First brisket in GOSM Big Block - What went wrong??? :(

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jpdeuce

Newbie
Original poster
Jun 3, 2010
28
10
OK, so I bought a GOSM Big Block a little while ago.  I've done ribs and pork in it so far that turned out great.  3-2-1 method on the ribs and smoke-foil-finish method on the pork.  Both turned out great.  I've done as small as 2 racks of ribs up to 30 lbs of pork at once.  But, I'm a Texan, and I've been building up experience to start doing briskets.

My first brisket was for Labor Day weekend.  I used Geek's basic method as an outline to follow.

Let me say first that everyone else really liked it.  It was very moist and the flavor was fine (used Jeff's rub).  I however was disappointed in the lack of bark.  Even after it was pulled off the smoker (before steaming in the foil) it was basically wet on the outside.  No crusties, no bark, no crunch.  I hesitate to believe that I can't get a good bark with a gas smoker, but maybe some of you GOSM guys can chime in.

Help me figure out what went wrong.  I'm ready to try another one.

These pics are from after pulling it out of the foil from sitting in a cooler for about an hour.

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Man... if it tastes as good as it looks... forget the bark. You create bark by the outside of the meat drying out. If you want more bark.... put the brisket back in the smoker after you take it out of the foil. Looks really good and juicy to me. I just did a few briskets and they had plenty of bark. I was using a stick burner and I foiled at 165. I would suggest either leaving it unfoiled a little longer or putting it back on the fire for just a little while after removing from the foil...... but dang that looks good. Not sure how you get much better than that.

PS... your braising... not steaming.
 
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Were you spraying / mopping it often?

If you braise it in the foil for a decent amount of time, you can pretty much expect the bark to hydrate and become wet. You can try putting the brisket in a tin foil pan, and use less liquid instead of a tight foil wrapping, or cook unfoiled the entire time.

Mostly I have the same issue with brisket, as I dont have time to finish them so I foil. However you can also try cooking overnight and not foiling to get bark. Flipping might help too, if you choose to cook unfoiled.
 
It did taste good, thanks for talking me off the ledge somewhat.  I sprayed it with coke every hour-ish. 

I still would like more of a bark like this guy:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/98379/my-best-brisket-yet

I guess I can keep it on the smoker the whole time and skip the braising.  I'm interested to see how that will impact the moistness of the meat.  I suppose it's a trade-off or a delicate balance. 

I've got 45 lbs of pork going on this weekend, so I will have to wait to try it again.
 
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