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

Brisket crust?

Options
DuckDogDr
DuckDogDr Posts: 1,549
Guys how do you get the "burned" or charred look on a brisket but still keep it tender on the inside ?
Never cooked one before...had one on a vacation trip someone cooked and still thinking about it

Comments

  • U_tarded
    U_tarded Posts: 2,042
    Options
    Smoke, salt, and pepper, it’s magic.  

    Sugar content in rubs help but just the above ran at 275 or so always turns out for me.  (Will add granulated garlic and onion to mix it up)
  • Theophan
    Theophan Posts: 2,654
    Options
    DuckDogDr said:
    Guys how do you get the "burned" or charred look on a brisket but still keep it tender on the inside ?...
    You might have it backward:  
    • With some cuts of meat, like a strip steak, for example, it can take some care getting a char on the outside without making the inside overcooked and tough.  
    • But with other cuts of meat, like brisket and short ribs, they're more likely to be dry and tough if they're UNDERcooked!  Brisket goes from raw to rather dry and tough but then with continued slow cooking the connective tissue slowly turns to gelatin, and not only makes the meat more tender, but also more juicy.
    So if you've cooked the brisket long enough for it to be tender on the inside, it's really hard NOT to have a dark char on the outside!
  • jeffwit
    jeffwit Posts: 1,348
    Options

    So if you've cooked the brisket long enough for it to be tender on the inside, it's really hard NOT to have a dark char on the outside!
    Unless, of course, you boil it. 
    Jefferson, GA
    XL BGE, MM, Things to flip meat over and stuff
    Wife, 3 kids, 5 dogs, 4 cats, 12 chickens, 2 goats, 2 pigs. 
    “Honey, we bought a farm.”
  • HoustonEgger
    HoustonEgger Posts: 616
    Options
    Steaks have a crust when done right, Brisket has a Bark. 
    Formerly of Houston, TX - Now Located in Bastrop, TX
    I work in the 'que business now (since 2017)

    6 Eggs: (1) XL, (2) Large, (1) Small, (1) Minimax & (1) Mini - Egging since 2007
    Also recently gained: (1) Gas Thing (came with the house), (1) 36" Blackstone Griddle & (1) Pitts & Spitts Pellet Smoker
  • johnnyp
    johnnyp Posts: 3,932
    Options

    The bark on the outside of a brisket is less like a charred crust (burgers and steak) than you may be thinking.   Its more of a sticky layer of melted fat that mixes with your rub and changes color as it captures smoke and starts to brown in the heat. 

    For a more detailed discussion about what bark is and how it forms, read this

    https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/more-cooking-science/what-bark-and-why-it-makes-us-howl-more

    XL & MM BGE, 36" Blackstone - Newport News, VA