c/bbq-pitmasters

6

taylor_patel•1h ago

Unpopular opinion: I started using a cheap spray bottle with apple juice on my brisket after 3 hours

Always got dry edges before. Now the bark sets up perfect and the meat stays crazy juicy. Anyone else try something weird that actually worked?

6

olivia_lopez98•1d ago

Bought a $60 wireless meat probe and it saved my brisket cook

I was doing an overnight cook last month and fell asleep. Woke up to my phone alarm going off because the probe hit 203 degrees. The brisket was perfect. Without that alert, it would have been way overdone. The app even shows a temp graph so I can see the stall. Anyone else use these or stick with the old school dial thermometers?

18

wilson.olivia•1d ago

Warning: I saw a pitmaster in Memphis use a pellet smoker for a competition brisket last week

I was at the Memphis in May festival and watched a team from Texas use a Traeger for their whole cook. Some folks in the crowd said it's cheating and takes no skill, but their brisket still got a top 5 score. Has anyone else seen this shift at big events, or is real wood still the only way to win?

3

erickelly•3d ago

I used to think a pellet smoker was the easy way out until I tried a real offset

Honestly, I ran a Traeger for about two years, thinking I was making real barbecue. It was super easy, just set it and forget it. Then my buddy in Austin let me borrow his old-school offset stick burner for a weekend. Tbh, the first cook was a mess. I couldn't keep the temp steady to save my life, and I went through a whole bag of oak splits in like 5 hours. But when those ribs came off, the bark and smoke flavor were just on another level. It wasn't just a different taste, it was deeper, like the meat actually worked for it. The pellet grill smoke always tasted kinda thin and one-note after that. Has anyone else made the switch and found a specific trick for managing the fire better?

10

mileslane•4d ago

I finally looked up the actual weight of a whole packer brisket before trimming

I was watching a competition show and they said a typical packer loses 30% of its weight just in fat and silver skin. I found a Texas A&M study that confirmed it, which means my 16 pound brisket is really only about 11 pounds of meat. How much do you guys usually lose when you trim?

16

torres.blair•5d ago

Hot take: I used to think wrapping brisket was for people who couldn't manage a fire

Last weekend, I smoked a 14-pound packer on my offset and decided to wrap it in butcher paper at 165 degrees, something I'd always refused to do. The bark was softer than I wanted, but the flat was the juiciest I've ever made, no dry spots at all. I learned that a perfect bark isn't the only goal, and sometimes you trade a little texture for a lot of moisture. Anyone have tips for keeping a firmer bark when you wrap?

17

xena582•5d ago

PSA: I finally figured out why my brisket bark was always soft

For like two years, my bark never got that perfect crunchy texture, even after 12 hours. I watched a video from Aaron Franklin where he talked about spritzing, and I realized I was opening my smoker way too much, like every 45 minutes. I tried a cook last weekend where I only opened it twice after the first 3 hours, and the bark on my 16-pounder was completely different, way more set. Anyone else have a simple trick that fixed a long-running bark issue?

8

scott.cameron•6d ago

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

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?

28

quinnm77•6d ago

Tried a coffee rub on pork ribs for the first time yesterday

Used a mix of ground dark roast and brown sugar, let it sit overnight. The bark got super dark and bitter, almost burnt tasting even at 225 degrees. Anyone know how to balance coffee in a rub without it turning?

17

felixlane•8d ago

I thought wrapping ribs in foil was always a mistake

Last weekend I smoked a rack of St. Louis ribs on my offset and decided to skip the Texas Crutch entirely, no foil at all. After 5 hours they were tough as leather, even though the temp was right. My buddy in Austin said I should try the 3-2-1 method just once, so I wrapped a rack in foil with some apple juice for 2 hours. They came out fall-off-the-bone tender, which I used to hate, but my family loved them. When do you guys decide to wrap versus going bareback the whole cook?

2

dianam19•8d ago

My brisket stalled for 8 hours and I almost gave up

I was smoking a 16-pounder in my offset last Saturday and it hit 160 degrees by noon, then just sat there until 8pm. My buddy in Austin texted 'just wrap it in butcher paper and trust the process' so I did, and it finally pushed through. Anyone else have a stall that just wouldn't quit?

30

lee18•9d ago

TIL I was smoking my brisket way too hot for years

A judge at the Kansas City Royal told me my bark was 'burnt, not set' after I ran my offset at 300 degrees for 6 hours. Anyone else have a simple mistake they didn't catch for a long time?

18

ray_sullivan•11d ago

Warning: I thought wrapping brisket in butcher paper was just a Texas fad

For years I stuck with foil for my briskets, thinking the paper thing was just hype. Then I tried it on a 14-pound packer last fall, following Aaron Franklin's method from his Austin joint. The bark stayed crisp and it didn't steam the meat like foil sometimes does. Anyone else make the switch and notice a real difference in texture?

1

anthonynelson•12d ago

Update: I finally got my brisket bark right after a tip from a guy at the Kansas City Royal

A judge there told me my bark was too dark and tasted bitter, which meant my fire was running too hot... probably around 300 degrees instead of 250. I switched to smaller splits of post oak and started checking the temp every hour. The next one came out perfect, with that deep mahogany color. Anyone else had to really dial back their fire for better bark?

4

maxl93•14d ago

My buddy roasted my brisket bark for looking like burnt toast

Honestly, I was so proud of this 14 pound brisket I smoked for 16 hours last weekend. My friend Mike, who's been doing comps for a decade, took one look and said, 'Ngl Max, that bark looks like you scraped it off a campfire log.' He was right, it was way too dark and bitter. He told me to cut my black pepper amount in half and spritz with apple juice every hour after the 4 hour mark. Tried his advice on a new cook yesterday and the bark was a perfect dark mahogany, not black. Anyone else get a piece of harsh truth that actually fixed their BBQ?

3

the_robert•15d ago

I finally chose a stick burner over a pellet grill for my backyard setup

For years I wanted the easy set-and-forget of a pellet grill, but after watching a whole season of Tuffy Stone's competitions, I went with an Old Country Brazos offset smoker. The first cook was a 14-hour brisket in Kansas City last October, and the smoke flavor was way deeper than anything my buddy's Traeger makes. Has anyone else made that switch and found it worth the extra work?

7

craig.viola•16d ago

My uncle swore by wrapping brisket in foil after 4 hours, and I finally tried it last weekend.

He said it would keep it from drying out, but my bark turned out soft and steamed instead of that nice crust. Has anyone found a better way to keep a brisket moist without ruining the bark?

28

eva_moore•18d ago

Warning: I tried a weird trick with my pork shoulder that actually worked

My pork shoulder was cooking way too fast on my pellet grill, hitting 180 degrees in just 4 hours. I wrapped it in foil with a cup of apple juice and dropped the temp to 200, then let it sit for another 3 hours. Do you think slowing it down that much ruins the bark, or is getting the meat tender more important?

28

anthonynelson•18d ago

Question about brisket cook times on my offset

I just cooked a 14 pound packer brisket on my old Oklahoma Joe's and it finished in exactly 9 hours, which was way faster than I expected. I was worried it would be tough, but it actually turned out super tender and sliced clean. Has anyone else had a brisket cook this much quicker than the usual hour per pound rule?

6

lucast81•18d ago

Bought a 'competition grade' brisket that was just a total waste

I mean, I spent $120 on this 18 pound prime brisket from a local butcher that was supposed to be the best. It had all the right marbling and everything. I put it on my offset at 225 for like 14 hours, wrapped it, the whole deal. When I finally sliced into it, the flat was so dry it was like eating shoe leather. The point was okay, but not worth that price. I'm pretty sure they just labeled a choice cut as prime and charged extra. Has anyone else in Texas had a bad experience with a specific butcher shop doing that? I need a new place to buy from.

7

tessaperry•19d ago

I spent $85 on a 'competition-grade' injection marinade kit that left my brisket tasting like salty medicine water.

Has anyone else found that simpler rubs and patience actually beat out all these fancy, expensive 'pro secrets' you see online?

31

elliot_roberts•19d ago

I was watching an old Myron Mixon interview and he said he goes through 40 pounds of hickory a day during a big cook

Found it on a YouTube clip from a 2018 contest in Memphis. That's a whole lot of wood just for smoke, makes you think about the scale these guys work at. How much wood do you all burn for a normal weekend cook?

16

sammartinez•20d ago

Switched to a drip pan under my brisket and the bark got way better

I used to let fat drip straight into my offset smoker's firebox, but after watching a video from Aaron Franklin, I tried a foil pan with water under the meat. In just one cook, the bark went from patchy and dry to a solid, dark crust all over. It seems like the extra moisture in the air kept the surface from hardening too fast. Anyone else get better results with a pan in the chamber?

3

karenbailey•21d ago

I finally caved and bought that $200 insulated cooler bag for comps

Saw a bunch of teams using them at the Memphis in May event and thought it would be a game changer for holding temps on my brisket turn-ins. It's basically a giant padded lunchbox, and for that price I expected it to work miracles. Used it at a local contest last weekend, and my brisket still dropped 15 degrees during the 10 minute walk from my pit to the judges' tent. Felt like I just paid for a fancy logo. What do you guys use to keep your meat hot during that final walk?

11

emma455•21d ago

Serious question, is everyone overcomplicating brisket trimming?

I used to spend an hour on each one, but last month I tried just taking off the hard fat cap and leaving the rest. Cooked it at 225 for 14 hours and it was the juiciest brisket I've ever made. Am I crazy, or has anyone else had luck with a simpler trim?