Bark not coming out right with foil boat

[Killa J]

I went for about 6 months without smoking anything, so I’m a bit rusty. The last 2 briskets I smoked came out great, but the bark on the side without the fat cap was not good. I was having success before, so I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong now. I smoke around 275 with fat cap up, wait until the bark is set on top, then foil boat until tender. And the bark on the bottom is getting too wet and coming off. Should I smoke fat cap down and then flip when I boat it? Go back to butcher paper? No wrap at all?

Not the best pic to illustrate, but you can see rub on the foil. And the bottom was a lot lighter color than the top. The brisket was one of the best I’ve made, just trying to get that last 5% better it needs to be excellent.

 

[Mike in Roseville]

What kind of cooker are you using? Are you able to put a wire rack in that foil pan? Or even better, put the foil pan under the cook grate? You still catch the drippings but you'll get better color on the bottom with increased airflow across the bottom. Oh, if you use a wire rack, spray it with cooking spray or grease it to prevent sticking/tearing.

 

[pjtexas1]

I'm confused. Do you put the fat cap down or up in the foil boat? What are you calling the bottom, is that the fat cap or flat? Not sure since you cook fat cap up.


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[slider2021]

The bark looks fine to me. I'm not a big fan of placing brisket in a pan or foil. The latter adds way too much moisture and affects the bark. That may be a problem that you have. But as I said, from the pic, the bark doesn't look bad at all. How did it taste? How was the texture?

There are many more guys here with much more experience than myself. But I like to cook fat side down so the smoke and heat circulate around the top of the meat, hence, a darker bark. But, that is just my 2 cents.

1. What rub did you use?
2. Did you use a slather? Slather sometimes does not allow the rub to adhere to the meat properly, affecting the bark.
3. What were your times and temps?
4. What did you cook it on - pellet, offset, grill?

 

[roademier]

That looks good to me also

 

[NickTheGreat]

I'm a simple man, so I just throw the meat on the grates and call it good ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


Leave the butcher paper for the butches, the foil for wrapping up leftovers and the pans for the caterers.

 

[Killa J]

What kind of cooker are you using? Are you able to put a wire rack in that foil pan? Or even better, put the foil pan under the cook grate? You still catch the drippings but you'll get better color on the bottom with increased airflow across the bottom. Oh, if you use a wire rack, spray it with cooking spray or grease it to prevent sticking/tearing.

This was in a pellet grill the first time and a Karubecue stick burner the second time. The foil pan in the picture is just what I hold it in while resting, it’s not used during cooking. I don’t think a wire rack would work with the foil boat though, it’s wrapped tight.

I'm confused. Do you put the fat cap down or up in the foil boat? What are you calling the bottom, is that the fat cap or flat? Not sure since you cook fat cap up.

Sorry, fat cap up the whole time. So the bottom is the opposite non-fat cap side. Not sure what to call that side.

The bark looks fine to me. I'm not a big fan of placing brisket in a pan or foil. The latter adds way too much moisture and affects the bark. That may be a problem that you have. But as I said, from the pic, the bark doesn't look bad at all. How did it taste? How was the texture?

There are many more guys here with much more experience than myself. But I like to cook fat side down so the smoke and heat circulate around the top of the meat, hence, a darker bark. But, that is just my 2 cents.

1. What rub did you use?
2. Did you use a slather? Slather sometimes does not allow the rub to adhere to the meat properly, affecting the bark.
3. What were your times and temps?
4. What did you cook it on - pellet, offset, grill?

Taste was excellent, possibly the best ones I’ve made so far. I do think there was just too much moisture and maybe fat. Both of these were Costco prime briskets, but I was only finding choice briskets when I was getting better results. Rub is a mixture of salt, pepper, and Badia seasoning salt. No slather, but I do wet the fat with pickle juice to get the rub to stick there. I cooked in a pellet grill and a Karubecue, so time and temp was different for each. 225 and somewhere around 13-14 hours on the pellet grill, 275 and about 9.5 hours on the Karubecue. It’s a stick burner, but not an offset.

 

[HogGrog]

Maybe remove the brisket from foil boat for the last 30 minutes of cook to firm up and reset the bark. Good luck.

 

[OldPostSmoke]

How long are you waiting before putting it in the boat? The earlier you put it in the foil, the more water will end up in the boat to wash off the bottom bark. Personally, I like the tradeoff of a bit more moisture in the flat and darker top bark of an early boated brisket (vs later, paper or straight), but it does ruin the bark on the bottom.

Not to start the YouTube wars in another thread, but the guy from Chud's barbecue recommends waiting until after the stall to add the boat to limit how much water ends up in the foil.

 

[gtsum]

I do the foil boat these days and have experienced the same at first…I was boating too early…I boat around 175-180 now…I am also cooking on an offset with a ton of draw and convection wonky bark really develops (workhorse 1975). I love how the foil boat renders the fat up top


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[Killa J]

I haven’t been checking temps at all, just going by bark formation. I can start checking temps though.

 

[slider2021]

[/QUOTE]Taste was excellent, possibly the best ones I’ve made so far. I do think there was just too much moisture and maybe fat. Both of these were Costco prime briskets, but I was only finding choice briskets when I was getting better results. Rub is a mixture of salt, pepper, and Badia seasoning salt. No slather, but I do wet the fat with pickle juice to get the rub to stick there. I cooked in a pellet grill and a Karubecue, so time and temp was different for each. 225 and somewhere around 13-14 hours on the pellet grill, 275 and about 9.5 hours on the Karubecue. It’s a stick burner, but not an offset.[/QUOTE]

The temps and times seem spot on for your pellet grill. You love the results. the taste was great - so overall, you did a great job! As I said, as did someone else, the bark looked good to me.

A few suggestions...

• Lose the pickle juice
• Lose the pans and foil
• Wrap in butcher paper when it hits 175 and leave it on until internal temp hits 203-205 degrees
• Wrap in a heavy blanket and place in a cooler for 3-5 hours, then remove and serve

 

[slider2021]

Taste was excellent, possibly the best ones I’ve made so far. I do think there was just too much moisture and maybe fat. Both of these were Costco prime briskets, but I was only finding choice briskets when I was getting better results. Rub is a mixture of salt, pepper, and Badia seasoning salt. No slather, but I do wet the fat with pickle juice to get the rub to stick there. I cooked in a pellet grill and a Karubecue, so time and temp was different for each. 225 and somewhere around 13-14 hours on the pellet grill, 275 and about 9.5 hours on the Karubecue. It’s a stick burner, but not an offset.[/QUOTE]

The temps and times seem spot on for your pellet grill. You love the results. the taste was great - so overall, you did a great job! As I said, as did someone else, the bark looked good to me.

A few suggestions...

• Lose the pickle juice
• Lose the pans and foil
• Wrap in butcher paper when it hits 175 and leave it on until internal temp hits 203-205 degrees
• Wrap in a heavy blanket and place in a cooler for 3-5 hours, then remove and serve

[/QUOTE]

 

[bowhnter]

I’ve only done foil boat twice, and both times came out excellent.

I cooked with fat side down though, and only turned it fat up when going into the boat.

 

[Ed Embry]

I’ve only done foil boat twice, and both times came out excellent.

I cooked with fat side down though, and only turned it fat up when going into the boat.

I do exactly the same and they come out great.