TIL 225 degrees on my offset was killing my bark

Spent 6 months wondering why my brisket bark came out soft and mushy. Guy at a comp in Kansas City told me to bump it to 275 and stop messing with the fire every 15 minutes. Does anyone else run their stick burner hotter than the old recipes say?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricia31719d ago

Oh man, that 225 is a trap for sure. My buddy Dave ran his offset at 225 for almost a year, kept getting that soft, paste-like bark on his pork shoulders. He went to a class in Lockhart and the guy running it told him to just load the firebox up, run it at 275, and leave the door shut for an hour. First time he tried it the bark came out like crunchy seasoned candy. He said he felt like an idiot for all those weekends wasted babying a fire when the meat was just steaming instead of smoking.

the_evan19d ago

My friend Kevin had the exact same issue. He was running his WSM at 225 for years and the bark on his brisket was always this weird tacky crud. He switched to 275 in a panic before a party because he was running late and that was the best brisket he ever made. Now he just loads up the charcoal ring, lights one corner, and walks away for four hours.