Scored an HEB Prime 1 brisket today. Doing on my BGE. Following a video on OB several days ago will go with a heavier amount of rub than just salt and pepper, because as video said the BGE is NOT a smoker and the brisket will need more 'stuff' to help flavor/build bark. So my question is, Wrap or Not Wrap with pink HEB butcher paper. Honest confession is that I am leaning to NOT WRAP. Your comments are greatly appreciated!

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brisket will need more 'stuff' to help flavor/build bark

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That is bull*****

I have a BGE. I have never had an issue making a bark on a brisket. I rarely get a smoke ring regardless of how many chunks I mix in the lump but bark is never an issue.

And I do wrap in butcher paper and get plenty of smoke flavor.

Wrap

Peach paper.

BGE is a smoker
BGE will make awesome bark w/ S&P only
BGE will make a decent smoke ring if you start with a brisket that's about 50-60 degrees. Once meat gets above 140ish, the ability to produce ring is over.
Wrap (peach paper) once you put in cooler
#1 reason people eff-up brisket is they "check on the meat" way too much. Put it on, get your temp right and don't open the dang lid until internal temp is 198! It's pretty damn easy to do excellent brisket

I'd wrap, but that's because I've found I produce better briskets when I do that.

If it's such a dilemma for you, cook one without and then do the next one with wrapping. See which you like better and roll with that.

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because as video said

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What video? I have a Primo and have never had an issue with flavor or bark with straight B&P.

Done them both ways. Similar briskets but takes longer unwrapped.

Do you guys use a platesetter when doing briskets?

The "smoke" ring is already in the meat. It's essentially the natural pinkish red color of the myoglobin in the meat. It normally turns brown as it cooks.

A true wood smoker produces a high concentration of nitric oxide as a byproduct. The NO bonds to the myoglobin and prevents it turning brown as the meat cooks.

Lump charcoal only produces a fraction of the NO as it burns, as compared to wood. Hence, stick smokers will always have a much better "smoke" ring than ceramic smokers and the ring has nothing to do with the actual smoke.

And of course, the reason you can't get a ring once the meat is past a certain temp, is because the myoglobin will have already turned brown from the cooking process unless it has already absorbed the nitric oxide.

The smoke ring has more to do with the temp of the meat when you put it on the egg than with the actual smoke.

Try putting the meat on when its still relatively cold and you should get a fine smoke ring on the egg.

Aaron Franklin did an experiment with this on his PBS show...

Big Green Egg user here.

S&P rub and a cold brisket on the egg have always produced both an excellent bark and great smoke ring for me. A bark actually has nothing to do with the amount of extra "stuff" you throw in your rub.

Putting a 16lb prime on my BGE in about 5min. S&P rub , normal amounts. Bark gets decent (not great I'll admit) and I do get a smoke ring. Not sure where this idea of "not a real smoker" and "need more help" comes from. And as I recall didn't you get rid of your egg and go pellet ? Or there some big internal conflict about it. Maybe I'm thinking of wrong poster.

I must have missed that thread, can you post a link

Also, a few questions for a noob:

1. What ratio of salt to pepper?
2. Coarse pepper and kosher salt?
3. What temp for BGE?

I have a Primo, and I have done it both ways (wrapped and no wrap). I now choose to wrap; the biggest benefit of wrapping is that it gets you through the stall faster and decreases your cook time. As long as you unwrap with a good couple of hours left on the cook, your bark will turn out great.

lotsofhp said:

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I must have missed that thread, can you post a link

Also, a few questions for a noob:

1. What ratio of salt to pepper?
2. Coarse pepper and kosher salt?
3. What temp for BGE?

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50/50
Yes
Normally i do 250 But I wanted the one I put on last night to cook a little slower due to timing reasons so I did 225

Ive wrapped with peach paper and foil before. Now i normally crutch mine so it cooks faster and is more tender (I know it's like steaming meat but to non bbq purists they seem to like it) but likely do peach paper today just to try something different.

One thing I've found that makes a substantial difference: use fresh ground pepper and salt. Go to Costco and get a pack of peppercorns and kosher salt in the grinder. I duct tape the bottom of the grinder to a cordless drill and start grinding - one cup of each, mix and rub. It was a massive improvement over store bought ground salt and pepper

Thanks all, 50/50 K salt and pepper, 250 oak and pecan, not going to wrap until pull off at 205 deg!

Bottlerocket said:

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One thing I've found that makes a substantial difference: use fresh ground pepper and salt. Go to Costco and get a pack of peppercorns and kosher salt in the grinder. I duct tape the bottom of the grinder to a cordless drill and start grinding - one cup of each, mix and rub. It was a massive improvement over store bought ground salt and pepper

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If you live near an HEB, their fresh spices are the way to go and are fresh enough I don't always grind my own. I don't buy anything from the spice aisle anymore.

Mark Fairchild said:

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Thanks all, 50/50 K salt and pepper, 250 oak and pecan, not going to wrap until pull off at 205 deg!

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Atta boy

Throw a cup of traeger pellets in with the lump in the BGE. You'll get a lot more smoke at the beginning. I also throw in a couple pecan chunks. I've never wrapped mine because I've been happy with the outcome with out it. I use a fan then don't open the lid.

I put a water pan on my plate setter.

Fat side up or down?

How did that bad boy come out? Pics?

I wrap in butcher paper cooking on a kamado and have never had an issue with a smoke ring. For me, the trick is to add celery seed to your rub. I usually coat with roughly a 35%-35%-25%-5%, salt, pepper, garlic, celery seed, respectively. I also usually add a liberal coating of Meat Church Garlic and Herb for a little extra flavoring.




Edit to add: I cook with lump charcoal and add chunks of hickory and mesquite for smoke.

This is how it turned out, great, no wrap just BGE all the way at 250 to 205 internal!

civilized05 said:

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I wrap in butcher paper cooking on a kamado and have never had an issue with a smoke ring. For me, the trick is to add celery seed to your rub. I usually coat with roughly a 35%-35%-25%-5%, salt, pepper, garlic, celery seed, respectively. I also usually add a liberal coating of Meat Church Garlic and Herb for a little extra flavoring.




Edit to add: I cook with lump charcoal and add chunks of hickory and mesquite for smoke.

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Looks fantastic. I had decent bark this time (not as good as yours) but very faint smoke ring. Also turned out slightly drier than my previous briskets (crutched brisket) But overall it was good.

Morton's Tender Quick helps get a nice ring. Try adding it the night before.

Bullpen Chias said:

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Morton's Tender Quick helps get a nice ring. Try adding it the night before.

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I'm not too worried about it to be honest, it tastes the same and just an esthetic issue from what I've seen. Other than being judged by the OB.

Faking smoke rings

One I did in February that I was happy with. Funny thing is I didn't do anything different from my perspective.

I did leave more fat on the more recent one. Would that affect smoke ring ?

Cooked this one on the bge last night

Much in the same vein as bolt-ons... If I can see 'em and touch 'em, are they really fake?

Wrap after 6-8 hrs on big ones. Cook an additional 6 hrs low heat.