c/bbq-pitmasters

Shoutout to the pitmaster at Franklin's who set me straight on brisket trimming

I was at a competition last Saturday in Lockhart and got to talking with this old school pitmaster who used to work at Franklin BBQ. I was bragging about how I trim my briskets real lean to save on fat cap. He laughed and said 'son you're throwing away all the flavor insurance.' Then he showed me how he leaves a quarter inch on the point and just cleans up the hard stuff. Made me realize I've been over trimming for like 2 years now and drying out my flats. Next brisket I did his way came out way juicier even with the same temp and wrap time. Anyone else get humbled by a conversation with someone who's been doing it longer?

Almost lost a brisket batch to a bad temp probe last weekend

I was smoking a 18 pounder for a family gathering and my wireless probe said 203F so I pulled it. Turned out the probe was reading 15 degrees off after I checked it in ice water. Has anyone else had a Bluetooth probe go bad on them without warning?

A buddy at a competition told me I was overthinking my rubs

I was at the Memphis in May competition last spring and a guy named Dave watched me mixing my rub for like 10 minutes. He just said 'you're trying too hard, pick 3 flavors and let the meat breathe.' I was using 8 different spices trying to be fancy. I dropped down to salt, pepper, and paprika on my last brisket and it took first in my category. Now I keep it simple and adjust cook temps instead of hiding things in the rub. Anyone else had someone call them out on overcomplicating things?

That weekend I ruined 30 pounds of brisket and learned my lesson

I spent last Friday prepping two 15-pound briskets for a family reunion, thinking I had my smoker dialed in after a decade of practice. But my temp probe was off by 20 degrees, and I pulled them at 190 internal instead of 205, so they came out tough as leather. Has anyone else had a run of bad luck like that where one small mistake cost you a whole cook?

Vent: Just found out my favorite pitmaster uses liquid smoke in his competition brisket

Ngl I was digging through his YouTube channel from 3 years ago and caught him pouring that stuff in before the wrap, kind of killed the illusion for me honestly has anyone else caught their BBQ hero cutting corners like that?

Finally nailed the brisket stall at 6am on a Sunday

I've been chasing that perfect brisket smoke ring for about two years now. Last weekend I drove down to Lockhart, Texas and stopped at Kreuz Market to watch their pit crew work. What caught my eye was how they wrapped their briskets in pink butcher paper right when the meat hit 165 degrees. I'd always used foil before, and my bark came out soggy every time. Tried the paper method on a 14 pound prime brisket this morning and the stall only lasted 45 minutes instead of 3 hours. The bark came out crunchy and dark, and my family actually asked for seconds. Has anyone else noticed a big difference switching from foil to paper?

Warning: spent $80 on a fancy rub blend and it tasted exactly like my pantry mix

Bought a limited edition rub from that Texas pitmaster's online store and realized the ingredients were just paprika, garlic powder, salt, and brown sugar. Has anyone else overpaid for what amounts to a spice cabinet re-shuffle?

Pro tip: that fancy offset smoker almost burned my house down

I was dead set against ceramic cookers for years, thought they were overpriced egg shaped nonsense. Then my offset smoker shot a grease fire 8 feet high during a 16 hour pork butt cook and I almost called the fire department. Has anyone else had a smoker disaster that made you switch gear completely?

Am I the only one who used to think wood choice didn't matter for smoking?

I always just bought whatever wood was cheapest at the hardware store near my house in Austin. Then last weekend I overheard this guy at a competition talking about how using pecan instead of hickory on pork butt gives it this nutty sweetness that cuts through the fat. I tried it on my Weber Smokey Mountain at 225 for 8 hours and I swear the flavor was way better. Has anyone else had a wood switch totally change their cook?

A pitmaster in Kansas City told me my rub was too sweet

I was at a competition in Kansas City last summer and this old timer tried my ribs. He said 'son, you got too much brown sugar in there, it's covering up the meat.' I thought sweet was the way to go but he convinced me to dial it back. I cut the sugar by half and added more black pepper and paprika, now the pork taste actually comes through. Has anyone else had to totally rework their rub after someone called them out?

Debate: Is a pellet grill cheating or just another tool in the shed?

I was over at my buddy Mike's place last Saturday for a brisket cook, and he swore his pellet grill gave him the same smoke ring as my offset. That got me thinking. Three years ago I spent a whole weekend babysitting my old stick burner at a family reunion in Nashville, and the bark came out perfect but I was exhausted. Then last month I used a pellet rig at a church fundraiser in Knoxville, and the meat was tender but the smoke flavor felt lighter, almost like an oven with a smoky smell. So here's the question: does a pellet grill count as real BBQ pitmaster work, or is it just a tool that makes things easier? I have seen some purists say it takes the skill out of it, but other folks argue the end result is what matters. What do you all figure is the line between using tech to help and cheating at the craft?

Was dead set against pellet smokers until a buddy proved me wrong

I've been running stick burners for about 8 years now, always figured pellet grills were just fancy Easy-Bake ovens. Then last fall my friend Mike brought his Recteq over for a brisket cook at the church parking lot in Modesto. That thing held 225 degrees for 14 hours straight without me touching it once. The bark came out better than some of my offsets have done. Has anyone else here changed their mind on a method after actually trying it with somebody who knew what they were doing?

Met a pitmaster in Lexington who dropped a truth bomb on me

I was at a gas station in Lexington, NC last spring and this older guy saw me loading up bags of hickory chips and just laughed. He said "son, you're seasoning your meat with smoke from dead trees, you need live wood or you're wasting your money." Has anyone else run into someone who changed how you think about wood selection on the spot?

Caught a BBQ pitmaster on YouTube using a wet paper towel to fix a stall

Saw Harry Soo explain on a livestream that wrapping in butcher paper costs more and doesn't speed things up nearly as much as spritzing every 45 minutes with apple cider vinegar, and it made me ditch the Texas crutch for good after 6 years of using it, anyone else skip the wrap now?

That cheap charcoal i tried almost ruined my whole cook

I grabbed a bag of Royal Oak lump from the hardware store in Columbus last weekend - it was like $8. Man, that stuff threw sparks everywhere and gave my brisket a weird chemical taste. I learned you really can't skimp on fuel if you want good results. Has anyone else had a bad experience with bargain charcoal?

I was reading about the history of Texas brisket and found something wild

I mean, I always knew Aaron Franklin was a big deal, but I found out he actually won his first James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest back in 2015. That's like the Oscars for food, and he got it for barbecue, which is pretty huge. I found this in an old Texas Monthly article from a few years back. Does anyone know of other pitmasters who've gotten that kind of national award?

Serious question, heard a pitmaster in Memphis say they never wrap their ribs

I was watching a video from a guy at a joint called Payne's Bar-B-Q, and he said wrapping ribs in foil just steams them and ruins the bark. He said he cooks his ribs straight through for 6 hours, no wrap, no spritz. It made me question my whole 3-2-1 method. Has anyone else tried a full no-wrap cook on spare ribs?

Pro tip: I chose a basic offset smoker over a fancy pellet grill for my first setup in 2010.

It forced me to learn fire management the hard way, but now I can tell a brisket's doneness just by the bark's color. Anyone else start with a simple rig and stick with it?

Hot take: that $80 'competition grade' injection marinade was a total waste for my brisket

It made the meat way too salty and didn't improve the flavor over my basic rub, honestly felt like I just threw cash in the smoker. Anyone have a better injection recipe that actually works?

Just read something wild about competition pit temps

I was flipping through an old issue of Texas Monthly from 2019. They did a profile on a few big-name competitors. One guy, I think his name was Roy, said he runs his brisket at 275 degrees. Not 225. For the whole cook. Said it gets through the stall faster and the bark is way better. I always thought low and slow meant 225, no questions. Has anyone else tried running that hot for competition-style brisket? What were your results?

PSA: I picked a 14-inch WSM over a pellet grill for my first real smoker and it was the right call.

My pork shoulder bark went from pale to perfect in just 2 hours

I was smoking a 9 pound shoulder on my offset last weekend and the bark looked weak after 6 hours. I moved it from the top rack directly over the firebox, where the heat is more direct. The difference was crazy, it formed a deep, dark crust in the next 2 hours without burning. The key was that radiant heat from the coals, not just smoke. Anyone else find a sweet spot on their smoker that fixed a bark problem?

I thought wrapping brisket in butcher paper was just a gimmick until my buddy in Austin made me try it.

The bark stayed way better than with foil, and the flat didn't dry out after 14 hours. Anyone have a favorite brand of paper they swear by?

My brisket trim used to be a total hack job until I watched a class in Kansas City

For years, I'd just cut off the big fat cap and call it good... leaving way too much on and getting these tough, greasy slices. I was at a class in Kansas City about six months ago, and the instructor spent a full hour just on trimming. He showed us how to find the seam between the flat and the point to separate that deckle fat, and to really round off the edges so they don't burn. I tried it his way on my next cook, and it added maybe 45 minutes to my prep, but wow. The smoke got into the meat better, the fat rendered way more, and I finally got those clean, bendy slices you see in pictures. Has anyone else had a single tip that totally fixed a part of your process you didn't even know was broken?

TIL that wrapping my brisket in butcher paper after the stall, something I thought was just a gimmick, actually gave me way better bark than foil ever did.

I tried it side by side on two 14-pound briskets last weekend, and the paper-wrapped one had a bark you could actually hear crackle when you cut it, so what other 'gimmicks' have you guys found that are actually legit?