The Texas BBQ Forum

Thanks Bruno, i think the placement of exhaust may be the answer, this smoker also had it up high and at back of a 36" so we had the briskets towards front away from exhaust travel for most part. i agree with the radiant heat cooking the meat faster.

so this weekend i did two practice briskets... one I pulled at 195 and the other after it went over 200. The 195 one was just too tough for me but the 200 one was perfect texture, just still a little dry. On both of them the bark was "soggy" it wasnt a crunch texture. I could almost smush the bark around with my finger.. anyone else have this problem?

If you wrap, you're going to have soft bark. You can always return it to the pit, unwrapped, for a few minutes to help "set" the bark. Don't just rely on internal temp. You can use it as a reference, but trust more in how it feels when you probe it. Allow enough time to give it a nice rest too.

as far as judging, do they prefer a crunchy bark?

Honestly, it could varie from one judge to another, or from one region to another. We usually play it safe and run ours kind of in the middle of the road.

i agree with the Donkey, lol.

Speaking of "mushy bark", I would ask how coarse your rub is?? Finer rubs applied too heavily will maintain a "mush" status... while coarser rubs tend to bark up better. I changed rubs after about 4 yrs because of this.

Noob question... Are the point and flat separated before competition cooking?

Some people do, some don't.

OutlawNinja wrote:so this weekend i did two practice briskets... one I pulled at 195 and the other after it went over 200. The 195 one was just too tough for me but the 200 one was perfect texture, just still a little dry. On both of them the bark was "soggy" it wasnt a crunch texture. I could almost smush the bark around with my finger.. anyone else have this problem?

If you want good bark get rid of all the shiny stuff around that brisket. if you want consistency in tenderness cook it to probe tender in the thickest part of the Flat and to hades with the meats temp. If it's dry you need to cook it longer.

OutlawNinja wrote:so this weekend i did two practice briskets... one I pulled at 195 and the other after it went over 200. The 195 one was just too tough for me but the 200 one was perfect texture, just still a little dry. On both of them the bark was "soggy" it wasnt a crunch texture. I could almost smush the bark around with my finger.. anyone else have this problem?

If you need to wrap it use butcher paper instead of foil. The foil is steaming the brisket and making the bark soft.

You can't always trust IT for tenderness. Try probing for tenderness and use IT as a reference. As far as the brisket being dry, it could have just been the meat.

From the meat selection to the pit from the way you maintain your fire can all factor in. When you pulled it at 195* did you unwrap the foil to let the hottness come out for about 10-15min?
Also if your constantly going up and down in temps it can factor in also. Good luck next time!
Trial and error buddy.

So I guess I'll ask in this thread since it's only at the competitions that I see this. What is it with these weird yellow brisket slices. what the heck is that? Been seeing it more and more frequently, I mean literally some slices have a very yellow color?

Hey Arnie ... That's the mustard slather bleeding thru!!! Lmao


Redneck Cooker...