Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

What am I doing wrong?

Hangfire77
Hangfire77 Posts: 45
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Hello guys I am leaving for work so I will give the short and sweet now and will fill in anything i miss after work. I appriciate any ideas you can come up with.
James

Ok doing the pork butt yesterday I am using the BBQ Guru and i am smoking two 8#ish butts. I completely clean out the egg and used fresh lump. I get the egg stab. at 225 grate and about 240 250 dome. I put the Butts on at 11:30 am and they came off at 06:00 this morning 18.5 hours cook time. The bark is burnt black as sin the rest of it is fine taste goog and falling apart its ok. But why am I burning the bark? The dog likes it ;) just fine but it does not taste good for the rest of us. Is my pit temp to high? The internal temp was 190 when i pulled it. The rub i am using is leggs BBQ rub and seen it used before without blackining. I also rubbed it down in yellow mustard first.

Thanks again for any help I have been egging for about 4 years if that helps.

Comments

  • reelgem
    reelgem Posts: 4,256
    First of all don't use mustard. That will give it bark.
    FlaPoolmans Brisket is delicious and melts in your mouth. Here's his recipe.

    INGREDIENTS:
    1 Whole Brisket

    Mix:

    1 12 Ozs Beer
    12 oz Water
    1/2 cup Brown sugar
    10 Shakes Worcestershire Sauce
    4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
    1 Tbs Cayenne pepper
    5 Shakes Tabasco, to taste
    2 Tsp Onion powder,
    2 Tsp Dry mustard.
    Salt & Pepper to taste

    Heat and Serve:

    2 Pkgs Au Jus, Mix as per package instructions.

    Procedure:

    1 One whole brisket with fat trimmed then cut in half (to fit in steamer trays later---8 X 10 which are 1/2 commercial tray size).

    2 Rub the night before with your favorite steak rub, I use Montreal Steak Seasoning.

    3 Place both pieces on the egg at 250-275 direct for 1 1/2 hrs each side.

    4 Remove brisket pieces and put in steamer trays, 8 X 10 inches, dividing the liquid. mix and cover tightly with foil.

    5 Return to egg at 250 indirect (they can be stacked on top of each other) and leave for 4 to 5 hours.

    6 Remove and discard cooking liquid, slice against the grain and add au jus sauce (about 2 cups each container) and serve.

    7 If precooking for the next day wait until you are ready to reheat to add the au jus.

    8 Not the conventional way to make a brisket but it is really easy and the taste is great.!

    Hope this helps. :)
  • BobS
    BobS Posts: 2,485
    It is hard to judge from just a description, but it sounds pretty normal to me. It is called bark, for a reason.

    It should not have a burned taste, but it will be very dark (black??) and will have a distinctly different consistency. It is almost like a thin layer of jerky. The bark has lots of flavor from the seasoning and the smoke.

    It is hard to argue about the internal temp, but 18 1/2 hours seems pretty long to me. I would say most of mine are closer to 12-14.

    Mine usually rest inside foil and a warm cooler, for a couple of hours, which also probably softens the bark a little.

    I would put one on at about 10-11 PM, so you could actually watch it finish in the AM, looking at both the internal temp and doing the fork test to see when it will pull easily.
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    Bark should be black, or close to it, and have a very strong taste.

    If the bad taste is bitterness, that can come from several things. Burnt sugar in the rub will be bitter. After 18 hours, the surface of the meat may have been really dry, and so the sugar was over done. Black pepper can taste bitter if over heated. Likewise, white pepper can have a medicinal taste.

    Try a different rub next time. A dash more salt will suppress bitter flavors, and a bit of lemon juice, or a vinegar based sauce may brighten up the flavor.

    Sometimes the smoke is bitter/acrid if the wood is not burning clean enough. Did you let the fire go for about 30 minutes before putting the meat on?
  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
    I also wonder about the type of wood being used for the smoke.
  • sugar in the rub or sauce is usually what does it.

    believe it or not, it's not really "burning" per se. but it is carbonizing (which is dang near the same thing, certainly the same result). you are making charcoal by keeping high-carbon stuff (usually sugar) in a low-oxygen high heat (well, high-enough) environment
  • berrygood
    berrygood Posts: 372
    FWIW, for the first time, I rubbed a butt with mustard last week and cooked as normal. My results were he same - blacker, tougher, more substantial bark. I am not an expert, so I won't say anything definitive about the mustard other than to say that I won't use it next time.
  • LoveHandles
    LoveHandles Posts: 156
    You are cooking indirect with a plate setter aren't you? If so, I would back off a lot on the mustard. I did one once and thought more mustard would be better and its not. Nothing wrong with mustard though, just use less
  • Kenny 13
    Kenny 13 Posts: 321
    Right, I use a mustard slather on butts and I've never had a problem, but I just apply a very thin coat.
  • tjv
    tjv Posts: 3,830
    cooking indirect, just jump your grid temp to 250ish to shorten the cook time and/or use foil to wrap the butts when you reach the desired bark formation......t
    www.ceramicgrillstore.com ACGP, Inc.
  • Very interesting!! I’m going to follow this, as I have two 10 pounders (haven’t done roasts that big yet) that I will be doing very soon.
    I have been thinking that I would give the Elder Ward method a try.
  • Hangfire77
    Hangfire77 Posts: 45
    Thanks for all the help and advice I will answer all when I get home trying to answer all u guys on a blackberry will be a painfull process. But to answer a couple quick ones. Yes indirect with a plate setter ove pan of water. Soaked hickory chunks for smoke. I will try apple next time.
    Thank u very much for the responses it looks like the general thoughts are the rub and mustard and not temp. If my two butts lol went 18 hours and others are going in 12 I don't see temp being the issue. Both probes were checked before the cook.
    Thanks again
    James
  • BigA
    BigA Posts: 1,157
    i think it is the mustard and sugar in the rub, dont use the mustard next time and see what happens, calibrate your thermometer, to make sure your dome temp is right at 250 and not 300.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,668
    i shoot for an extra heavey bark, rub, then mustard then alot more rub gets you that :whistle: if you want alot less, try a little rub, some basting with juice and vinegar during the cook, and wrap in foil during the cook when it looks right and continue cooking
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • BigA
    BigA Posts: 1,157
    where do you get a steamer tray?
  • I’ll chime here just because I have some input:

    We have a “kitchen” shop here in town that carries a lot of great stuff and will get most anything you may want or need.

    OTOH, a restaurant supply dealer will most likely have it on the shelf. Do you ever make it N. out of the Cities on 169? There is a great place just outside of Princetion.

    Also check out the “box” stores, they may have a pan this size too.
  • Hangfire77
    Hangfire77 Posts: 45
    Thank you all for the advice and info. I will double check my thermometers to make sure they are right. I will try less mustard and rub next time. Thank you very much for the help when I smoke a couple more I will let you guys know how it turns out.

    thanks
    James
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Sounds pretty good to me. I LOVE the bark! It's the best part. :) That said, I don't use mustard and I don't soak the wood. I use a home brew rub (mostly a Weber recipe I've had for years). Other than that, pretty much what you did. As someone posted though, mine usually take only about 14 hrs.

    And mine are always black. They're SUPPOSED to be black! :)

    4405279718_b3b8b4e0a3_b.jpg

    Sorry for the dark pic, but........it's BLACK! :)

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut