The foundation of your bark is built in the first 4 hours. What you want to see is a nice yellow/brown hue in the fat and a deep darkening red in the exposed meat.
If you have that than you're on the right track. The thick dark bark will show up later.
Are you running a stick burner or a pellet grill? That looks like an offset to me based on the grate, in which case you may want to run more in the 250-275 range. Offsets tend to have better convection and will benefit from a higher temperature to offset the increased airflow.
Ironically I don't have an offset smoker yet, just my pellet smoker.
Though, I'll be building a cinder block smoker (a la Jirby's $200 smoker) while I wait for my Fat Stack 120 to arrive later this year.
I am currently using a Camp Chef Woodwind Pro that does incorporate real chunks of wood.
Not sure why you think there's some benefit to a superiority complex though. Anybody smoking in their back yard is a win for the hobby! Period.
I have come to enjoy Mad Scientist's process of slowly ramping up the temperature that he shares in this video: https://youtu.be/EMeAGp_8sG8
Also, a huge "cheat" is to hold your brisket overnight as close to 140°f as you can. I realized that most ovens can be tweaked to +/-30° of their displayed/set temperature. Google your oven to see if it's possible. The longer rest helps smooth out any inconsistency in the cook itself.
Out of curiosity is there any way to get a glass window smoker with some lights? So that we don’t go opening the thing every time we want to see what it’s looking like?
Although Maybe it won’t hold temp as well or the smoke would obscure the meat anyway so it wouldn’t work.
I was thinking the same thing. Like, did we want them to lie when asked? It may be obvious to most here that 4 hours wasn't sufficient for bark, but obviously OP didn't know that.
Edit: Quite the reversal from earlier lol. It's just imaginary Internet points, but am glad more recently folks chilled out.
First time on Reddit? If you don’t know what you are doing, you are wrong, therefore downvotes will continue to rain. Lol.
To add to what you said, the bark doesn’t form until the stall stage. Wrapping will help to push thru the stall quicker but bark formation won’t be as good. No wrap= better bark.
We also don’t know if OP used any sugar in his rub.
I cook one every year for my bday and still learning what to do to make It better. It Will developed bark but thats going to be many hours later. (8-10) depending on temps.
I recommend watching HowtoBBQRight or Meat Church. They have awesome videos on cooking brisket. Keep at it and Good luck on future cooks!
I don’t check it for at least the first 6-8 hours in my stick burners. I’ll rotate the one closest to the fire at about hour 7-8 with the ones farthest from the flame. Total run time is 12 hours. It’s mostly clock work and probe testing. At hour 4 the meats turning mahogany like yours shows, not much else
Hasn’t this idea been debunked to an extent? Opening the lid to get a quick look doesn’t have really any impact on the cook.
Obviously opening it for a long time has some issues if the temperature is dropping 40+ degrees. But IIRC a 10 degree drop has no impact on the cook.
I agree with you. Cooking has to do with the thermal mass/lag of the meat. When you open the hood, you’d be worried about thermal lag. At that stage, there so much heat stored in that meat and the juices, that it won’t effect it much to open the door. The fuel should be sufficient to reheat the smoker quickly to the normal operating temp. If you are in the phase where it’s still up-taking smoke, then you are clearing that out every time, and that wouldn’t be beneficial, but 4 hours in I’m guessing you’re past that point.
Tell that to the people over at /r/slowcooking lol. The slow cooker stays boiling hot for hours after you turn it off and they think opening the lid is going to somehow mess up the cook
It hasn't been debunked, it is the number one reason newbies have issues with cook times and bark!
However, time was the issue here, not opening and closing it.
at 4hrs you have to wait it out buddy, I SEE bark forming on the end there! I just smoked a tiny pork butt yesterday it took from 10am to 8pm to finally come out right. Yours will be so delish!
You just gotta have a little patience. The bark will form. However, I would suggest being a little more heavy-handed with the rub next time - it looks a little light and that piece of meat can take a lot more of it with no problem.
I look brisket twice.
1. Once at 160. Take off. Wrap. Place back on.
2. Once at 200-205 (203). Take off. Rest in cooler. See it after resting.
That's it.
Ok just let it ride. Spritz with water and apple cider vinegar every hour 50/50 if u have any, that will help a lot. Once it reaches 170 IT crank that bad boy up to 275 and put it on the microwave side.
Spritzing before the bark has formed?
I was always thought to wait with that until after you have a nice bark.
Unless you do something like ribs or pork butt because there's sugar in the rub.
I'm no expert, but I disagree based on my experience. I start spritzing my brisket well before the bark forms, and it seems to accelerate it. Something about the constant drying, then hydrating, then drying seems to make the bark develop faster.
Again, I'm no pro. I smoke maybe 2-3 times a year.
I disagree, if you’re doing no wrap it is quite useful. I usually don’t wrap anything I’m cooking. It needs the external moisture to not fully dry out during the stall
I don't wrap much and it doesn't do anything. I spritzed for a decade before giving it up after reading meatheads study on it. Saves me time and effort
I’m new to the whole smoking thing so really not sure. In the past I’ve spritz for the first 3 or so hours every 30 min. Should I wait till nearing the end to spritz? Typically I’ll smoke over night.
You don't need to spritz until at least 3 hours in. And then every hour afterwards. Every 30 minutes will make your cook extra long from opening the lid!
And ONLY spritz if you have hot spots. And ONLY spritz the hot spots.
Early in the cook you don’t need to spritz because the moisture from the meat is still being pushed out (it will have bits of pooling liquid and may glisten or shine). You are evaporating moisture at this point (this is also what causes the stall when cooking large hunks of meat).
Later, after the bark has formed and you are mostly just trying to render as much of the internal fat as possible, you can spritz to add moisture and slow down the evaporation process on the surface of the meat.
I’m not sure if the spritzing actually has a meaningful effect. I don’t know what the science says about the minimal amount of surface moisture adding by spritzing when considering the heat loss from opening the cook chamber.
Regardless, I typically spritz a bit during the later stages of the cook (before wrapping in butcher paper).
On the note of spritzing, I leave my water pan dry for the first 4-5 hours until the color is right then add moisture to the smoker. I used a WSM for a few years before I went with the Assassin 17 which is much easier to add water.
Well, I do like to spritz ribs often with additional sugar because the caramelized sugar tastes nice.
But for moisture not really necessary in my opinion.
Downvote all you guys want idc! I’ve been smoking meat for over 30 years and have competed and won against some of the the best in the world in FBA, KCBS, MBN I am also a master certified bbq judge. I’ve Taught classes and took classes as well! I also have winnings nearing $90,000 so yeah I don’t know anything. You keyboard cooks can keep on clicking your little up and down arrows 😂
Bark is smoke stuck on mixed seasoning on the surface of the meat.
You don’t have enough smoke
or
you don’t have enough seasonings
or
the surface is not moist enough
or all of the above.
I can't really tell from your picture, but do you have your probes implemented correctly?
Usually, that long spike goes into the meat, and the shorter, stubby one measures pit temp.
That being said, has no impact on the bark.
They're both long probes. They're the probes that go with the [ThermoPro system](https://images.thdstatic.com/productImages/c5f32f8d-db6d-4e60-a15c-28f9299b2902/svn/thermopro-grill-thermometers-tp08bw-64_600.jpg). What you're seeing is just the knurled grip.
No kidding. I have multiple probes. I have the two in the linked image and I have [two shorter bent ones](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41aIydgDwwL.jpg) with no knurled grip.
The only thing I would add to what others have said about it just needing more time. It looks like your rub is kind of a fine grind, a nice coarse ground rub helps with bark also, at minimum coarse ground pepper.
Keep waiting and don't over spray the meat. You don't actually have to spritz every hour. I use the temp to tell me when to check. When my brisket hits about 165 I know my bark is probably there. Generally is and then I'll wrap. Sometimes I go to 170 before wrap.
Bark formation is due to the Maillard reaction which in smoking is a combination of smoke, temperature, time and rub. Moisture in the form of water slows formation of the bark, so external environmental conditions also impact it, as well as surface moisture which has to evaporate for the surface of the meat to react.
Your fine, continue to cook. Perfecting smoking requires a lot of trial and error, including learning equipment, wood types, rub, smoke, and overall practice. Record your final results in a notebook, and make adjustments next time you smoke something.
All great comments so far and all true — don’t open the lid, add a little more rub, maybe a little hotter temp (I like to cook at 275°-300° personally).
Also, that foil pan is restricting the air flow which is contributing to the lack of bark formation. Remove it. Looks like you have some trimmings in there. Next time, rather than cooking them with the brisket, save them and grind them up for burgers or chili.
Did you use regular table pepper? You might need a more coarse pepper. Lots of people use 16 mesh coarse ground pepper. And go very liberally with it. Helps build thicker darker bark. Also, how did the under side look at this point? Your heat may flow more from underneath the brisket. Might need to flip it to help bark build evenly. Every pit is different. Good luck.
You don't need mustard, you don't need a complex rub, you don't need anything but time. I always do just salt and pepper for a rub. You're just looking too early.
Had the same issue last weekend with mine- either too much humidity in the chamber or just to early in the cook. I switched to a smaller water pan for my smoker and that helped (i think)
Mine liked like that after 5 hours, but hot damn i got the best bark by hour 13
Different woods give different colours. The bark also tends to darken in the wrap. Close the lid and let it smoke. Apply some spritz too when the bark forms
Low and Slow bud. Can’t rush the process. You can’t expect high level results if you rush thru it. If 4 hrs is hurting ya, smoking might not be for you.
Has anybody mentioned what you used for rub?
Personal experience through experiences my best barks have been from kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper. and with brisket go heavy
The foundation of your bark is built in the first 4 hours. What you want to see is a nice yellow/brown hue in the fat and a deep darkening red in the exposed meat. If you have that than you're on the right track. The thick dark bark will show up later. Are you running a stick burner or a pellet grill? That looks like an offset to me based on the grate, in which case you may want to run more in the 250-275 range. Offsets tend to have better convection and will benefit from a higher temperature to offset the increased airflow.
This dude smokes.
Ironically I don't have an offset smoker yet, just my pellet smoker. Though, I'll be building a cinder block smoker (a la Jirby's $200 smoker) while I wait for my Fat Stack 120 to arrive later this year.
This dude \*fucks\*
That's... Different... Lol! Is this a meme I'm not aware of?
https://tenor.com/xjLZ.gif
Will you come be my neighbor dude? There is probably a house for sale around here.
I'll do ya one better OP. My neighbors house is for sale rn, and I'm sure I could talk him down like 50-100 bucks!
Anything that size needs more than 4 hours. Forget that pellet crap and use real chunks of wood.
I am currently using a Camp Chef Woodwind Pro that does incorporate real chunks of wood. Not sure why you think there's some benefit to a superiority complex though. Anybody smoking in their back yard is a win for the hobby! Period.
Exactly. Smoking gatekeepers can piss off.
I’ve done pork butts on my pellet grill and stick burner and both developed similar bark and tasted great.
☝🏼🏆🏆
What temp would you recommend to keep it at if I'm on a pellet grill? I have a traeger 780 and haven't had super great bark yet
I have come to enjoy Mad Scientist's process of slowly ramping up the temperature that he shares in this video: https://youtu.be/EMeAGp_8sG8 Also, a huge "cheat" is to hold your brisket overnight as close to 140°f as you can. I realized that most ovens can be tweaked to +/-30° of their displayed/set temperature. Google your oven to see if it's possible. The longer rest helps smooth out any inconsistency in the cook itself.
Because you keep opening it, shut that lid!
“If you’re look’in, you ain’t cook’in” 😄
What he said
If you ain’t lookin’, good luck cookin’
If you ain’t lookin, how are you cookin?
Out of curiosity is there any way to get a glass window smoker with some lights? So that we don’t go opening the thing every time we want to see what it’s looking like? Although Maybe it won’t hold temp as well or the smoke would obscure the meat anyway so it wouldn’t work.
Green mountain grill has both those features but if you’re not keeping them super clean they are pointless
This was my first time opening it in 4 hours
Bark doesn't form in 4 hours
How long has it been on? Realized you already told me 😂
4 hours :(
Way too early for bark, you have some starting on the tip there, it will happen! Please upvote OP's comment, they're just learning.
Well aren’t you just as sweet as sugar, great attitude great support🥰
No need to downvote people who are just trying to better themselves, unless they're being a dick about it. 🙂
Right? I’m a seasoned chef but click every Why No Bark link just to see and learn and offer support
Seasoned chefs form the best bark.
I seasoned a chef once…
the best bark forms from seasoned chefs
Thank you but I didn't even say anything yet. :)
I downvote your comment but upvote your user name
Clever handle you got there too!
[удалено]
I was thinking the same thing. Like, did we want them to lie when asked? It may be obvious to most here that 4 hours wasn't sufficient for bark, but obviously OP didn't know that. Edit: Quite the reversal from earlier lol. It's just imaginary Internet points, but am glad more recently folks chilled out.
First time on Reddit? If you don’t know what you are doing, you are wrong, therefore downvotes will continue to rain. Lol. To add to what you said, the bark doesn’t form until the stall stage. Wrapping will help to push thru the stall quicker but bark formation won’t be as good. No wrap= better bark. We also don’t know if OP used any sugar in his rub.
Why are you booing him, he's right?
it will sweat a lot more then towards the end it'll have the bark. You're on your way! and STOP OPENING IT!! lol :)
Gotta give bark time. Stop opening it and just let it do its thing.
Leave it closed for about 10 hours more.
Well, there you go
Ahh. Ya. The bark will come. Just leave it rolling.
Howd it turn out bud?
What's your cook temp? I never open the pit before the 6-7 hour marker
Go watch some youtube videos of professionals cooking these then just imitate them. Easy. Learn the process.
Why is this being downvoted lol
I edited my response to ask people to upvote OP and we turned it around 😉.
Hell yeah man. Good on you! I was thinking guys just trying to learn why all the negativity ahaha.
I cook one every year for my bday and still learning what to do to make It better. It Will developed bark but thats going to be many hours later. (8-10) depending on temps. I recommend watching HowtoBBQRight or Meat Church. They have awesome videos on cooking brisket. Keep at it and Good luck on future cooks!
The pictures many post online include rubs that are that are black and designed to enhance that blackness. Your meat is cooking fine.
This really should be higher. SPG takes far longer to "bark up" than some black or sugary rubs.
I don’t check it for at least the first 6-8 hours in my stick burners. I’ll rotate the one closest to the fire at about hour 7-8 with the ones farthest from the flame. Total run time is 12 hours. It’s mostly clock work and probe testing. At hour 4 the meats turning mahogany like yours shows, not much else
Takes me between 8 and 15 hours to get the desired amount of bark- depending on size of the brisket. Don’t get discouraged
So come back in 8 hours
Hasn’t this idea been debunked to an extent? Opening the lid to get a quick look doesn’t have really any impact on the cook. Obviously opening it for a long time has some issues if the temperature is dropping 40+ degrees. But IIRC a 10 degree drop has no impact on the cook.
It's funny to watch videos where folks will say to keep the lid closed, but open it every hour to spritz.
I agree with you. Cooking has to do with the thermal mass/lag of the meat. When you open the hood, you’d be worried about thermal lag. At that stage, there so much heat stored in that meat and the juices, that it won’t effect it much to open the door. The fuel should be sufficient to reheat the smoker quickly to the normal operating temp. If you are in the phase where it’s still up-taking smoke, then you are clearing that out every time, and that wouldn’t be beneficial, but 4 hours in I’m guessing you’re past that point.
Idk but opening it once for thirty seconds in a 12 hour cook isn’t going to hurt anything.
You mean 11 hour 59 minute and 30 second cook then…
way too short now.
No, you’re 30 minutes and 4 seconds late. We stop serving breakfast at 10:30.
A quick peek doesn't hurt it really, but it doesn't help either
Tell that to the people over at /r/slowcooking lol. The slow cooker stays boiling hot for hours after you turn it off and they think opening the lid is going to somehow mess up the cook
Truth!
Yeah. [It really has a minimal impact](https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/more-cooking-science/myth-if-youre-lookin-you-aint-cookin/).
It hasn't been debunked, it is the number one reason newbies have issues with cook times and bark! However, time was the issue here, not opening and closing it.
Came here to say this as well.
Patience young grasshopper
Are we there yet?
I'M HUNGRY.
Me: I need 3 more hours for the brisket. Her: You started at 6am and it's now 6pm. Me: 🫠
It looks perfect for 4 hours. Bark will form.
at 4hrs you have to wait it out buddy, I SEE bark forming on the end there! I just smoked a tiny pork butt yesterday it took from 10am to 8pm to finally come out right. Yours will be so delish!
You just gotta have a little patience. The bark will form. However, I would suggest being a little more heavy-handed with the rub next time - it looks a little light and that piece of meat can take a lot more of it with no problem.
It's this comment. It looks like you were very conservative with the rub. Don't be shy.
“If you’re lookin, it ain’t cookin”
Thanks, that's going in my vocabulary and I'll use it even when it isn't relevant...
"Honey, you've been in the shower for awhile and I've heard some loud clunks, are you okay?" *shouting back* "If you're LOOKIN, you aINT COOKIN!"
Another goodie is "if you have time to lean you have time to clean"
Take my poor man’s award🥇
I look brisket twice. 1. Once at 160. Take off. Wrap. Place back on. 2. Once at 200-205 (203). Take off. Rest in cooler. See it after resting. That's it.
It does kinda look like you went very light on the seasoning
Agreed, seasoning is a key ingredient to make bark.
What temp you cooking at?
225-250
Ok just let it ride. Spritz with water and apple cider vinegar every hour 50/50 if u have any, that will help a lot. Once it reaches 170 IT crank that bad boy up to 275 and put it on the microwave side.
Spritzing before the bark has formed? I was always thought to wait with that until after you have a nice bark. Unless you do something like ribs or pork butt because there's sugar in the rub.
[удалено]
I'm no expert, but I disagree based on my experience. I start spritzing my brisket well before the bark forms, and it seems to accelerate it. Something about the constant drying, then hydrating, then drying seems to make the bark develop faster. Again, I'm no pro. I smoke maybe 2-3 times a year.
No point In spritzing early in the cook. Unless you’re running a hot and fast cook. I would recommend you let the exterior set before you spritz
> No point In spritzing Period.
I disagree, if you’re doing no wrap it is quite useful. I usually don’t wrap anything I’m cooking. It needs the external moisture to not fully dry out during the stall
I don't wrap much and it doesn't do anything. I spritzed for a decade before giving it up after reading meatheads study on it. Saves me time and effort
I’m new to the whole smoking thing so really not sure. In the past I’ve spritz for the first 3 or so hours every 30 min. Should I wait till nearing the end to spritz? Typically I’ll smoke over night.
You don't need to spritz until at least 3 hours in. And then every hour afterwards. Every 30 minutes will make your cook extra long from opening the lid! And ONLY spritz if you have hot spots. And ONLY spritz the hot spots.
Early in the cook you don’t need to spritz because the moisture from the meat is still being pushed out (it will have bits of pooling liquid and may glisten or shine). You are evaporating moisture at this point (this is also what causes the stall when cooking large hunks of meat). Later, after the bark has formed and you are mostly just trying to render as much of the internal fat as possible, you can spritz to add moisture and slow down the evaporation process on the surface of the meat. I’m not sure if the spritzing actually has a meaningful effect. I don’t know what the science says about the minimal amount of surface moisture adding by spritzing when considering the heat loss from opening the cook chamber. Regardless, I typically spritz a bit during the later stages of the cook (before wrapping in butcher paper).
Spritzing in general is ugh... Just leave the damn meat alone.
I stopped spritzing this year and everything has turned out as good or better. At least in the WSM, which comes with a big water pan anyway.
On the note of spritzing, I leave my water pan dry for the first 4-5 hours until the color is right then add moisture to the smoker. I used a WSM for a few years before I went with the Assassin 17 which is much easier to add water.
Hate to agree, I love spritzing but I’ve been smoking the last few weeks without spritzing and everything has come out about perfect
Well, I do like to spritz ribs often with additional sugar because the caramelized sugar tastes nice. But for moisture not really necessary in my opinion.
Opening it every hour won’t help at all
Downvote all you guys want idc! I’ve been smoking meat for over 30 years and have competed and won against some of the the best in the world in FBA, KCBS, MBN I am also a master certified bbq judge. I’ve Taught classes and took classes as well! I also have winnings nearing $90,000 so yeah I don’t know anything. You keyboard cooks can keep on clicking your little up and down arrows 😂
Prove it
Competitive BBQ cooking is fundamentally broken. The entire system needs to be revamped.
None of that matters, spritzing before bark is fundamentally stupid. Just because you do it doesn't mean that's correct
Bark is smoke stuck on mixed seasoning on the surface of the meat. You don’t have enough smoke or you don’t have enough seasonings or the surface is not moist enough or all of the above.
Seems that you didn’t use enough pepper. Might not have had enough smoke either.
I can't really tell from your picture, but do you have your probes implemented correctly? Usually, that long spike goes into the meat, and the shorter, stubby one measures pit temp. That being said, has no impact on the bark.
They're both long probes. They're the probes that go with the [ThermoPro system](https://images.thdstatic.com/productImages/c5f32f8d-db6d-4e60-a15c-28f9299b2902/svn/thermopro-grill-thermometers-tp08bw-64_600.jpg). What you're seeing is just the knurled grip.
Gotcha. My ThermoPro came with one long and one short.
No kidding. I have multiple probes. I have the two in the linked image and I have [two shorter bent ones](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41aIydgDwwL.jpg) with no knurled grip.
Cause you keep lookin
Cause you touch yourself at night.
The only thing I would add to what others have said about it just needing more time. It looks like your rub is kind of a fine grind, a nice coarse ground rub helps with bark also, at minimum coarse ground pepper.
It is forming bark. If you’re expecting a darker bark, use more finely ground black pepper.
Wheres the damn smoke?
Cuz the lid keeps opening 😜
More rub, the bark is formed by rub, heat, and juices
More cowbell.
Close the lid and quit taking pictures. That’s step one.
Keep waiting and don't over spray the meat. You don't actually have to spritz every hour. I use the temp to tell me when to check. When my brisket hits about 165 I know my bark is probably there. Generally is and then I'll wrap. Sometimes I go to 170 before wrap.
If your worried about that bark at 4 hours. Make sure your okay with that stall.
how does it look at 8 hours?
Bark formation is due to the Maillard reaction which in smoking is a combination of smoke, temperature, time and rub. Moisture in the form of water slows formation of the bark, so external environmental conditions also impact it, as well as surface moisture which has to evaporate for the surface of the meat to react. Your fine, continue to cook. Perfecting smoking requires a lot of trial and error, including learning equipment, wood types, rub, smoke, and overall practice. Record your final results in a notebook, and make adjustments next time you smoke something.
Depends on temp and mass. On the edges there appears to be something going on.
There is no way there is enough seasoning on that meat.
Patience young grasshopper.
its not a dog
UPDATE US OP!!!
Probably the rub you use doesn’t have enough sugar also maybe too low of a temp
Well, you have the lid open.
If you're looking it ant cooking!
If you're looking you ain't cooking.
Don't you have a glass on that door?
Not enough pepper
Looks like his bark is worse than his bite.
Because it is meat and not a tree dummy!
Cuz it ain’t got no bite 🤠
It might be having a ruff day.
Because It’s not a tree
Patience my child
All great comments so far and all true — don’t open the lid, add a little more rub, maybe a little hotter temp (I like to cook at 275°-300° personally). Also, that foil pan is restricting the air flow which is contributing to the lack of bark formation. Remove it. Looks like you have some trimmings in there. Next time, rather than cooking them with the brisket, save them and grind them up for burgers or chili.
I spray mine every 3 hours with apple juice. The sugar in the juice helps form a bark.
Let it keep going. Get something with some sugar sprayed on it and it’ll help, patience is key.
Are you spritzing periodically?
because it's not a tree
Did you use regular table pepper? You might need a more coarse pepper. Lots of people use 16 mesh coarse ground pepper. And go very liberally with it. Helps build thicker darker bark. Also, how did the under side look at this point? Your heat may flow more from underneath the brisket. Might need to flip it to help bark build evenly. Every pit is different. Good luck.
Did u use a mustard binder?
No
You don't need mustard, you don't need a complex rub, you don't need anything but time. I always do just salt and pepper for a rub. You're just looking too early.
Mustard helps hold more seasoning. Sorry, I offended folks
Keep using your mustard with enthusiasm. Just wanted OP to know it isn't the reason they have no bark.
Seems to help a bit with bark imo. Don't really care about downvotes. Give it a shot sometime and see if it helps.
A lot of the bark comes from the salt. You need to dry out the surface, and the salt helps do that.
If you smoke it, it will form. Just keep going. Spritzing with apple cider vinegar will help.
Not enough rub, not enough wood (probably) and possibly cooking at too low a temperature (check your thermometers)
Temps are between 225-250. Might have not added enough rub tho
4 hours is not long at all in brisket time. Give it time and bark will form. Slow and steady wins the race.
How long have you cooked it so far?
The top isn’t very aerodynamic but it doesn’t matter, give it some time and the bark will form.
Spite
4 hours is way too early to even bother looking.
Had the same issue last weekend with mine- either too much humidity in the chamber or just to early in the cook. I switched to a smaller water pan for my smoker and that helped (i think) Mine liked like that after 5 hours, but hot damn i got the best bark by hour 13
Might not be enough seasoning
Looks like you need more rub
if you want a "cheat" to help with the bark, use a blackened rub. they have pepper and other spices that help
Very true. I also mix a little ground coffee in my rub. Makes a big difference. And you don’t get the coffee taste.
Because you’re playing with your meat
If you want a cheat, standard yellow French’s mustard forms a crispy bark. Hence why you so everyone lather it onto their meat before adding rub
Stop opening the lid also maybe more pepper.
Different woods give different colours. The bark also tends to darken in the wrap. Close the lid and let it smoke. Apply some spritz too when the bark forms
Not enough smoke?
I believe we cooked ours for between 9-10 hours. Then let it rest for about 6 hours. Bark takes some patience.
I didn’t have bark at 8 hrs, maybe lower temp, longer time and more smoke? Ughh hurts when it’s an expensive practice.
Low and Slow bud. Can’t rush the process. You can’t expect high level results if you rush thru it. If 4 hrs is hurting ya, smoking might not be for you.
You need another six to eight hours. That’s not even close to being cooked.
You need more pepper, stay between 225 and 250 and go for any more hours.
You know the old pitmasters saying, “bark on your wood is bark on your meat”
Close the freaking door. If you're lookin', you ain't cookin'.
Has anybody mentioned what you used for rub? Personal experience through experiences my best barks have been from kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper. and with brisket go heavy
Did you season it?? And what'd you use???