Switched from charcoal to wood splits and my brisket finally got a real bark

I spent 3 years fighting with charcoal and trying every rub trick to get that dark, crispy bark pitmasters in Texas have. Last month I grabbed a bag of hickory splits from a place near Austin and threw them in my offset. First cook, the bark came out perfect - black and crunchy, not that red crust I kept getting. Anyone else made the switch and seen a big difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

brookekelly23d ago

Man, I totally feel your pain on the three years of fighting with charcoal. I tried every trick in the book too, like mixing in different wood chips and wrapping at the right time, but it just never got that deep black bark I was after. Switching to wood splits was a total game changer for me (like, night and day difference). The heat from the wood burns cleaner and that smoke just clings to the meat way better. Glad you finally got that Texas-style bark you were chasing, it's a great feeling when it all clicks like that.

mason49923d ago

Charcoal just doesn't get hot enough or give off that clean smoke you need. Wood splits are the real deal for that dark bark.