dish in the bottom to regulate temp. It holds those temps well too, but I am using a mini WSM, so you may need to use more charcoal at first if your rig is different.
 
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