How To Achieve Great Bark

[ecowper]

In an ongoing discussion about bark on ribs and brisket, I noticed that there are some general themes that apply. And I spent some time thinking about what I had learned about turning out good BBQ …. Maybe we all take this for granted, but the bark on ribs, brisket, chuck roast, etc is really critical to it being good BBQ. It’s about appearance, but also the crazy satisfaction of crunch, flavor, and then tender meat.

I figured I’d put my two cents worth together and see if it helps clarify the “how to get great bark” conversation.

First some key elements.

1. Too much moisture is bad
2. Moisture early is helpful, moisture late is bad
3. Denaturing the protein with salt is good
4. Sugar on the surface is good
5. Dehydrating the meat surface is good
6. LOTS of rub is good
7. Common myths are bad, especially the mustard binder thing …. Way too much moisture

So, here’s what I do and it seems to work well

• I dry brine my meat (ribs, chuck roast, brisket, whatever) for several hours to overnight. 1/2 tsp of Morton’s per pound of meat. In the fridge, and uncovered. Let the meat both denature/brine AND dehydrate a bit.
• I wet the meat lightly and then apply the rub very liberally immediately before going on the cooker
• I put a tbsp of rub on per pound, roughly. But I do NOT use commercial rubs. Commercial rubs are very salty, because salt is cheap and a great way to reduce the cost and increase the quantity. This is a major reason why I make my own rubs. It allows me to control my salt and sugar content appropriately.
• I ensure the cooker has a mildly humid cooking environment with a water pan
• I never spritz
• I never wrap or foil the meat until I get really good bark formation. Actually, I almost never wrap or foil the meat unless I need to speed up the cook.
• I apply lots of smoke but keep my temps around 250F

One more thing …. I dry brine separate from the rub. I rarely, if ever, use commercial rubs. I can’t control the salt and sugar in a commercial rub. So, I create my own. I brine the meat first, and then I apply the rub itself just before going on the cooker.

This is my best advice … and I can tell you it is stuff learned over many years and I’m still learning every day.

Edit: I should point out (as Huskee reminded me down below) that there are some commercial rubs that have low salt levels and are reasonable to use directly. Meathead's and Henrik's are two sets of rubs that I have used successfully. There may well be others, but I really haven't tried them and can't say one way or another.

A few pics of different cooks over the years applying the above concepts

[ecowper]

One last thought …. If you are dealing with low sodium diets, I believe that you will find that my 1/2 tsp of Morton’s Kosher Salt per pound is going to be better than using a commercial rub. Commercial rubs have LOTS of salt to reduce the cost per ounce. I have published multiple home made rubs here that have absolutely no salt, therefore you can control the amount of salt.

I also can promise that if there is some specific commercial rub you like, you can recreate it at home. When you do, just leave the salt out and use my ratio of salt to meat. It is going to work for low sodium diets, even.

[Murdy]

Great advice on the salt. I am both a lover of bark and a follower of a low sodium diet. I mix my own rubs as well for those reasons. I use a lot of sugary rub on pork, so I couldn't do that with most commercial rubs without pushing the sodium content up.

There's a lot of good advice here for bark lovers. Great Pics, Thanks!

[jehlydonuts]

Thank you for that digest of your experience. I bet it's hard-earned. How do you adjust your 1/2 tsp per lb dry brine when there is a lot of bone (like with beef ribs)? I have never done an overnight brine, but those photos are making me think I should.

[ecowper]

jehlydonuts I cut the amount of salt in half.

[JLR]

Nailed it. It's often tempting to run a higher temp to speed up the cook, but that risks losing the best bark. IMHO, I think everyone should do several low & slow smokes without wrapping to experience great bark. Once you consistently achieve superior bark, then you can make decisions regarding wrapping. It is worth repeating that you should never wrap until you have good bark formation - the type that doesn't come off when you scratch it. (Go by bark and not temps to wrap.)
FWIW, I never use sugar on my briskets (SPG) and still get great bark.

[Henrik]

I’m the same. Bark first, and solid bark too of course. Then wrap (if at all).

[ecowper]

Henrik I could always get 90% of this outcome by sticking the meat in a 250F oven and leaving it there for 10 hours. But where's the fun in that?

[Henrik]

Exactly

[fkrall]

A great and concise tutorial. I shall save it and henceforth post it verbatim as my own.

[ecowper]

That right there is flattery of the highest order sir!

[bbqLuv]

You Done Good, PBR good.
When you said wet, I assume you mean with H2O.

[ecowper]

with H2O ..... don't waste the PBR

[rlozinak]

Some very good information. Thank you.

[captainlee]

Excellent write up, confirms what i do. We too are on low sodium diets, i use commercial rubs sparsely then add additional garlic, pepper whatever to taste depending on what's going on the smoker. I grew up on a low sodium diet because my mom required it. I don't require much salt for flavor.

[ecowper]

my wife is very salt sensitive. The amount of salt that most folks find flavorful will be too much/too salty for her. We have found that 1/2 tsp Morton's kosher salt on most meats will be fine for her as long as it gets at least one hour to dry brine/incorporate.

[fzxdoc]

Very good list, Eric. I do each step exactly as you do except just before adding the rubbed meat to the smoker, I spritz lightly with cold water to help attract the smoke. That's the first and last spritz of the cook.

The meats in those photos are barkily perfect. Kudos.

Kathryn

[ecowper]

I will try the spritz just once thing and see what happens

[fzxdoc]

ecowper , it goes along with the idea of using water for a binder (which I do). I usually layer the rub in 2 stages, sprinkling some more on just before putting the meat on the smoker. A spritz at that time helps that last bit of rub adhere and also aids in attracting the smoke.

The lighty-applied spritz just before smoking also helps with those dry patches on the meat's surface that sometimes show up after the dry-brined and rubbed meat has been resting in the fridge.

K,

[jfmorris]

ecowper this is all great advise, and a good thing to talk about in light of the bark issues Ghawtho was talking about over in the Yoder smoker forum. I see so many folks "spritz" during cooks, and I did it myself 20+ years ago, but feel it has a negative impact on bark formation. I think some folks rinse off bark by spritzing too much.

I also think too folks get way too hung up on "clean smoke". On an offset, if you do a hot small fire, it might burn so cleanly that it inhibits bark formation. I've sometimes seen better bark off my kettle+SNS using charcoal and wood chunks, than off my offset using just wood. I think its ok on an offset to get a little white/blue smoke when you add a split, and that some folks who pre burn the wood in a burn barrel before adding it to the offset are probably getting less smoke (and bark) than they might otherwise get. As long as the smoke is not black and sooty, or gray, I don't sweat it.

In order of "barkyness" I have to rank my cookers as: 1. Kettle+SNS, 2. Offset, 3. Kamado (in kamado mode). I think a lot of it is a combination of air flow and how clean the fire is. The offset has high airflow, but clean smoke, and the kamado has low airflow. If I use the offset these days, it will be with a charcoal and wood fire, as it makes it more hands off.

[ecowper]

airflow and "clean" are definitely part of it as far as how dark the bark gets. I honestly don't worry about thin blue at all. On the SnS and Hasty-Bake, I add the wood right before adding the meat. That's not as easy to do on the WSM, so I don't worry about it there.

[JLR]

I’m amazed you rank your kettle above the offset! I get very good bark on my SNS kettle, but it is nothing compared to my offset. It isn’t even in the same category.

[jfmorris]

JLR it’s likely because since 2017 I’ve smoked more often on the kettle than on the offset. The days I stay up all night feeding the fire are long gone. I did review some pictures from last fall when I ran some ribs on the offset for about 5 hours, and they did have a nice mahogany color and bark. Maybe you are right, but it’s been a couple years since I did brisket or butts on the offset.

[TripleB]

I like a dark bark on my beef and pork butt, but not my ribs. For ribs I like a nice red, mahogany color. For all the great advice and input above, I found that the smoker will dictate the color of the bark when smoked. With my Jambo, WSM's and PBC the color of the bark on my ribs is dark. When I smoke on my KBQ, I get that red, mahogany color. Roughly the same temp, wood, rub and prep method between all the smokers.

Why? My reason, and someone else might weigh in, is that the KBQ uses an inverted flame and the smoke goes through the coal bed, thus creating a very clean smoke. And being a convection oven, the ribs are in for a shorter duration of time.

[Spinaker]

Moisture and air flow are key. When I am cooking on my BGE, I have to make sure I manage the moisture in the cooking chamber because there is so little air flow. Wrapping also plays a huge part in this, IMHO.

Last weekend, I smoked a brisket on my BGE. I added water to the water pan and after a 10 hour cook, below was the result. Good bark, but not great. There is so little airflow, evaporation is tough and slow. This is part of the reason I tend to cook hotter in the BGE to compensate. Additionally, outside moisture and humidity plays a role.

Here is a brisket I smoked in the dead of winter. Very low humidity....probably in the low teens and about -20 F outside. Cold enough that frost forms in the thin air to squeeze the moisture from the air. The result, much better bark on this brizzy. (I use pretty much the same rub for all large meats) Roughly the same cook temp, no water in the pan....just them drippins'. You can clearly see the crusty bark that has formed on this cook. As the surface moisture was evaporated quicker and the bark had more time to form. No doubt here that I had better bark on the lower picture.


Here are some beef ribs from the PBC. Although beef ribs have tons of intermusscular fat and moisture great bark is certainly possible. Especially int he PBC. The PBC runs hotter and has a ton of air flow. Much, much more than the BGE. As the air and heat mix, moisture is sucked away and that bark forms fast and early.

And then there is the KBQ. With the convection action of the KBQ, you literally get that moisture being sucked away from the surface of the meat. You can get awesome bark formation in a very short period of time, even at lower heat. The first picture is a few briskets I have cooking after only about 2 hours, you can already see the bark forming. I often spritz while using the KBQ to keep the corners soft and moist as the bark forms. It helps to slow it down while the bark forms on the rest of the brisket. With spritzing, you can get some really nice even


Now with all that being said. Wrapping makes a huge difference as well. As soon as you wrap that baby up. That is when you stop the sweating and bark formation. It also softens the bark a lot. Granted, you can firm it back up some by letting it steam off before serving. However, you will never have better bark, than at the moment you wrap that brisket. Which is why I always take my brisket, shoulders, ribs etc PAST the stall. Once all that surface moisture is gone, that is when the real magic happens. I find that at about 185 up until about 190-195 F, that is when the real magic happens. Then I will wrap it up, and allow the cook to end.

After all my blabbing. I encourage people to check out Meathead's article on this subject. Don't forget.....he goes in to great detail on this, along with Dr. Blonder.
What is Bark, and Why It Makes Us Howl For More
Brown Is Beautiful or why We Love GBD, Bark, Crust, Caramelization and the Maillard Reaction

[ecowper]

Even on brisket, I try not to wrap. Ribs never get wrapped until I hold them. And I've been known to take ribs straight from the cooker to the cutting board. Pork butt and brisket get wrapped for the hold, as a minimum. These days I do that in butcher paper rather than aluminum foil. Trying to avoid any braising happening.

[Henrik]

That is 100% my experience too. On my BGE I always cooked 10 deg hotter to get bark. The spritzing is common on well built offsets (with high air flow), that’s the only time I spritz. Like you say, parts of the meat may dry up.

[Spinaker]

Yeah, I never wrap ribs. Unless I hold them, like you said. Generally, I go right from the smoker to the cutting board with ribs too. I like to have a little bite on the ribs and holding them tends to soften that up. So if I can go right to the board, I will.

[Rob whatever]

Salt and pepper rub, 5 hours uncovered, 30 minutes covered with BBQ sauce. I have a Reverse flow (M36), put the ribs on just when I light the fire. Let it come up to 250F in an hour or so. Then let it run at 250F for the balance. Dampers are 3/4 shut during most of the cook. Burning with sticks the whole way. The color is from the bark more than the sauce.

[Huskee]

Good tips. I will state my counter-opinion on one of your points though; not all commercial rubs are bad, not all contain too much salt. I know you likely didn't mean to imply ALL commercial rubs are too salty. But with thought and trial & error we can use commercial rubs just fine.

There are a few that are low enough salt I still have to do a half dry brine, such as Meathead's rubs (although I find the Poultry rub a touch saltier than the other two), Heaven Made Products, and Henrik's, to name a few that come to mind. Most other off-the-shelfers though, yes, full o' salt. Taste 'em with your finger. Really salty? In such cases, simply use them as the full dry brine.

[Rob whatever]

I’ve never used a commercial rub. Aside from wanting to avoid the the salt, all the ingredients are readily available. Perhaps I don’t know what I’m missing, but whatever.

Rob

[ecowper]

Rob whatever I've used a few and not been super impressed. The notable exceptions to that is Henrik's stuff and Meathead's ..... plus I'm not a fan of preservatives and stabilizing agents and all that stuff.

[Huskee]

Rob whatever I enjoy Heaven Made Products, he uses a unique blend that gives his stuff a high umami quality, beyond just a standard blend of spices. But yeah, ultimately who cares if you like what you use then use what you like and everyone's happy.

[Johnny Booth]

I agree with these posts, except the impact of smoke - I am sure it affects the color of the meat, but not bark formation.
My wife gets excellent deep bark on meats cooking in the oven too. No smoke in there. 😉

[ecowper]

smoke probably doesn't make a difference to the bark formation, but it does to the meat color.

[JLR]

Here is one of Meathead's articles on bark.

[ecowper]

yep, that article is one of the things that has informed me on creating good bark. The one thing I don't talk about above is removing the fat cap. I aggressively trim fat to get more meat surface for bark.