Brisket- no "crusting" after 5 hours


 
M

Marcel M.

New member
hello all and thanks in advance for your advice.

i tried my first brisket today. went to the butcher and got a 4 pound piece. it had very little fat on top, in fact almost none.

i rubbed it, stuck it on the smoker (added 2 handfulls of mesquite woodchips, hot water in the pan) and have had it going for 5 hours at between 230 and 250 degrees. however, i am not getting the black crusting effect that i expect from the recipes here.

it is very cold here in the mountains of northern PA. does that have something to do with it?

any estimates on what creates that crust? not enough heat? too cold outside?

i turned it once at about 3 hours, but have not mopped or added other liquids.

do you think the absense of fat is the prob?


thanks to all and happy holidays,

Marcel M. Poconos, PA
 
Rub low in sugar can cause the lack of bark, try spraying with apple juice or mop with something that has sugar in it and bark should form.
Jim
 
is the lack of fat a factor?

and i had no sugar in the rub, didnt use apple juice either. I will next time though!

thanks jim


Marcel
 
Marcel,
No it's not from the lack of fat. What Jim is referring to is, sugar in the rub or mop will create "bark". Bark is created when the sugar and spices "caralmelize" around the meat to form a "crust/bark". Without the caramelization from the sugar you will not have much of a bark. Bottomline is a rub low or without sugar will not create the the "black crusting effect" you are looking for. Add some sugar to your rub and spray with AJ, per Jim and you will get a better "bark".
 
Speaking of bark on a brisket. I've noticed lately some people are using bacon on top and/or bottom of their briskets. Personally, I think it sounds very tasty. My question is, does the bacon cook onto or adhere to the brisket? Therefore making the bacon the actual bark. If you could slice the brisket with the bacon on it and mixed in with your slices and/or pieces of brisket I'll bet it would taste great! BUT .... if you are removing the bacon, doesn't that also remove any bark that has already formed on the brisket? I hope this makes sense to someone.
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Rick
 
Sometimes I smoke my brisket fatside down with bacon strips over the top. I like the flavor it adds and it's a nice change of pace. The only thing you have to do is take the bacon off during the last hour or so (depending on the size) and spray with juice, because bark won't form under the bacon. If you don't need bark, then don't worry about that step. And no, the bacon doesn't adhere to the beef, too much fat involved. I have taken a bite of the bacon when I was done and didn't really care for it, so I just whipped it. My wife actually prefers the flavor of the brisket when I use bacon.
 
Bark wont form where the bacon is...its kinda like falling asleep in the sun with your hand on your stomach...you get that pale print where the bacon was.

As far as the bark goes Ive noticed that real bark doesnt form till well into the cook, until then its just a mushy paste.
 
Marcel,
I too went to my butcher to get a brisket and he told me he had "First Cut" brisket. When I asked him what it was, he told me "Hardly any fat".

I asked to see one, and told him, sorry, I can't bbq that. There wasn't any noticable fat whatsoever.

Rath *just a FYI*
 
I was always under the impression that "first cut" was just another term for the flat, which in groceries and meat markets is usually offered super-trimmed, and typically packaged for display with any remaining fat cap on the bottom.
 
Doug,
The one my butcher took out was from a "packer". He took out 1 of the 3 briskets and it was a 5.5 lb. hunk of meat with no fat at all.

I had to search very hard to find a brisket.

Rath *subscribes to fat side down*
 
Hmmm. Your butcher uses a whole different parlance than the rest of the world. Packers are whole briskets (flat + point). Sounds like he's got his terms backwards!
 
No Susan,
The fault is mine, when I said "packer" I meant cyropacked[sp?]. They were all flats. Having a hard time finding whole briskets.

Rath *apologizes for highjacking the thread*
 
Don,

I ran into some 12 lb packers in Wally World last week. Also, if you have a Costco or Sam's Club near you the butcher will arrange to get a packer for you if you ask. At least they've been helpful to me anyway. Just make sure you tell them not to trim it or at least trim it to your needs. I'm sure most butchers or meat markets will accomadate you if you ask. Otherwise I noticed most places only carry flats since the only people that buy packers are apparently WSM owners. lol.
 
I understand sugar's role in the carmelization process, but of the 3 briskets I've smoked so far the best bark I've had (by a very wide margin) came from using a dry rub that had zero sugar in it. No juice sprays were used during the cook either. The brisket went on fat side down and didn't get flipped once.

When I first began carving the flat I was a bit shocked by how tough the bark still was. But let me tell you, that brisket was the first thing I've done on the WSM where I honestly thought that it was better than anything I've had a local Q joints. I came this -> <- close to tearing up after eating those first few bites. God bless a brisket done right..

I'm not trying to debunk the advice given regarding sugar helping bark formation. Just sharing my meager experience.
 
Dave what pit temps?
If it is tough outside and tender center high temps are normally the cause.
The sugar will help you get bark at lower temps eliminating the tough exterior.
Jim
 
Temps for that brisket were indeed a bit higher than the other two. They stayed much closer to the 250 mark (grate temp) as opposed to the others being closer to 225. The bark was tougher in comparison to the other briskets, chuck rolls, and buts I've done, but was by no means crusty or otherwise inedible. IMO, as well as everyone else who ate it, it was perfect.

~Dave
 
Understand, the toughness is the effect of that heat for a long period of time, it is caused by drying out that layer. You sound like someone who looks for that perfect brisket. I'll bet your your own worst critic.
Jim
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jim Minion:
I'll bet your your own worst critic.
Jim <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You been talking to my wife Jim?
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Being relatively new at all of this I wasn't exactly what sure I knew what the difference was on that brisket. Other than getting away from sugar based rubs that is. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Jim.
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~Dave
 
I never add sugar to any of my rubs and I have bark. I know the sugar will carmelize but something else is going on. I thought it was the smoke drying out the outer area???

Mike
 
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