Guy at the Franklin BBQ line told me my brisket was trash

I was waiting in that 4 hour line at Franklin in Austin last month and got to talking to this older pitmaster about my first brisket cook. He straight up said my 12 hour smoke at 225 was way too hot and I probably ruined it by not wrapping in butcher paper. Has anyone else run into random strangers giving unsolicited advice like they know your smoker better than you do?

2 comments

2 Comments

felix_thomas737d ago

@the_vera hit the nail on the head about different setups. That Franklin guy probably meant well but came off like a gatekeeper. 225 is textbook, but I've seen guys run 250-275 on offset smokers and turn out incredible bark. The butcher paper thing is real for holding moisture if you're fighting a dry cook, but it's not magic. Some folks wrap in foil and swear by it, others go naked the whole way. Real pitmasters know every brisket and every smoker is its own beast. That 4 hour line makes people think they're experts just for standing there.

the_vera7d ago

Honestly that guy at Franklin probably thought he was doing you a favor but he was being a jerk about it. The thing nobody talks about is how different every brisket is - I cooked one at 275 once because my smoker was being wonky and it came out perfect, not dry at all. A lot of these pitmaster types act like their way is the only way but real BBQ is about the meat and your specific setup. That 225 temp is actually pretty standard for a lot of folks, wrapping in butcher paper is kinda a gimmick some people swear by but others skip entirely. He shouldve just said "nice try" and moved on instead of acting like he judges competitions for a living.