My 3 year journey to finally nailing brisket flat vs point separation

Three years ago I bought my first offset smoker, a beat up Old Country Brazos from a guy on Facebook. Last month I finally got the fat cap right and separated the point from the flat cleanly after the cook. I was at my buddy's place in Austin for a backyard competition practice session. He watched me slice and said "dude, that's the best you've ever done" and I almost teared up. It took so many failed cooks and wasting $80 briskets to figure out trim and temp. What was your biggest breakthrough moment that made you feel like a real pitmaster?

3 comments

3 Comments

susan_wright3417d ago

Man, that moment of hearing someone say "that's the best you've ever done" after three years is huge... I think we all have that one cook where everything finally clicks. For me it was the first time I pulled a pork shoulder at exactly 203 degrees and it shredded like butter, no struggle at all. I'd been fighting with pork butts for like two years and then suddenly it just... worked. And the feeling of not wasting another $50 on meat that comes out dry is such a relief.

price.gavin17d ago

aw man susan_wright34 hit the nail on the head with that 203 temp. i had a buddy who struggled for ages with brisket, like year after year of dry, tough meat. his wife finally told him to just quit wasting money on them and stick to burgers. then one random saturday he decided to try it one more time, wrapped it in butcher paper at 165 and let it ride. pulled it off at 203 and it was like magic, that thing just fell apart in his hands and the whole neighborhood smelled like heaven. his wife actually cried a little when she tasted it, said she was sorry for doubting him, lol.

dianaanderson17d ago

Whoa, wait. Did you say his wife actually cried over a brisket? That's wild. I've had people tell me they liked my cooking before but never had anyone get emotional over it like that.