A judge in Memphis told me my brisket bark was too dark

Cameron Scott · 2026-04-04T02:20:03.986115+00:00

I was at the Memphis in May contest last spring, and after turning in my box, one of the judges pulled me aside. He said the bark looked great but tasted a little bitter, and suggested I spritz with apple juice every 45 minutes instead of just water. Has anyone else had a judge give them a tip that actually worked?

gavin_kim5mo ago

My first brisket bark was so dark the neighbors called the fire department. I was spritzing with straight water and it just dried out and scorched. Switched to a fifty-fifty apple juice and water mix every hour and it fixed the problem.

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betty_perry245mo ago

That's a good tip about the apple juice spritz, but I've always heard you should spritz way more often than every 45 minutes. When I'm managing the bark, I'm hitting it with a spray bottle every 20 to 30 minutes once it starts to look dry. It keeps the surface from getting too hard and burning.

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grant.olivia5mo ago

What kind of wood were you using? I had a bitter bark once that turned out to be from the smoke, not the spritz. I was using too much hickory and the judge told me to mix in some fruit wood like cherry to mellow it out. Switched my wood blend and the bitter taste went away completely. Sometimes it's not about how wet you keep it, but what's making the smoke in the first place.

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