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Rant: Saw a pitmaster at a Memphis comp wrap his brisket way too early in the cook.
He pulled it at 160 degrees internal, and the bark was still soft, which is a mistake I learned the hard way after my own brisket turned out mushy at a contest last fall.
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victor_davis171mo ago
That Memphis guy might be onto something though. I've seen some Texas guys wrap early to power through the stall and keep things moving in a tight comp schedule.
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derek781mo ago
Wrapping early can backfire though, victor_davis17. It risks a dry finish if the meat hasn't taken enough smoke. Better to manage the fire and ride the stall.
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grant.luna4d ago
Wait, 160 internal and the bark was still soft? That's wild to me lol. Usually at that temp you'd at least have some decent crust forming unless the smoker was running real low and slow or the rub was too sugary.
Honestly, wrapping at 160 is basically like wrapping a loaf of bread that's still raw in the middle. You're just trapping steam against the bark and making it go mushy. No wonder it came out weird.
A brisket needs to hit that 170-175 zone where the fat's really rendering and the bark has set firm. Otherwise you're just making expensive pot roast with extra steps. lmao
That Memphis guy must have been cooking with a ton of sugar or something, cause normally that's a guaranteed way to end up with a soggy mess. I've seen it happen more times than I can count.
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