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Had a competition pitmaster tell me my bark was too thick and it messed me up for weeks
I was at a BBQ contest in Nashville last September and one of the judges who's also a pitmaster pulled me aside. He said my bark on the brisket was way too dark and heavy, like I was going for a steak crust or something. So I changed up my rub recipe and cut my cook time by like 2 hours to get a lighter bark. Now I'm wondering if I overcorrected because my last three briskets came out tasting more like pot roast than smoky meat. Has anyone else gotten feedback like that and struggled to find the sweet spot again?
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jamesroberts4d ago
Wait, are you sure that judge was giving you good advice? I feel like a lot of these competition guys get way too focused on what looks pretty for the judges table instead of what actually tastes good. A thick bark is like the whole point of smoking meat, right? Its where all that peppery smoky flavor lives, and cutting your cook time by 2 hours just to get a lighter color is probably why youre ending up with pot roast. Ive had plenty of briskets with a dark, almost black bark that were crazy moist and tender on the inside, so I dont think one person's opinion should make you throw out a whole process that was working for you. Honestly, I think you should trust your own taste buds over some random contest feedback, lol.
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Jamesroberts, a dark heavy bark is exactly what got that judge's criticism in the first place, so maybe he had a point.
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