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Preserving bark on brisket when resting

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    Preserving bark on brisket when resting

    I have smoked maybe a couple dozen briskets using Meathead's method and crutching it with foil or using butcher paper as described in Franklin's book. They consistently come out well and they are always a party favorite (esp burn ends!). Of the two techniques, I believe the crutched/foiled brisket yields a deeper "beefy" flavor.

    I go to Austin for business a couple times a year and I typically drive to Lockhart for brisket from Kreutz, Blacks, Smitty's, etc. All awesome brisket and I want to replicate the crisp bark these great briskets have. On a recent trip one of the pitmasters said they start the briskets hot, around 400, to "set the bark" for about an hour before cooking it at typical low temps. They cook the brisket straight through with no wrapping or crutching, so the brisket comes out moist with an awesome crispy bark.

    How can I replicate that great crispy bark on my brisket while keeping the meat moist inside? Resting the meat appears important to relax the meat and I have always rested 2+ hours in the faux cambro, but it turns the bark soft. The Lockhart pits appear to have some sort of holding chamber that (I am guessing, I forgot to ask) probably sits at 160 or so until they pull the meat out for slicing...maybe that preserves the crispy bark. Can I replicate this with my oven rather than using the faux cambro technique? How are you guys getting good moist brisket with crispy bark?


    thanks


    #2
    Hold the brisket in your oven at 175. Don't wrap. It will have the same impact as a faux cambro does. But you won't end up with soft bark.

    Comment


      #3
      If resting permanently softens the bark you really didn't have much bark to start with.

      Look up Smoque BBQ in Chicago on YouTube. That's him pictured in Meathead's brisket page.

      Comment


        #4
        Thanks guys

        Ecowper, I will try resting it in the oven at 175. How long do you rest it before you worry about drying it out? I use the resting/warming step as a buffer since briskets hit temp at different times. I always worry about having dry brisket...I hate dry brisket.

        Jerod, can you be more specific? I viewed the Smoque videos and I met with Barry at Smoque when I visited there a few years ago. The videos I watched (and scanned through again this morning, "smoque bbq brisket, part 1, 2, 3") cover a lot of basic stuff...like what is brisket, his rub, flat vs point, how he slices, etc but I didn't see what contributes to a great bark. Which Smoque video are you referring to? Smoque uses big gas smokers with wood chips whereas the Lockhart smokers use post oak in old-school offset smokers. When I met with Barry a couple years ago he told me to keep the smoker below 300 early in the process to prevent the meat from "tightening up" and never relaxing, leading to a tough brisket. But when I met with a pitmaster in Lockhart he said he starts the meat at 400 for the first 45-60 min until the color looks right, to set the bark, then he lowers the temperature. Both restaurants make great brisket but gave opposing advice.

        When you say "If resting permanently softens the bark you really didn't have much bark to start with.", what do you mean by that? How does one not have much bark after smoking 12 hours? Or maybe a better question is what influences how much or little bark there is? Your post suggests some techniques yield more bark than others. Can you give more detail?

        Crutching the brisket in foil or a roasting pan after the stall the bark gets steamed and soft. Papering it is a little better. I have not smoked a brisket all the way through without wrapping it...I always worry about my expensive piece of brisket drying out and disappointing guests so I bail out and wrap it in paper or (in the past, foil) in the late innings, around 160-170, to keep it moist. When I take it off the smoker to rest in the faux cambro, I wrap it in foil and the bark softens in the high-humidity environment inside the foil. Like I mentioned to Ecowper, I hate dry brisket. I usually smoke CAB brisket from a local foodservice store and a couple times I smoked Prime brisket from Costco.

        My goal is moist brisket with a crisp bark, like I get at Kreutz and other great TX brisket shops. How do I get there with my backyard smoker?

        thanks for your insights

        Comment


        • Jerod Broussard
          Jerod Broussard commented
          Editing a comment
          In the videos I've seen, when Barry pulls his brisket out the smoker it ain't wrapped. I've had some go all the way unwrapped, he is using a rotisserie convection number that cooks waaay more efficiently than most.

        • Sonoman
          Sonoman commented
          Editing a comment
          Hi Jerod, when I visited Barry and he showed me his set-up, he specifically said he doesn't wrap. He pulls it from the smoker rotisserie, as you noted, and puts it in warming drawers for slicing

        #5
        My $.02-- Don't wrap until you get good bark, I believe this is what Jerod is referring to. Wrapping & holding won't remove the bark of course, only soften it some. Therefore, you can un-soften it as long as it's there adequaltely in the first place. Personally, I find not wrapping until after the stall, say 170-180 IT being the ticket for my preferences, but you could go higher yet. Or just not wrap until it's done and you're ready for the faux cambro hold. In any instance, after the faux cambro hold is complete, try unwrapping it for say 30 minutes or an hour and place it in your oven at 170 or thereabouts. The softening has been accomplished internally, now you just need to dry out the surface. Using paper in this method will give you a crispier bark yet of course.

        Comment


          #6
          Huskee's your man. I 'dry up' the surface by putting the brisket back in my smoker for 30 minutes. Works perfectly. The oven is even easier. As long as you have good bark, the softening that comes from the faux cambro is minor, and easy to fix.

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