Appreciation post: I hit 200 briskets before I felt like I knew what I was doing

Everyone talks about that magic first perfect brisket, but for me, it took way longer. I kept a log, and I didn't feel truly confident until I'd cooked my 200th one last fall. I see folks online saying they nailed it on their third try, and honestly, that just wasn't my story. Each one taught me something small, like how the bark sets differently when it's humid in Atlanta versus a dry day, or how my old offset smoker needed a totally different wood placement than my buddy's cabinet. The 200th wasn't even my best one, but it was the first where every step felt automatic and I wasn't guessing. I think the push for quick mastery sets people up to feel bad when their 10th cook is still tough. Has anyone else found their real learning curve was a lot longer than the popular stories make it seem?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason75212d ago

My buddy in Dallas smoked 50 turkeys before his family would eat them.

lisa_hill2311d ago

Hold on, he smoked fifty? As in, five-zero? That's not a family dinner, that's a catering operation for the whole neighborhood. I'm trying to picture the sheer amount of fridge space alone. Did his family just have a single bite from each one and say 'nah, try again'? That's a level of picky I can't even understand.