# Brisket Crust



## HAYBL (Nov 14, 2006)

I was reading through the "Worst BBQ" thread on TTMB and came across this picture.
My question is; What do I need to do to try and get a crust like this? It's exactly the way I like brisket but I've only smoked a dozen or so and when I've one them, I just use a pre-mixed rub and don't get this pretty, thick, black crust.


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## dbarham (Aug 13, 2005)

Buy one with alot of fat and cook it fat side up don't trim


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## speckle-catcher (May 20, 2004)

how are you cooking your briskets?

dbarham may not know much (LOL) - but he's right about fat side up.


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## bigl (Mar 3, 2008)

Most call it bark.


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## HAYBL (Nov 14, 2006)

speckle-catcher said:


> how are you cooking your briskets?
> 
> dbarham may not know much (LOL) - but he's right about fat side up.


I've always done fat side down and usually 250 degrees until the internal temp is right.
Should I try faster and hotter along with the fat side up?


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## speckle-catcher (May 20, 2004)

I'd say lower and slower.

I smoke my brisket around 220Âº


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## HAYBL (Nov 14, 2006)

speckle-catcher said:


> I'd say lower and slower.
> 
> I smoke my brisket around 220Âº


Thank you. Didn't know if maybe time and temp or if there was a trick with the rub to give it that thick of a bark like in the picture.


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

That kind of bark is from the rub. Put a good heavy layer of rub on the brisket and cook at 225 til 150 internal. Wrap in butcher paper until it reaches 190. Let it rest for 30 minutes. Slice and enjoy. Done deal.


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## Law Dog (Jul 27, 2010)

Remember "Low and Slow" and Fat side Up!


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## Gottagofishin (Dec 17, 2005)

Looks can be deceiving, but that brisket looks dry and overdone to me. 

A good bark is formed on the lean side of the meat. You aren't going to eat the fat cap. Fat side up. Coat liberally with a rub that has a good amount of brown sugar. The carmelized sugar will form the bark.


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## fattrout (Jun 19, 2013)

i cook fat side up (and i trim my packer to about 1/4" on the fat cap) at 250 till probe tender...for the bark liberal coating of rub and make sure it has some sugar in it, that carmelizes to from a pretty good bark.


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

I don't use sugar in my brisket rubs. I find that when it burns it can give a bitter flavor. We do add it to ribs and butts though when we wrap them.


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## Pokey (Jan 25, 2007)

I don't like a brisket that has been wrapped. I cook mine Hot and Fast fat side up.


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## txjustin (Jun 3, 2009)

Pokey said:


> I don't like a brisket that has been wrapped. I cook mine Hot and Fast fat side up.


Can you detail exactly how you cook it? 
I have always been a low and slow guy, but 15 hours of cooking makes me only do it twice a year.


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

Some of the pro cooks cook hot and fast, but most low and slow. I prefer low/slow, when I am Qing, I am not in any hurry so I just drink beer til it gets wrapped, then usually Crown and 7 til it goes in the hot box somewhere around midnight usually. Then "Good Night"! Up early for the slicing and "sometimes" it is perfect!!!!!!


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## Minnow Pause (Sep 4, 2013)

Gottagofishin said:


> Looks can be deceiving, but that brisket looks dry and overdone to me.
> 
> A good bark is formed on the lean side of the meat. You aren't going to eat the fat cap. Fat side up. Coat liberally with a rub that has a good amount of brown sugar. The carmelized sugar will form the bark.


This. Dark brisket with a good bark has brown sugar in the rub. You do have to be careful not to get too hot because it will turn to carbon.

Another tip, rub the brisket with a thin layer of some yellow mustard before you apply the rub. Helps keep more rub on. Don't baste for the first hour of the smoke so that it keeps the rub on and allows it to set.

Also, if you wrap your briskets, you are going to have to allow some time at the end for the bark to get crunchy again. I usually unwrap my briskets and then put them closer to the firebox. It doesn't take long and again, mind you don't burn the sugar.


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

Minnow Pause said:


> Also, if you wrap your briskets, you are going to have to allow some time at the end for the bark to get crunchy again.


 This is one of the main reasons we changed to butcher paper for the wrap. It doesn't "sweat" the crust so much and leaves it more crunchy without having to dry it out again.


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## HAYBL (Nov 14, 2006)

Thanks all for the tips!


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## manintheboat (Jun 1, 2004)

you do not need sugar in your rub to create a bark. Salt, pepper, smoke and time will take care of the rest. If you are going to use sugar in your rub, however, try turbinado sugar. It will not scorch as easily as brown sugar or table sugar and it does not clump.


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## Main Frame 8 (Mar 16, 2007)

txjustin said:


> Can you detail exactly how you cook it?
> I have always been a low and slow guy, but 15 hours of cooking makes me only do it twice a year.


 Slow and low in the smoker for the first 4-5 hours will give you your smoke ring. I pull it and toss into a big aluminum pan (covered with foil) and finish in the oven while I sleep. 1.5 hours per pound @ 220-225 degrees.

Last one I did was 12 lbs. In the smoker @ 5pm, in the oven @ 10:30pm I'd put the oven temp @ 200 since you won't have some of the normal temp fluctuations you can get with a smoker. Once done, I saran wrap, foil wrap and wrap that in a towel. It goes into an empty cooler for an hour to let the juice redistribute.


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## Main Frame 8 (Mar 16, 2007)

Pics


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## MapMaster (May 25, 2004)

I always use a trimmed brisket and cook fat side up, low and slow.
I Never use salt in a rub because it dries the meat, almost curing it like jerky through the process.
I have never used sugar but may give that a try.
I may also try wrapping in butcher paper as suggested (I always use foil).
I use tons of coarse ground black pepper (sometimes that is all I use).
Letting the meat rest in a cooler wrapped in a towel is also my new adopted method. This is a key step I overlooked for a long time.


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## Magnolia (Dec 2, 2007)

MapMaster said:


> I always use a trimmed brisket and cook fat side up, low and slow.
> I Never use salt in a rub because it dries the meat, almost curing it like jerky through the process.
> I have never used sugar but may give that a try.
> I may also try wrapping in butcher paper as suggested (I always use foil).
> ...


my experience with wrapping in a towl and putting in a cooler is that it keeps cooking.....
I will pull my brisket off the pit early if I decide to do that...


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## Bob Landry (Aug 23, 2014)

Everybody has their secret process and secret rub, and it all works. So far, the best rub I have used is a mix of Texjoy steak seasoning and Texjoy Bar B-Q rub. The rub is a little hot with red pepper for my taste, but mixing it one part to two parts of the stek seasoning works for me. I always cook untrimmed brisket fat side up for 12-14 hours. I don't wrap it. If you cook it fat side up it won't dry out. 
My fire technique is probably different from everyone else's. I use a propane fish cooker in the firebox of my pit and place a metal cake pan on top of the burner to hold the wood. I set the temp for 275 degrees and put the meat on at midnight and go to bed. The temperature never changes and and all I have to do is simply keep adding wood and dumping the ashes occasionally. If I had to stay up all night messing with the damper and stack vent to keep the heat regulated, I would probably only cook once a year. It works because a buddy, down close to Houston, who ran a BBQ restaurant for 9 years told me that my brisket was some of the best he had ever eaten.

One tip.. Some guys rub the meat and let it sit for a while thinking that it's marinating. That just causes the blood in the brisket to wash the rub off of the bottom of the brisket. Mine hits the pit as soon as it gets rub. Man, all this talk about BBQ has gotten me really hungry.


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## Magnolia (Dec 2, 2007)

Bob Landry said:


> Everybody has their secret process and secret rub, and it all works. So far, the best rub I have used is a mix of Texjoy steak seasoning and Texjoy Bar B-Q rub. The rub is a little hot with red pepper for my taste, but mixing it one part to two parts of the stek seasoning works for me. I always cook untrimmed brisket fat side up for 12-14 hours. I don't wrap it. If you cook it fat side up it won't dry out.
> My fire technique is probably different from everyone else's. I use a propane fish cooker in the firebox of my pit and place a metal cake pan on top of the burner to hold the wood. I set the temp for 275 degrees and put the meat on at midnight and go to bed. The temperature never changes and and all I have to do is simply keep adding wood and dumping the ashes occasionally. If I had to stay up all night messing with the damper and stack vent to keep the heat regulated, I would probably only cook once a year. It works because a buddy, down close to Houston, who ran a BBQ restaurant for 9 years told me that my brisket was some of the best he had ever eaten.
> 
> One tip.. Some guys rub the meat and let it sit for a while thinking that it's marinating. That just causes the blood in the brisket to wash the rub off of the bottom of the brisket. Mine hits the pit as soon as it gets rub. Man, all this talk about BBQ has gotten me really hungry.


its good to see Im not the only one using Tex Joy on my brisket. I also use Tex Joy seafood seasoning on my fish......great flavor but getting hard to find it in the stores....


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