c/bbq-pitmasters

Talked to a pitmaster in Kansas City who changed how I think about rubs

I was at a comp last month and this old timer said he only uses salt and pepper on his brisket. Ive been using 10+ ingredient rubs for years. He told me "if your meat is good you dont need to hide it." Anybody else try simplifying their approach like that?

Serious question, why does everyone worship Aaron Franklin

Was at a competition in Lockhart, Texas last March and watched a guy spend 6 hours on a brisket that came out dry as sand. He followed Franklin's method to the letter. Meanwhile my old pitmaster buddy from down the street won with his 225 all night no wrap approach. I think we give too much credit to the TV guys. Anyone else find that the backyard legends know more than the famous names?

Hit 50 briskets cooked this weekend and finally got why temp matters more than time

I always just followed the 1.5 hours per pound rule from my dad. But after brisket number 49 came out like shoe leather I decided to actually probe for tenderness this time. Number 50 hit 203 degrees and the probe slid in like butter. Now I get why the pitmasters on TV always say cook to temp not time. Anyone else have a magic number where things clicked?

My brisket flat came out like shoe leather after 14 hours at 225F

I pulled it at 203F internal and wrapped in pink butcher paper at 170F, but it still dried out completely - has anyone figured out if changing the wrap temp fixes this or is my smoker just running hotter than it says?

Messed up a brisket stall by peeking too much

I was doing a 15 pound packer on my offset smoker last Saturday and kept opening the lid to check the bark every 20 minutes. Lost so much heat the stall stretched from 3 hours to almost 5, and the meat came out dry on the flat. Anyone else have trouble keeping the lid shut during a long cook?

Showerthought: Did you know the original Green Egg was basically a failed flower pot design?

I was reading an old issue of Smoke & Fire magazine my uncle passed down (from like 2002 I think) and there was this whole article about how the Big Green Egg started out as a clay pot for plants. Some guy in Texas just threw some meat in one and figured out it worked for cooking. Blew my mind because I always thought it was designed for BBQ from the start. Anyone else stumble on weird origin stories like that?

I keep seeing people ruin brisket by pulling it too early based on temp alone

Was at a competition in Lockhart last weekend and watched three teams yank their briskets off at 203° internal like clockwork, then wonder why they were dry. You gotta probe for tenderness, not just look at the number. I've been cooking for 12 years and my best flats come off anywhere from 198 to 208 depending on the fat render. Anyone else notice folks relying too much on that instant read instead of feeling the meat?

Hot take: The local competition guy tried to tell me my brisket needed more smoke ring to score higher

I was at a small backyard cookoff in Austin last summer, and this dude who's won a few ribbons comes up. He pokes at my brisket, says there's not enough smoke ring, and that I should use more wood chunks next time. I asked him if he actually tasted it first, and he just shrugged. I mean, I get that presentation matters, but if the flavor's there and the texture is right, who cares how deep the pink goes? Has anyone else run into judges or competitors who fixate on looks over taste?

Finally got a good bark on my brisket after 8 tries

I've been messing around with my offset smoker for about six months now, trying to get that dark, crunchy bark everyone talks about. Last Sunday I decided to skip the brown sugar in my rub and just go heavy on coarse black pepper and Lawry's. The thing came out with this beautiful mahogany crust that actually cracked when I sliced it. Anybody else find that simple rubs outshine the fancy ones when it comes to bark?

Is resting brisket in a cooler actually better than a warming drawer? I keep seeing conflicting takes.

I wrapped my last brisket in towels and threw it in a cooler for 2 hours, but my buddy swears by his $200 warming drawer at 150F. The cooler kept mine at 160F for the first hour then dropped to 145F by hour two, which feels like it might be an issue. Which method do you use and why?

Dropped $150 on a Fireboard 2 and it fixed my brisket stall problems overnight

I was fighting with my old thermometer for years. It would lose connection halfway through a cook and I'd have to guess when the stall was over. Finally broke down and bought the Fireboard 2 with that price tag. First cook I did a 15 pound packer and it tracked the whole thing perfect through a 4 hour stall at 160. The graph showed me exactly when to wrap. Has anyone else found that spending money on a good temp controller actually changed how you cook?

Spent 45 minutes trying to find why my smoker temps were all over the place before I noticed the gasket on the lid was melted flat on one side.

It was just a tiny gap letting all the heat out on my offset in that 20 degree Kansas City morning, has anyone else had invisible leaks sneak up on them like that?

Swapped from wood chips to actual wood chunks on my WSM and it's a whole different ballgame

Last weekend I did a 14 hour brisket cook and finally tried using a few big chunks of hickory instead of the bagged chips I'd been using for like two years. The difference was night and day honestly. The chips burn up so fast you get that thin blue smoke for maybe 45 minutes tops, but the chunks kept putting out good smoke for almost 3 hours before I had to add more. My bark came out way darker and the smoke ring was easily half an inch deep instead of the little pink line I usually get. Anyone else make this switch and notice their cooks coming out better?

My brisket went from prize winner to shoe leather in one hour flat

I was at a competition in Austin back in 2018, cooking a 16 pound prime packer for the final round. Everything was going perfect until I got distracted helping a neighbor with his firebox and lost track of time. The pit temp jumped from 250 to 325 in about 40 minutes and I didn't catch it until the smell of burning fat hit me. I pulled it off and wrapped it in foil with some beef broth, but the flat was already dried out and tough. Ended up placing 14th out of 15 that day because the judges nailed me on texture. Has anyone else had a stall or temperature spike ruin a brisket they were sure was going to medal?

Hot take: pellet grills vs stick burners for competition BBQ - which actually wins?

PSA: I found out most competition crews trim brisket way leaner than you think

I was watching the Kansas City Royal's BBQ contest livestream last weekend and noticed something weird. The top 3 teams all left almost no fat cap on their briskets, maybe a quarter inch at most. I always thought you wanted a thick fat cap to keep it moist, but I guess in competition they're chasing bark coverage and bite-through texture. Found this stat on the KCBS website that said 78% of winning entries in 2023 had less than a half inch of fat trimmed. Anyone else trim theirs super thin for contests, or am I the only one learning this late?

My temperature probe gave out mid-brisket last Sunday

I was 6 hours into a 12-pound packer on my offset smoker and the digital probe started jumping from 185 to 210 then back to 170, so I had to finish the cook by feel and it actually came out juicier than any probe-controlled brisket I've done, has anyone else had better luck just trusting the stall and feel?

Changed my mind about brisket wrapping after 3 years of foil

I was a hardcore foil guy for 3 years until last month when a pitmaster in Lockhart told me to try butcher paper at a competition. My brisket came out way more tender with a better bark, and I felt stupid for ignoring it so long. Anyone else have a method they swore by until someone proved them wrong?

Vent: People who pull pork way too early at competitions

Saw three teams at a local contest in Memphis last month pull their shoulders at like 195 internal temp and then wonder why their bark turned to mush. I've been cooking for 8 years now and I always wait until at least 203 before even thinking about pulling. Anyone else notice this rush ruining texture?

Vent: My $300 smoker mod turned into a money pit

I got this idea to turn my old offset smoker into a reverse flow setup after watching a pitmaster on YouTube. So I spent about $300 on steel plates and a welder to add a baffle plate and tuning plates. Took me three weekends to cut and weld everything, and my welds look like a bird pooped on them. First cook after the mod, the temps were all over the place, like 50 degrees difference from one side to the other. I ended up burning a whole brisket that cost me $60 because the hot spots were so bad. Now I'm thinking I should have just saved that money and bought a used smoker from someone who knows what they're doing. Has anyone else tried a DIY mod that just made things worse?

Threw my back out switching from a barrel smoker to a stick burner for a brisket comp in KC last spring

I had to pick between my old reliable drum smoker and a proper offset for a competition in Kansas City. Went with the offset because the judges love that clean wood smoke flavor, but boy was I not ready for feeding it every 45 minutes through a whole overnight cook. My back was killing me by morning from hauling splits and adjusting the fire, but the brisket got a 3rd place call. Has anyone else made the switch and found a way to make it easier on your body?

I was totally against using a pellet smoker for brisket, but a guy in Kansas City proved me wrong last weekend

Tried doing a brisket flat with just salt and pepper on my Oklahoma Joe's Highland

I read up on how the old pitmasters in Lockhart Texas keep it simple, so last Saturday I ditched my usual rub with brown sugar and paprika. The bark came out way darker and crunchier than I expected, almost like a peppercorn crust. But I think I oversalted the point end, made it taste a bit like jerky in spots. Did you guys find a trick to getting the salt even without making one part too salty?

Question about wrapping brisket: old method vs new way

I used to wrap my brisket in foil as soon as the bark set. Did that for about 5 years. Then last summer I switched to butcher paper after a buddy in Austin told me foil was ruining my bark. First time I tried paper the bark was way better but the cook took 2 extra hours. Now I'm stuck. Foil gives me a faster cook and more tender meat but soft bark. Paper gives me crunchy bark but I'm fighting stall times. What do you all prefer for competition style brisket? Has anyone else dealt with this trade off?

Bought a cheap wireless meat thermometer off Amazon and lost a whole brisket to false readings

The probe said 203 degrees but when I pulled it off and checked with my old wired ThermoPro it was only 165 and the flat was completely dried out, has anyone else had a cheap thermometer fail on a big cook like that?