c/bbq-pitmasters

Finally nailed my brisket after switching to a water pan

For years I just ran my offset smoker dry, thinking the smoke was enough. Last month I tried putting a cheap aluminum pan full of water on the grate next to the meat. The brisket I did yesterday came out so much better, way more tender and the bark wasn't as hard. I guess that extra humidity really is a game changer for a long cook. Anyone else find a simple change that fixed a problem they'd had forever?

That one Saturday in Austin where my brisket bark turned out perfect

I was doing a backyard cook for about 15 people and the weather was weirdly humid all morning. My usual 12-hour plan got thrown off because the temp in my offset pit kept dropping every time I opened the lid. I ended up wrapping it in butcher paper after 8 hours, way earlier than normal, and just let it ride. The bark was this dark, crunchy crust that everyone said was the best they'd ever had. Has anyone else had a cook go totally wrong but end up amazing because of a simple change?

Just realized my brisket stall was a blessing in disguise at the Memphis in May contest

My temp probe failed at 4 AM, so I had to go by feel and the bark, which taught me more in that one smoky panic than the last five cooks combined, so what's your best 'equipment fail' story that actually helped you?

Stumbled on a fact about Myron Mixon's competition record that blew my mind

I was reading an old interview from 2015 where he said he'd won over 180 grand championships. That's just insane to me, more than one a month for over a decade straight. Some people argue that volume like that means you're just chasing trophies, not perfecting a craft. Others say that level of consistent winning is the ultimate proof of skill. Where do you all stand on quantity versus quality in competition BBQ?

Getting a consistent smoke ring on my brisket took me three whole cooks to figure out

Can we talk about those expensive digital probe thermometers?

I dropped $90 on a fancy one with Bluetooth last year thinking it would change my game, but the app crashed twice during a 14-hour brisket cook and I lost all my temp logs. The old school dial thermometer I keep as a backup was more reliable that whole night. Has anyone else had tech fail them right when you needed it most?

Update: A judge told me my brisket was 'mush' and it made me rethink everything

I entered a local comp in Kansas City last fall, and one of the judges wrote on my score sheet, 'Texture is off, feels steamed, not smoked.' I was using a water pan in my offset, thinking it kept things moist. After that, I pulled the pan out completely and focused on managing my fire for clean, dry heat. The bark on my next brisket was night and day better. Has anyone else had a piece of advice that flipped a basic part of your process?

My pellet grill auger jammed right before a big cook for my brother's birthday.

It happened last Saturday afternoon, just as I was about to put on a 12 pound brisket. The motor was humming but nothing was moving. I had to take the whole hopper apart and found a huge, damp pellet clump blocking everything. I ended having to fire up my old charcoal smoker to save the day. Has anyone else had a major jam like that, and what's your quick fix?

I used to wrap my brisket in foil after 4 hours, but now I go unwrapped the whole cook

I used to think a water pan was just for keeping things moist, but my last brisket changed my mind.

For a long time, I ran my offset smoker dry, focusing only on fire control. My briskets were good, but the flat was always a bit dry. A buddy in Austin told me to try a full water pan, so I did a side by side test with two packers from the same store. The one with the water pan cooked slower and steadier, and the difference was huge. The meat from the dry cook was tougher, especially after the stall, while the one with the pan was way more tender and juicy all the way through. It seems the added humidity really helps the meat break down better without drying out. I won't run my pit without one now. Has anyone else done a test like this and noticed a big change in texture?

Just saw a video where Tuffy Stone explained his brisket trimming philosophy

He said he aims to remove about 25% of the raw weight before it even hits the smoker. Found that on a YouTube channel called 'BBQ with Franklin' from a few years back. How much do you guys usually trim off?

Unpopular opinion: I stopped wrapping my ribs in foil after a competition in Memphis

I saw a pitmaster just let them ride on the smoker the whole time, and the bark was way better. Anyone else skip the wrap for a more solid bite?

Saw a guy at a Memphis rib joint using a hair dryer on his brisket

I was at Payne's Bar-B-Que yesterday and the pitmaster in the back had a pink hair dryer plugged in next to the smoker. He was holding it up to a brisket, blowing air on the bark for like 5 minutes. I asked him about it and he just said 'It fixes the stall, trust me.' Has anyone actually seen this method work, or was he just messing with me?

Why does nobody talk about the smoke ring on a gas grill?

I was at a cookout in Austin and my buddy's dad pulled a pork shoulder off his basic propane grill with a perfect pink ring. He said he just put a small foil packet of wood chips right on the flavorizer bars. I've been overcomplicating my setup for years trying to get that result. Has anyone else pulled off real barbecue flavor without a dedicated smoker?

PSA: A guy at a Memphis gas station told me my brisket was too clean

I was fueling up my truck after a comp, still in my apron, when an older man leaned out of his car and asked if I was the one smoking that 'pretty meat' he saw on my rig. He said, 'Son, that bark looks like you washed it. Real smoke sticks like dirt, not sprinkles.' It happened so fast I didn't even get his name. Has anyone else had a stranger give them a tip that actually stuck?

I finally got my firebox door to seal right after 8 hours of fiddling

The gap was only a quarter inch, but it took a whole Saturday of bending the hinge and packing the gasket with high-temp rope. Anyone else have a better fix for a warped offset door?

My buddy in Austin said my brisket bark was 'sandy' and it changed my whole cook

He told me my rub was too fine and the sugar was burning, so I started grinding my pepper coarse and using less brown sugar. Now my bark sets up way better and has a real bite to it. What's one piece of feedback that totally flipped your method?

Heads up about a weird stall on a brisket that just would not break

I was smoking a 14 pound prime packer last weekend and it hit the stall at 165 like normal. Except this time, it just sat there for over 7 hours. I wrapped it in butcher paper at 170, bumped the pit temp, nothing worked. Finally broke through after 9 total hours in the stall, which is insane. Has anyone else had a brisket just decide to take a full day off in the middle of a cook?

Pro tip: I just hit 250 briskets on my old offset and the number really got me thinking

I started keeping a simple tally on the side of my smoker, just a little mark for each full packer. Hit 250 this past weekend. It's not a huge number for some folks, but for me, it means I've burned through about 5,000 pounds of post oak and learned something new every single time. The first fifty were a real fight, always chasing temps and wrestling with the firebox. Now, it's like the pit and I just talk to each other. But here's the debate I'm having with myself: does that number mean I'm actually getting better, or have I just gotten really good at working around the quirks of this one specific smoker? Would my skills translate to a different rig, or am I just a master of this single piece of steel? Curious if other pitmasters have hit a personal cook count that made them question their own progress.

Tried two different wood splits for a pork shoulder last weekend and the results were night and day

I smoked a 9 pound shoulder on my offset, and for the first 5 hours I used kiln-dried oak splits I bought at the hardware store. The fire was easy but the smoke flavor was kind of sharp and one-note. I switched to some well-seasoned hickory splits I got from a local tree guy for the last 7 hours, and the difference was huge. The smoke was way cleaner and sweeter, and the bark had a much richer color. It made me realize how much the wood prep matters, not just the type. Has anyone else had a similar experience switching woods mid-cook?

Appreciation post: The foil boat method completely saved my pork butt

I had a 9 pound butt that just would not push past 180 degrees, even after 14 hours on my offset. I wrapped it in a single sheet of foil, crimped like a boat, and it hit 203 in under an hour while the bark stayed solid. Has anyone else tried this instead of a full wrap?

My brisket stalled at 160 for like 5 hours at a cookoff in Austin

I was using my offset smoker and the temp just wouldn't budge past that point, so I wrapped it in butcher paper with some tallow. What's the longest stall you've ever dealt with and did wrapping help?

Watched a pitmaster go from good to great in one competition season

His brisket bark went from just dark to that perfect pebbly texture with deep color. He told me the switch was moving his wood from oak to post oak and managing his fire for a steadier 250 degrees. Anyone know other wood changes that make that big a difference?

I was wrapping my brisket way too early for years

I always wrapped my brisket in foil as soon as it hit 160 degrees, thinking that was the rule. This past Fourth of July, I was running two smokers at my place in Omaha and got behind. One brisket sat at 170 for almost two hours before I could get to it. I was sure I'd ruined it, but that one turned out with bark so much better than the one I wrapped on time. The crust was dark and crunchy, not soft and steamed. It finally clicked that I was cutting the bark development short. Now I wait for the bark to look and feel right, not just for a number on a thermometer. Has anyone else had a moment like that where a mistake showed you a better way?

My uncle told me to wrap my brisket at 150 degrees, not 165

He swore by it for years, said it made the meat more tender. So last month, I tried it on a 14-pound packer from the local butcher. I wrapped it in butcher paper right when it hit 150 internal, like he said. It came out dry and tough, like I steamed it instead of smoked it. Anyone else have a family member give them advice that just ruined a good piece of meat?