c/bbq-pitmasters

Comp pit got flagged at Austin event, check your firebox seal

I was at a comp in Austin last Saturday and got dinged on a loose firebox hinge. One judge noted uneven color on half the brisket, likely from a draft. The seal had looked fine to me, but after 3 cooks it had worn thin near the latch. Now I check it with a dollar bill before every cook, takes two minutes. Anyone else had a pit fail you at an event and only caught it after the fact?

1 comments

emma768•5d ago

I finally tried burnt ends on a $30 kettle grill, huge surprise

Always figured you needed a $1,500 offset for good burnt ends, but I cubed a point from a choice packer and ran it hot over hickory in Tulsa last weekend. They came out with that perfect crust and jelly center, so has anyone else gotten great results on basic gear?

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paulk89•5d ago

My brisket got dry after the stall and I'm glad it did

Was doing a 14 pound packer in Austin last Saturday, oak wood, wrapped at 165 like everyone says. But my temp probe died on me right around the stall, so I stopped wrapping and just let it ride. It came out at 203 with a crunchy bark and the flat was a bit dry, but the point was melt in your mouth. Everyone at the table kept talking about the crust and honestly I think chasing that perfect moist flat is overrated for backyard cooks. Has anyone else ditched the wrap and just accepted a drier finish for better bark?

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miles277•15d ago

My cheap offset smoker turned out to be a money pit, the $900 upgrade fixed my sanity

I bought a $250 barrel smoker from a big box store back in March. Thin metal, fiddly firebox, the temp swung 50 degrees every time I opened the door. After three straight ruined briskets, I finally broke down and got a heavier 1/4 inch offset from a local fabricator in Tulsa for $900. Night and day difference. The heat holds steady at 250 for hours with just one split. I wasted more in meat and charcoal than the upgrade cost. Anyone else learn the hard way that cheap smokers end up costing more in the long run?

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calebm46•16d ago

Smoked my 200th pork shoulder and only then noticed something about my rub

I hit 200 shoulders on my WSM last Saturday and realized I've been putting the salt in before the garlic powder this whole time, which probably explains why my bark never set as dark as the videos I watch, has anyone else counted a milestone like that and found a dumb habit?

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nina_clark•16d ago

My brisket stalled at 160 for 6 hours, turns out my probe was bad

Last Saturday I fired up my offset smoker for a 14 pound packer brisket for my brother's birthday in Austin. Everything was going smooth until the internal temp just sat at 160 for what felt like forever, even after I added more oak. I was about to wrap and push through, but I decided to check my cheap probe against my instant read thermometer and it was off by 15 degrees. The meat was actually at 175 and climbing. Has anyone else had a faulty probe completely wreck their cook plan?

1 comments

joel_patel•18d ago

Wasted $80 on a fancy pellet tube, my stick burner still beats it

I saw all the hype about smoke tubes on here and figured I'd try one for cold smoking cheese. Spent $80 on that stainless one from the big box store in Wichita, and honestly my old stick burner setup did a better job in half the time. The pellets kept going out every 20 minutes unless I babysat it, which defeats the whole point. Has anyone else found these things useless for anything besides a few almonds?

1 comments

paul_thompson67•20d ago

Old timer at a comp told me to rest brisket in a cooler, I doubted him hard

Guy named Cleetus from a team called Smokin' Tires said wrap in butcher paper then straight into a Yeti for 3 hours, thought he was nuts but tried it at the Lockhart cookoff last Saturday. Meat came out like butter, 10 degree warmer than my usual towel trick, anyone else get told some random pitmaster secret that actually worked?

2 comments

sarah198•22d ago

Swapped my offset smoker for a pellet grill after 9 years, here is where I stand now

Back in 2016 I bought a used Oklahoma Joe offset for $150 and spent every weekend babysitting logs. I loved the bark but hated waking up at 4am to feed the fire. In March I finally gave in and got a Traeger on clearance at a local Ace Hardware. First brisket came out with zero fuss, bark was lighter but the flavor is still solid. My old smoking buddies give me grief about it, but I can actually sleep now. Has anyone else made this switch and gone back to charcoal or wood? What made you flip back?

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margaretw41•24d ago

Found a legit offset pit at a flea market in Ohio, of all places

Stopped by a random flea market near Dayton last weekend and this old guy had a homemade offset smoker made from a 250 gallon tank. The welds were clean and the firebox was lined with firebrick, he wanted $400 but it looked like it could hold temp all day. Anyone ever scored a solid pit from a random swap meet or should I stick to new ones?

1 comments

black.amy•25d ago

Found an old competition score sheet that threw me for a loop

I was digging through a box of old photos and papers from my uncle's place in Kansas City, and I found a score sheet from an American Royal BBQ contest back in 1987. The thing that surprised me was how simple the categories were, just taste and tenderness, no appearance or creativity scores at all. These days a brisket can lose points if the smoke ring isn't perfect, but back then they just wanted it to eat well. Has anyone else seen old score sheets from the 80s or earlier that make you think we've overcomplicated things?

1 comments

the_ruby•26d ago

Brisket stall shortcut: foil boat vs. butcher paper, who's right?

After 4 failed briskets in Tulsa I tried the foil boat method on a 14 pounder and it cut my stall time by almost 90 minutes, but the bark came out softer than my usual butcher paper wrap. Is the time save worth losing that crunchy texture, or am I just doing the boat wrong?

1 comments

martin.vera•26d ago

I finally admitted my offset smoker isn't the best tool for every cook

Been running a stick burner for about 4 years now, mostly weekends at my place near Cincinnati. I always figured real pitmasters use offsets and that's that. Last month I catered a small party, 40 people, and had to babysit the fire for 8 hours while juggling ribs and a brisket. A buddy showed up with his pellet grill and just set it, checked temps twice, and his pulled pork was honestly as good as mine. I felt like a fool for being so stiff about it. Now I still use the offset for briskets and big events, but I broke down and got a used pellet setup for weeknight pork shoulders. Has anyone else gone back and forth on this, or is it just me?

1 comments

barbara_taylor83•29d ago

My buddy's dry rub ratio backfired at a cookoff in Memphis

He told me to bump the sugar to a 2:1 against salt for bark, but it burnt black on my brisket after 8 hours. Got a 14th place out of 30 teams, and the judges said the bitter crust killed it. Anyone else had a trusted pitmaster steer them wrong on something basic?

1 comments

gray_schmidt8•1mo ago

Had to pick between a pellet smoker and a stick burner for my backyard comp

After 3 weeks of research I chose the stick burner because I wanted that real smoke flavor, and even though it took me 2 hours to hold 225 steady during my first brisket, I finally tasted what all the fuss was about, anyone else make the switch and regret the extra babysitting?

1 comments

hayden587•1mo ago

My offset smoker firebox door hinge snapped mid-cook yesterday

Was doing a 14-hour smoke on a brisket and the top hinge just gave out, dropped the door crooked. I grabbed a pair of C-clamps from the garage and clamped it shut from the sides to hold the seal. Anyone else had a hinge fail on them and jerry-rigged a fix mid-cook?

2 comments

ericp67•1mo ago

I used to think pellet grills were cheating until I tried one at a friend's place in Lincoln

I've been a stick burner guy for like 8 years now. Always thought pellet grills were just for people who didn't want to learn real BBQ. But last weekend my buddy Dave fired up his Camp Chef at his house in Lincoln, Nebraska. He threw on a pork shoulder and that thing held 225 degrees for 12 hours straight without him touching it once. The bark came out with a deep red color and the smoke ring was actually solid. I had to eat my words because the meat was juicy and had good smoke flavor, not like that fake campfire taste I expected. The clean up was basically nothing compared to scraping out my offset after 12 hours of babysitting. I'm not selling my stick burner but I get it now. Has anyone else here gone from hating on pellet grills to actually respecting what they can do?

2 comments

burns.ruby•1mo ago

That old timer from Memphis showed me why I was resting my brisket wrong

So I'm at a comp in Kansas City last weekend and this guy named Earl, must be 70 years old, comes over and points out I'm wrapping my brisket in foil way too tight for the rest. He said I needed to leave a little steam gap or the bark gets soggy after 2 hours. Tried it his way on my second brisket and the difference was night and day, the bark stayed crispy all the way through service. Has anyone else gotten a game changing tip like that from just chatting with an older pitmaster at a cookoff?

3 comments

kai_bennett•1mo ago

Can we talk about the struggle of keeping a steady temp with a cheap offset smoker

I spent a good 8 hours last Saturday trying to get my $150 offset smoker to hold 225 degrees for a pork shoulder. The temperature would swing 40 degrees every time I added a split, and I kept fighting with the drafts and chimney. Anyone else spend way too long dealing with temperature swings before upgrading to a better rig?

2 comments

briancampbell•1mo ago

Hot take: wrapping in butcher paper vs foil - which actually ruins bark faster?

I spent 4 hours on a brisket last Saturday only to pull it off and find soggy bark from foil. An old timer at a local comp said foil traps steam but I swear butcher paper dries it out. Anyone else deal with this and find a real solution?

2 comments

tylerr39•1mo ago

Old pitmaster at a comp told me to quit wrapping in foil

Back in 2019 at the Memphis in May competition, this grizzled old dude walked past my setup and just said you're steaming your bark off with all that foil. I was stubborn for another 6 months, but finally tried butcher paper on a packer brisket and the crust came out way better. Anyone else get a single piece of advice that totally flipped their process?

2 comments

nathan545•1mo ago

Surprised by how much salt goes into competition brisket

I was watching a BBQ Pitmasters episode from a few years back and one of the judges mentioned that winning briskets often have over 2% salt by weight. That seemed like a lot to me, so I did some math. For a 14 pound brisket, that is nearly 5 ounces of salt just for the rub. I always thought I was heavy handed with seasoning, but this completely changed my approach. I tried it on my last cook for a family gathering and the difference was clear. Has anyone here actually weighed their rub to see what percentage they use?

1 comments

the_tara•1mo ago

Tried wrapping my brisket in butcher paper instead of foil last weekend

Got a 14 lb packer from Costco and decided to switch it up after watching a Franklin BBQ video. Wrapped it at 165 and let it ride to 203 in my offset smoker. The bark came out way crunchier than I expected, almost like a shell. Anyone else find that paper gives a harder bark than foil?

2 comments

palmer.zara•1mo ago

TIL a single backyard smoker can put out as much fine particle pollution as a diesel truck idling for an hour

Read it in a study from the EPA's website last night and now I'm wondering if my neighbors hate me for running my WSM every weekend.

2 comments

taylor82•1mo ago

Vent: Smoker temp crash ruined my 12 hour brisket

I was in Austin at my buddy's place for the big game. Had a brisket on since 5 AM. At hour 8 the smoker just dropped 40 degrees. No idea why. I panic threw in more charcoal but it took forever to climb back. Meat came out tough and dry. Anyone deal with a sudden temp drop like that and fix it fast?

2 comments