c/bbq-pitmasters

My first attempt at burnt ends turned into charcoal hockey pucks

Tried making burnt ends from a 14 pound brisket point in my offset smoker last Saturday, and I left them on for 2 extra hours while I got distracted trimming the yard. They came out blacker than my grill grate and tough as a boot sole, even after I tried rescuing them in sauce. My buddy Dave called them 'cinder blocks with flavor' and refused to eat more than one. Anybody else wreck a batch this bad and figure out the right timing trick?

Is a dirty smoker actually building flavor or just masking your mistakes?

I keep hearing guys at the Franklin BBQ line in Austin swear by never cleaning their offset, but when I left mine caked up for 3 cooks last month, the brisket came out bitter and acrid, so are we confusing tradition with a crutch, or does that crust really help if you know how to manage your fire?

the 2am brisket advice that flipped my whole trim game

i was babysitting a 14 pounder at a comp in Kansas City and the guy next to me, some retired pitmaster name Hank, walked over and said 'you're cutting off the good fat, kid'. he showed me how to leave the deckle seam and trim from the cold side, and my next two cooks came out way juicier. has anyone else gotten a random tip from a stranger that changed how you do things?

That judge's comment about sauce on ribs still bugs me

Went to a backyard comp in Memphis last Saturday and one of the certified judges told my buddy his ribs were 'too saucy' before he even touched them. I've been running my offset for about 5 years now and I've seen this same thing happen at three different contests. People spend $80 on entry fees and 14 hours babysitting a fire only to get dinged for a personal preference that has nothing to do with technique. I get that sauce heavy vs dry rub is a style thing, but if you're judging, at least take a bite before you form an opinion. My go-to method is a light glaze after the wrap, but I've seen guys win with a thick layer too. Has anyone else dealt with judges who seem to make up their mind based on looks alone? What's been your workaround for that? Maybe I'm overthinking it and should just cook what I like and skip the stress.

Had to pick between charcoal and wood chunks for my brisket cook

So I was getting ready for my first brisket of the season last weekend and I realized I was out of my usual charcoal. I had a bag of lump charcoal and a bag of hickory chunks staring at me on the shelf. I went with the lump because I thought it would burn cleaner and give me a better bark. Big mistake. The temp was all over the place and I ended up having to babysit my offset for like 8 hours straight. The bark turned out way too dark and bitter tasting honestly. My buddy who uses straight wood chunks swears by it but I think I messed up the fire management. Anyone else struggle with choosing between lump and wood for long cooks?

DAE try using a regular oven to finish ribs instead of wrapping them?

So I got caught in a rainstorm last Saturday and my smoker coals got totally soaked. I was halfway through a rack of baby backs and didn't want to trash them. Threw them in the oven at 300 with just a little apple juice for about 45 minutes. They came out fall-off-the-bone tender and the bark actually held up better than my usual foil wrap. Has anyone else done a last minute oven save like this?

Hit 100 briskets smoked and I still think more isn't better

I just finished my 100th brisket on my offset smoker last Sunday. Most folks here say you need to cook a ton to get good, but I actually think my best briskets came around number 30 or 40. After that I got too comfortable and started rushing the trimming or trusting the temp probe too early. Anyone else feel like hitting a big number actually made them sloppier instead of better?

Switched from a gas smoker to a Weber kettle last month and wow, what a difference in bark on my brisket

I had this big propane smoker for 3 years and always got decent results but the bark was more like a soft crust. After watching a Pitmasters episode on YouTube I grabbed a $50 used Weber kettle from a garage sale. Used the snake method with charcoal and some hickory chunks on a 10 pound packer. The bark came out dark and crunchy and the smoke ring was actually visible. Anyone else make the jump from gas to charcoal and notice a huge change in their final product?

My smoke ring finally showed up after 11 straight hours of babysitting my offset smoker

I added a new gasket and sealed my firebox door with high-temp RTV and it only took three separate brisket cooks over six months to actually get consistent temps, has anyone else fought with draft issues on a cheaper offset that long?

Why does nobody talk about how a $20 wireless meat probe can wreck your pork butt?

I dropped $20 on a no-name wireless probe off Amazon thinking I was smart saving money, but it read 40 degrees too low and I pulled my shoulder off at 170 instead of 203 - meanwhile my buddy swears by his $100 Thermoworks and hasn't had a single hiccup, so which camp are you in, cheap gamble or spend once and forget about it?

Stopped at a roadside pit in Lockhart Texas last Thursday

The guy running it used nothing but post oak and a homemade cinderblock pit, and his brisket was better than anything I've had from a $10,000 offset. Has anyone else found that simpler setups sometimes turn out better food?

Dropped $120 on a Fireboard 2 and it saved my brisket last Saturday

I was running my offset and the temperature kept dipping on me. I had this old probe thermometer that was giving me weird readings so I grabbed the Fireboard 2 at the last minute. It tracked my pit temp and meat temp through the whole 14 hour cook and showed me exactly when my fire needed fuel. Has anyone else had those cheap thermometers mess up a long cook on them?

Stopped by a random BBQ joint in rural Georgia last weekend

I was driving through Macon and saw this tiny cinder block building with smoke rolling out the back. Figured why not, pulled over and ordered a chopped pork sandwich. The guy working the pit told me he's been running that same smoker for 22 years and never even cleaned the grates, just let the grease build up like a seasoning. The bark on that pork was insane, super dark but not bitter at all. Has anyone else had luck with older beat up equipment making better food than shiny new stuff?

Hit 500 hours on my WSM 22 after 4 years of weekend cooks

My uncle swore by aluminum foil under charcoal, ruined a whole brisket

My uncle Earl comes over for my Fourth of July cook every year, always critiquing everything. Last summer he insisted I line my Weber kettle with heavy duty foil before dumping the briquettes in. Said it would direct heat better and make cleanup a snap. I followed his advice to the letter, fired up the grill, and put on a 14 pound brisket I had dry brined for 24 hours. About two hours in I noticed the smoke looked weird and thin, then the temp gauge shot way past 300 degrees because the foil stopped air from flowing under the coals. The brisket came out dry as sawdust on one end and raw on the other, I had to pick up a rack of ribs from a local shop for the party. Has anyone else had a well-meaning relative share a tip that just does not work on standard gear?

Bought a $40 wireless temp probe and it glitched out on my brisket mid-cook

Had that moment with my smoker temperature gauge yesterday

I've been BBQing for like 8 years now and always trusted the built-in thermometer on my offset smoker. Turns out it was off by 50 degrees the whole time! I only figured it out when my brisket came out tough for the third time in a row and I grabbed a cheap probe thermometer from Ace Hardware. Anyone else find a huge difference between their smoker gauge and an instant read?

Ran into a guy at a comp who showed me how to trim brisket and it changed everything

My Bradley smoker digital controller died mid-brisket at 2 AM last Saturday

Had to finish a 14 pound packer in my oven at 225, and honestly it came out decent but the bark was completely ruined how do you guys recover when your gear fails mid-cook?

Just spent 4 hours trying to dial in my offset smoker temp

I was aiming for 225 and it kept bouncing between 200 and 250 no matter what I did with the dampers. Finally figured out I had a tiny crack in the firebox door letting air in, wasted a whole afternoon on something so simple. Anyone else ever chase a temp issue forever before finding the obvious fix?

Had to pick between a offset smoker and a pellet grill after my old one rusted through

Went with the offset because I figured real fire management beats convenience, but now I'm 6 hours in and still fighting temp swings on this brisket like a rookie. Anyone else regret ditching the easy button for pride?

Saw a competition pitmaster use a $20 Home Depot thermometer over his $400 Fireboard

Was at a backyard cookout last Sunday and this guy who's won 3 state titles in Kansas was checking his brisket with a cheap instant read from the hardware aisle. I asked him about it and he just shrugged and said 'I've broken 4 Fireboards this year, this one works fine.' Made me think about how much money I've blown on gear thinking it'd make my BBQ better. What's the most overpriced tool you've bought that didn't actually improve your cook?

That one guy at the Memphis BBQ Fest who tried to tell me my ribs were wrong

I was at the Memphis BBQ Fest last May, just minding my own business smoking some spare ribs on my offset, and this older fella walks up and starts telling me I'm cooking them too hot at 275. He said I should be at 225 for at least 6 hours or they'd be tough. I told him I've done 275 for 4 hours for 10 years and they come out perfect every time, and he just walked off shaking his head. Has anyone else had some random stranger try to tell you how to do your cook at a competition or festival?

Swapped my offset smoker for a pellet grill on a brisket cook last month

I've been using a cheap offset for about two years now and fought with temp swings every time, so I borrowed my neighbor's Traeger for a 10-pound packer brisket. The bark came out way less crusty but the meat was so much more tender and even from start to finish with zero babysitting. Anyone else find that pellet grills just produce a more consistent product even if you lose some of that smoky edge?

Switched from paper logs to a thermocouple 6 months ago. Huge difference.

I used to just guess at pit temps by how the paper felt and how much smoke was rolling. Kept getting uneven cooks, especially on pork butts. Then a buddy let me borrow his Thermoworks Signals and I saw my fire swinging 50 degrees every time I added wood. Now I run a comp setup with a fan controller and I haven't had a bad brisket since. Anyone else ditch the old school methods after seeing the data?