Question about a judge at the Franklin contest telling me my brisket was too smoky

Phoenix Grant · 2026-10-19T09:20:03.995305+00:00

I competed in a small backyard contest down in Franklin last month and one of the judges pulled me aside after scorecards. He said my brisket tasted like I was "hiding the meat behind the smoke" and that my wood chunks were too green. I switched to seasoned post oak and started splitting my chunks smaller so they burn cleaner, and my last two cooks have been way better. Now I'm second guessing my fire management though, because I was running a pretty dirty fire for years without knowing it. Has anyone else gotten feedback like that and how did you fix your coal bed without drying the meat out?

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Question about a judge at the Franklin contest telling me my brisket was too smoky | BBQ Pitmasters - Vivisector