Aaron Franklin's brisket from 10 years ago vs now, which era was better?

I watched his old BBQ Pitmasters episodes from 2010 and the bark looked way darker and more defined back then compared to his newer videos where it's almost too clean. Did he change his wrapping technique or is it just the camera lighting making us think different?

3 comments

3 Comments

tessa_murray5d ago

Oh man, my brisket never gets dark enough to even have an era.

dakotab935d ago

Wait... you used to think brisket was supposed to be pale almost the whole cook like I did? I always pulled mine way too early until I learned bark takes hours of patience to actually set.

wesley_jones5d ago

Oh man, I've been there too @dakotab93! But actually, brisket is supposed to stay pale for a while - the bark forms gradually, not all at once. It's not about being dark right away, it's about the fat rendering and the rub sticking over low heat for hours. I used to yank mine off at like 185°F internal thinking it was done, but the whole point is that 195-203°F window where the collagen breaks down. tessa_murray, if your brisket isn't getting dark enough, try patting it dry before the rub goes on and let that smoke layer up nice and slow.