c/bbq-pitmasters

Just realized my brisket bark was too dark because a guy at a Memphis comp said my fire was too hot

He told me, 'You're cooking at 275, not 225,' so I dropped my pit temp and the next one came out perfect. Anyone else get a simple tip that fixed a big problem?

Stopped at a gas station in Amarillo with a full smoker out back

The guy running it was using an old oil drum cut in half over a wood fire, and he had a line of truckers waiting. He told me he started it after his factory job ended, and now he sells about 80 briskets a week from that spot. The smoke smelled amazing, but seeing him check temps with a single oven thermometer was wild. Anyone run into a setup that simple putting out great food?

My entire cook got hijacked by a squirrel in Kansas City

I was six hours into a brisket smoke for a small family thing when a squirrel fell down my chimney and landed right in the firebox. It panicked, shot out the side door, and scattered hot coals and ash all over my patio. I spent the next hour cleaning up the mess and trying to get my pit temp stable again. The brisket ended up being okay, but I had to explain to everyone why it tasted a little 'smoky' in a weird way. Has anyone else had wildlife try to ruin a cook?

Just realized I was wrong about wrapping brisket after a trip to Lockhart

I visited Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas last month and saw they don't wrap their brisket at all. I've always wrapped mine in butcher paper after 4 hours, thinking it was the only way to keep it moist. Their brisket was just as juicy, maybe even better, with a bark that was way more solid than mine ever gets. It made me think I've been rushing the process and steaming out the crust. I'm going to try a full no-wrap cook on my next one. Has anyone else switched from wrapping to going naked and seen a real difference in the bark?

Overheard a guy at the hardware store talking about his smoker temp

He said he just goes by the built-in gauge on his offset and never checks with a separate probe. I've seen those factory dials be off by 50 degrees, easy. How many people are out there cooking blind like that?

My cousin from Kansas City told me to stop soaking my wood chips

He said 'you're just cooling your fire and making dirty smoke' while we were smoking a brisket. I tried it dry on my next cook and the flavor was way cleaner. Anyone else skip the soak?

My brother-in-law from Texas told me to stop wrapping my ribs in foil after 3 hours. He said 'you're just steaming them at that point' and it finally clicked.

Heard a guy at the KCBS event say he only uses one wood type now

I was at the Kansas City BBQ Society event in Overland Park last weekend and got talking to a pitmaster from Texas. He said he stopped mixing woods like hickory and apple about two years ago and only uses post oak. Claims it gives a cleaner smoke flavor on his brisket. I always thought mixing was the way to go for more complex taste. Has anyone else tried sticking to just one type of wood for everything?

My brisket stall lasted 7 hours and I almost gave up

I was smoking a 16 pound packer in my offset last weekend, and the temp just froze at 165 for what felt like forever (it was actually 7 hours). I was sure I messed up the fire. I kept it steady, didn't wrap, and it finally pushed through. Has anyone else had a stall go that long without wrapping?

Question about a weird brisket stall I saw at a comp in Memphis

This old timer next to me at the 'Smoke on the River' contest kept saying his brisket was 'sweating' and he needed to wrap it in butcher paper, not foil. He said foil steams it and makes the bark soggy, which is a rookie mistake. Anyone else run into this specific advice about the wrap?

Hot take: my brisket probe failed at the worst possible time last weekend

I was about 8 hours into a 14 pound packer on my offset, everything going smooth. Then my Thermoworks Smoke's probe started reading 210 degrees out of nowhere when the meat was clearly still tough. I had to pull the brisket and check with an instant read, which showed it was only at 185. Ended up putting it back for another 2 hours but the bark got a little overdone. Anyone else had a probe just die mid-cook like that? What's your backup plan?

Showerthought: My buddy said 'low and slow' is just a crutch for bad fire control

We were arguing about my brisket and he said if I really knew my pit, I could run it hotter and faster without drying it out. That stung because my last cook at 275 degrees did turn out pretty good, but I always just followed the old rule. Has anyone actually tried a hot and fast brisket that didn't turn into shoe leather?

I just hit 200 briskets on my old offset and it made me think about something different

I thought wrapping brisket in foil was cheating until I tried it in Austin

For years I stuck to the no-wrap method, convinced the Texas Crutch made the bark soggy. Then I watched a pitmaster at Franklin Barbecue wrap his brisket after 6 hours, and the final texture was perfect. It stayed juicy and still had a great crust. Has anyone else had a total change of heart on a specific technique?

I always thought wrapping a brisket in foil was a total cheat until I saw a pitmaster in Lockhart do it to save a cook that was drying out.

After my third brisket came out like shoe leather, I tried his method of a tight foil wrap with a splash of beef broth at the 160-degree stall, and it came out perfectly juicy, so has anyone else found a specific trick that saved a piece of meat headed for disaster?

Why does nobody talk about how fast a brisket can stall in a pellet grill?

I tried a 14-pound prime brisket on my Traeger at 225 degrees, and it hit a stall at 150 that lasted over 5 hours. Has anyone else found a good way to push through without wrapping too early?

Had to pick between a full packer brisket or just the flat for a small party

I was cooking for eight people and had to choose between a 16-pound whole packer or a trimmed 7-pound flat from my local butcher. I went with the flat to save time and space on my offset smoker, keeping it simple with just salt and pepper. It turned out a bit dry after six hours, even with a water pan, and I wish I'd kept the point for extra fat. Anyone have tips for keeping a smaller brisket cut moist without the full packer?

I finally tried resting my pork shoulder for a full 2 hours instead of just 30 minutes. The difference in how it pulled apart was insane.

Always used to be in a rush to get food on the table. Last weekend, I wrapped it in foil, then a towel, and stuck it in a cooler. The extra time let all the juices settle back in. It went from being a bit dry and shredding with effort to just falling apart when I touched it with the forks. What's the longest you all let a big cut rest?

I've been wrapping my brisket way too early for years

I always thought you wrapped a brisket once it hit a nice dark bark, maybe around 160 degrees. I was at a cookout in Kansas City last month and a guy I met, who runs a small food truck, asked me about my method. When I told him, he just shook his head and said, 'You're trapping steam and making it pot-roasty, man.' He told me to wait until the bark is set and doesn't wipe off when you touch it, which for me was more like 175 degrees on my last cook. The difference was crazy. The bark was actually crunchy, not soft, and the meat was way better. How do you all decide when it's time to wrap?

Appreciation post: My neighbor in Austin told me his brisket secret three years ago

He said 'the fire needs to sleep too' and made me leave it alone overnight, which felt crazy. Anyone else have a piece of advice that sounded nuts but actually worked?

My brisket flat dried out in under 4 hours and I'm still confused about why.

I was smoking a 14-pound packer on my offset at 250 degrees, using post oak from a local Texas supplier. The point was perfect, but the flat turned into leather after only 3 hours and 45 minutes. I've heard some folks say you should wrap the flat in foil early, while others swear you just need to inject it with more broth. Has anyone else had a brisket cook this unevenly, and what's your fix?

Just found out how many whole hogs Myron Mixon cooked in a single year

I was reading an old interview from 2010 and he said he went through over 400 hogs that year for competitions and his restaurant. That's more than one a day, which really puts the scale of his operation into perspective. Did any other pitmasters from that era work at that kind of volume?

Honestly, I always thought a full packer brisket was too much work for just me and my wife. Then I watched a video from that guy in Austin, Aaron Franklin, where he broke down his whole process for a small cook. He said something like 'you're not cooking for a crowd, you're cooking for flavor, so treat it the same.' So last weekend, I did the whole 16-pounder on my offset anyway. We ate brisket for three days, gave some to the neighbors, and froze the rest. The flavor was just... deeper, you know? Way better than when I'd just do a flat. Anyone have tips for reheating frozen slices without drying them out?

My brother won't stop adding sauce to my ribs

I spent all night smoking these baby back ribs with my dry rub. He comes over and dumps bottled sauce on them before they're even done. It ruins the bark and makes the meat soggy. I've told him a hundred times but he just doesn't get it.

The funny way pitmasters avoid eye contact during judging.

I've noticed that when judges are around, pitmasters suddenly find their shoes very interesting. They'll stare at the ground rather than make any contact. It's like a game of chicken no one wants to play.