I finally hit 500 briskets smoked this weekend and it got me thinking

I've been doing backyard competitions and small catering gigs for about 6 years now. This past Sunday I pulled my 500th brisket off the smoker. It was a 15 pound prime packer from Costco, nothing fancy. But when I sliced into it and saw that perfect smoke ring I just stopped and counted back through my log book. 500 briskets means I've gone through roughly 8,000 pounds of meat total. That's like 4 full grown cows worth of brisket. Most people never cook 500 briskets in their lifetime. It made me realize how much time I've actually spent standing by a smoker in the rain, in the cold, at 5 AM. Has anyone else ever hit a random milestone that made you stop and think about why you do this?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliver_baker496d ago

500 briskets and I still can't nail my own rub recipe without googling it.

noahwood6d ago

Are you me? I've ruined so many good meats tinkering.

the_felix5d ago

400 briskets and you still can't lock down a rub? That's rough but I get it. I've got 120 or so under my belt and I still lean on a base of 2 parts coarse black pepper to 1 part kosher salt, then add stuff like garlic powder and paprika from there. Too much sugar and you'll burn the bark every time, learned that the hard way on a $80 prime packer. You tried doing it in phases or just jumping straight to a custom blend?