I have smoked several briskets and have been generally happy with them. However, a few weeks ago I did one using Aaron Franklin's MasterClass guidelines (surprising there actually is some additional info in there that's not in his YouTube videos). In terms of both tenderness and fat rendering, that was the best result I've ever had.

However, where that brisket lacked was in bark development. It simply did not get a good bark.

The cook time on that brisket was shorter than what I typically get. His guidelines have me actually smoking at a slightly higher temperature than I normally do, plus gradually raising the temperature a little.

His guidelines also introduce a water pan, which I have never done and spritzing the brisket with a liquid sprayer throughout the cook which I rarely do.

My question is: is it simply the shorter cook time that led to less bark formation? Or could it be that the two additional forms of liquid introduction are also holding back the bark? I guess it would be a little more humid here in College Station than he is used to in Austin.

I have a dry aged brisket (never done one of those before!) that I need to smoke one of the next two weekends and I really really loved the way the brisket turned out using his rules other than the bark. Want to see what I could tweak to help bark formation.

Yes. All 3 are factors. To varying degrees, but they are all factors.

What temp and time did you cook for? Did you wrap; and if so, with what and when? What grade was tI he brisket? What did you pull it at?

I always use a water pan, and I've never seen it dramatically affect my bark. I've wrapped in foil before, and that for sure softened my bark. I wrap in peach paper now, and get a great balance between moisture and bark. I don't spray throughout the cook. Just when I'm wanting to check color- sort of spraying off the heavy spike particles.

I think too much spray can kill a bark too, and I don't believe it actually adds much (if any) moisture to the meat. Just my personal opinion, but all the juices are sweating out, not sinking in, during most of a cook. I think good moisture starts when a good brisket. I have cooked a select that I dang near drowned, and it was still dry as toast. A prime that I do very little too will usually be very moist, as long as I hold my temps where they need to be.

I use a pan, have an internal water chamber and also spritz, and cook at the same temps Aaron recommends. Have never had a problem getting a healthy bark, it must be something else you're doing.

What and how much are you rubbing with?

A water pan will not ruin your bark formation, plenty of people use one with no issues. On the other hand, over spritzing or moping can hurt your bark, don't do it too much. I had a couple briskets with weaker bark that I finally realized I was over spraying. A shorter cook time can also not give you enough time to form up as good of a bark.

One thing to note, you say you cooked hotter following his directions. I know Franklin usually says he cooks at 275. Keep in mind 275 for him on a 1000 gallon pit is different than 275 for you on a Weber Smokey mountain, small offset, BGE, or whatever you're using. Doesn't sound like it makes sense, but it has to do with thermodynamics of how air is flowing through pits.

Watch this video from mad scientist bbq, he has a pretty good channel (it's his first tip so you don't have to watch all 19 minutes to see what I'm talking about).



Long story short is, cook at a temp that works best for you, for most of us back yard hacks, beef is usually better to smoke at 225-250 for a low and slow cook, and that will help you with getting a better bark.

cupofjoe04 said:

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What temp and time did you cook for? Did you wrap; and if so, with what and when? What grade was tI he brisket? What did you pull it at?

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Started I think ~255 and gradually increased to 270 by the end (as Franklin instructs).
I don't remember what time I pulled it at, but it was sooner than I anticipated. Like 11 hours I think?

I always wrap with butcher paper, but I actually didn't this time because I saw that the bark wasn't forming.
Franklin instructs to wrap once you have a good bark formation, which is what I typically do. Obviously since I never got good bark, it didn't make sense to wrap.

I actually don't remember what temp I pulled at. In the past I'd pull between 195 and 208 just depending on circumstances. Franklin says the proper temperature to pull a brisket varies by the piece of meat (which I tend to agree with) and so he goes by feel. Both the tenderness/jiggle of the meat, and he will stick a thermometer in the brisket - but he's not looking at the temperature. Just to use as a probe to judge tenderness. I think he said he wants it to feel like a "bag of melted butter."

cupofjoe04 said:

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I think too much spray can kill a bark too, and I don't believe it actually adds much (if any) moisture to the meat. Just my personal opinion, but all the juices are sweating out, not sinking in, during most of a cook.

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So the thought behind the spray isn't to add moisture to the interior meat. It's simply to keep certain spots on the brisket from becoming too crisp. Based on the shape of the meat and your smoker, you can get "hot spots" where certain pieces are crispier than others. (I'm sure you've encountered if you smoked many briskets.)

So since you can't really do anything to catch up the pieces of the bark that are lagging behind, you use the spritzer to cool down the bark parts that are cooking to fast. So that certain parts don't get burnt.


You also mentioned the meat quality - totally agree. This last one was a Prime - one reason I think it cooked so fast. This next one is a dry aged Choice. Have no idea what that's gonna' cook like.

STX Ag said:

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What and how much are you rubbing with?

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Typically I use Worcestershire as a binder and salt/pepper seasoning. This time I used mustard as a binder (doubt that makes much of a difference) and the same salt/pepper as always.

I definitely didn't do more mustard than he shows on his video. Just enough to barely moisten all surface area.

That makes sense, the pit size dynamics being different for temp. Granted, in his video he uses a backyard pit about the size of what I'm using.

In any case, I'll check out the video. Yes, I usually have gotten better bark results cooking a little lower (longer) but this tenderness/fat rendering was definitely pretty well Franklin perfect.

I'll probably knock the temp down 10 degrees or so (start at 245 and gradually ramp up to maybe 260?), spritz just a little bit less, and hope for the best!

Pellet smoker?

Yes. I know it's cheating, but it's the best option I currently have for where I live.

I have nothing against them and certainly wasn't trying to impugn your cooking.

It's something I have noticed about the pellet smokers though, they don't develop a thick crispy bark.

Now my observation is purely anecdotal and I'm sure some brands are better than others but man I swear I see a lot of briskets with thin bark and thin smoke rings that come off of pellet smokers.

I'm not sure if my observation has any real basis or what the science behind explaining it might be but ... well there you have it.

After conferring with a buddy who owns a Traeger, he agrees he can't get a good bark on brisket.

You just now tell us it's a pellet smoker?? That's the difference. No joke, I have one and it's hard to get a bark but it makes life a lot easier.

Certainly wouldn't call myself a brisket expert by any means, but have cooked more than a few on both a stick burner and pellet. Currently I am using my pellet more often than not. Its an Oklahoma Joe's Rider DLX. I can get a mostly comparable bark and smoke ring, but it takes more time. To get it that way, its a long long cook, up to 17 hours so far. Have to cook at a real low temp at first, 195-200 for maybe 8 hours or until about 165. Then i wrap in butcher paper in the stall, and finish up around 250 for another 8 hours or so until 203ish or probe tender. So same brisket on stick is several hours shorter, but it really is hard to tell difference. Also, I use water pan on bottom rack, and typically 2 briskets on the upper racks. Will see if i can find any photos and then if i can figure out how to upload them.

Does Tootsie have a masterclass on using your hand on the smoker Instead of a thermometer?

smstork1007 said:

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Good info! I figured A: some brands might do better than others and B: there was probably a way to do it, but it just eludes most folks until you fiddle with it enough to get it right.

Glad to know it's achievable with a pellet smoker!

And see that's what I figure is common. Looks delicious and I'm sure it was, but the bark is real light. If you're looking for that chewy salty bite it might disappoint.

Hope it was good!

phideaux_2003 said:

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smstork1007 said:

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Good info! I figured A: some brands might do better than others and B: there was probably a way to do it, but it just eludes most folks until you fiddle with it enough to get it right.

Glad to know it's achievable with a pellet smoker!

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I don't think it really has as much to do with different brands smokers as it does the nature of pellet smokers.

A pellet smoker is heated by an almost perfect fire, all the time. There is very little smoldering or poor fires because of the fan and computer controls.

A stick burner on the other hand, regardless of how good the fire is managed, will always have some "bad" fire that generates something other than the "thin blue" smoke. Stick burning vs pellet burning is just generally going to be a thicker smoke in general.

That isn't me being critical of either method. Just what I believe is a component of the different methods.

One think I've noticed on a few prime briskets is, they'll be done (tender) sooner than the others. Say, at about 195 instead of 200-206. Not all of them, but sometimes.

phideaux_2003 said:

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smstork1007 said:

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Good info! I figured A: some brands might do better than others and B: there was probably a way to do it, but it just eludes most folks until you fiddle with it enough to get it right.

Glad to know it's achievable with a pellet smoker!

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I did not see this video until after several fails on the pellet, and then just guessed and lucked my way into it, but this guy cooks his virtually the same was and its on a different pellet than mine, so I would assume it works on them all. Give it a watch and hope that it helps. He doesn't use a water pan, but I do in mine just to shield the meat that much more from any direct heat, plus I just always do, as the Rider DLX is a little different than most on where the burn pot is I believe.