Brisket positioning and a good bark

[enassar]

I just received my PBC and looking forward to giving it a spin. I am sure I will have no problem making amazing ribs, pork butt, poultry, sausage and such. I am a little skeptical still about making a proper brisket and was hoping to clear a couple of things up from you nice people. I live in Houston and really my favorite barbecue meat (smoked meat) is the brisket, Central Texas style with a nice smoky salty peppery bark and tender but not mushy texture. I have cooked many briskets over the years on my slightly modified cheap offset and usually can produce very good results but temp control is always an issue with these things. So, I am hoping the PBC can help with that, my concerns are:

- Is there any reason I cannot hook the brisket with the flat end as opposed to the point? Seems more logical to me having the thick fatty point facing the "fire" (that's what you do with the offset-fatty side facing the heat). Is there a risk of tearing maybe?

- Why not just lay the brisket flat on the rack instead of hanging it?

- I rarely use a Texas Crutch (aluminum foil wrap), I do not like it. I feel it produces something like a pot roast and messes my bark. Thinking of wrapping with parchment or butcher paper this time following what I read in Franklin's bbq book.

- I've seen the video on the PBC site where Noah cooks his and it looks fine but looks more like a roasted brisket than a proper barbecued/smoked one. It does not have a nice bark on it at all. Maybe since he does not use any wood chunks at all? That's my guess. Have you guys been able to get a nice bark on yours in the PBC?

Many many thanks for any input I can get.

[1Bigg_ER]

The PBC is not a regular smoker. I had any issues with bark formation.
As for hanging with point side down, you may need to use more hooks and transfer it to the grate once it starts getting tender.
I think hanging it is better since the airflow is unobstructed and cooks faster. Then you can finish it on the grate.

Noah wraps his brisket, that's why it has a weak or no bark.

Enjoy your PBC and don't limit yourself to PBC videos instructions. It's yours now, experiment with it.

[amshepar]

Since you are in Houston, go get the coffee chili rub from the bulk spice section at Central Market.  It is fantastic and creates incredible bark.  You won't regret this decision I add just a tiny bit of salt to it (very little salt in the actual rub) and mix it with olive oil to make a paste.  If you can shrink wrap the meat and let is sit in the fridge overnight it will help a ton with the flavor.  There is some sugar in the rub that creates the bark.  You can find my post about my brisket with the rub somewhere in the mix of threads. 

Also, I hang my brisket sideways.   Hanging the flat closer to the coals will char the end of the flat WAY before the point is ready.  On a larger brisket you may find the flat hits 203 (arguably the ideal temperature to pull the brisket) before the bigger point gets there.  I pull my brisket at 165 or so and do the foil wrap.  If the temperatures are far off between the point and flat I will separate them before wrapping.

Expect 45 minutes or so per pound of brisket.  Also, I've used a porter beer (although Shiner would be a good choice too) instead of the beef stock and it comes out fantastic, if you decide to wrap it.

Good luck.  You will enjoy your PBC Brisket immensely.  Just be patient with it and let the PBC do the work!

[grossie]

I was having similar concerns on my pork butts not being quite as tasty as they were on my TBE. Muebe mentioned cooking the butt butt on the rack. So, a couple of weeks ago when I cooked a full brisket, I used the rack. It was far and away the tenderest, tastiest brisket that I've been able to cook. You may want to try that method. I'll see if I can find a pic.

[grossie]

Here it is.

[smokeasaurus]

Now that is a good looking briskie....

The cooking grate is in the "sweet spot" of the barrel and using the grate ensures that the entire pc of meat is setting there 

[drholly]

That is a wonderful looking brisket. And The Smoke is right - while it is fun to hang stuff - sometimes the grate is the right choice.

[enassar]

Thanks all for the feedback and grossie that is some awesome looking brisket!

Well, I'm glad that my hunch about using the rack was a good one. That's what I did yesterday for my first ever cook on the PBC and the brisket was more or less perfect. Any issues were really mine since I am not used to it quiet yet.

It came out with a perfect dark bark and all lovely and moist within. I used the briquettes of course and several chunks of pecan.

- I used a whole packer brisket, prime grade. Trimmed it and rubbed with with my usual rub heavy on salt and pepper with some garlic powder, onion powder and paprika among a few others.
- The brisket cooked in about 8 hours total, a shorter cook time than with the offset by about 2-3 hours. I wrapped it with some parchment (I had no butcher paper) after it pushed through the stall and had a very nice bark on it.
- The temp was pretty much in the 260 to 310 range the whole time. I did have to add more wood chunks and some more briquettes about halfway through since I did not start with a full coal basket (was experimenting with that a bit)
- I underestimated how fast the PBC heats up with the cover off and at one point when the temp dipped to 230 or so I removed the cover and with in five minutes it was a raging 450F! I quickly covered it and it stabilized. That was a newbie mistake with the PBC and should not happen again.
- At 202F the brisket was perfect, tender and soft.

Some pics below


This is about halfway through the cook, in the middle of the stall


Right before wrapping it with parchment, Franklin's BBQ style


Wrapped


After resting it for about two hours the temp in the center was around 160, perfect for slicing


A bunch of gratuitous brisket pictures, that last one might be my new avatar 

[Cinredman]

My local costco (less than 2 miles away) is stocking full brisket and I'm super jazzed to give one of these a super cook.

Of course, I could just punt the brisket and go big time; whole lamb :-)

Go big, or go home ?


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[jjjonz]

I'd sure like a couple of pieces of that and some bread on butcher paper.....I'd think I was at Smitty's in Lockhart .

[1Bigg_ER]

So your first cook on the PBC was a perfect brisket! You show off Yoooouu!! LOL, great job

[drholly]

Oh boy! That is some mighty fine cooking! Thanks for sharing!

[smokeasaurus]

I only use parchment paper now when I wrap. Try plain salt and pepper on your briskie the next time  (ala Franklin) really comes out nice..............

[enassar]

Thanks for the kind comments all.

I've been meaning to try just salt/pepper for a while now but always seem to breakdown and revert to my rub...which is mostly salt and pepper really. Next time the brisket will be only seasoned with S&P.

[grossie]

Great looking cook! Thanks for sharing.
Did you flip the brisket?