Vent: That perfect brisket cook I had last Saturday actually ruined my confidence

I pulled off a brisket with a perfect smoke ring and bark that rendered like butter after 14 hours on my offset smoker in Memphis, but now every brisket since has felt like a failure compared to it. Has anyone else had a cook so good it messed with your future expectations?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim_johnson511mo ago

Took a Costco packer 16 hours on a Weber kettle" - hold up, are you serious?? That's like trying to win a NASCAR race in a go-kart, I'm genuinely impressed you kept those temps steady that long. And it came out perfect on your first try too? Man, that's either beginner's luck or you're secretly a pit master.

emma_dixon701mo ago

My first brisket that came out right was actually a fluke. I got a prime packer on sale from Costco and just let it ride on my Weber kettle for 16 hours with applewood. The thing was so tender it practically fell apart when I looked at it. What got me out of the headspace was accepting that brisket is just a finicky cut of meat. I stopped trying to recreate that exact cook and focused on learning something new each time, like how different rubs change the bark or how much the weather affects the cook time. My last brisket came out with a decent smoke ring and okay bark, but the flavor was deeper because I tried a new injection. That little win helped me move past comparing everything to the "perfect" one.

val_williams1mo agoMost Upvoted

And that's the thing, once you stop chasing the ghost of that one perfect cook, you start actually enjoying the whole process again.

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