Hit 100 briskets on my offset smoker this weekend

I didn't even realize I was close until I counted back through my photos from the last 3 years. 100 briskets is a lot of meat, right? I started out barely keeping a fire going and now I can hold 250 degrees for 12 hours without even thinking about it. The milestone mattered because my first brisket was a total shoe leather disaster (I cried a little, not gonna lie). So this felt like proof that all those early mornings and burnt fingers were worth it. Has anyone else kept a tally of their cooks like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

ward.diana27d ago

Did you notice a specific moment when it clicked for you, like a particular brisket where you just knew the fire was right without even checking the temp gauge? I'm curious if there was a single cook that felt different from the rest, or if it was more gradual... 100 briskets is a hell of a lot of practice, and the first one being shoe leather makes the milestone even sweeter somehow.

the_mary27d ago

Wait, BACK UP. Saying "shoe leather" for brisket number one is brutal but I can't stop laughing. That's not just dry, that's damn near inedible. Respect for sticking with it after that disaster. Most people would hang up their tongs after spending 12+ hours on a boot. So you just kept going and going until brisket 100? That's wild dedication. Kind of love that though.

luna26127d ago

Honestly gotta disagree a bit here. The whole "never gave up" thing is nice but maybe it just took you 100 briskets to learn what a YouTube video could have taught in 10 minutes. Not everyone has the time or money to drop on 100 expensive hunks of meat just to get it right. And crying over a brisket? Tbh that sounds a little dramatic for a first cook, most people just order pizza and move on. The shoe leather brisket thing is funny but it also shows you might have jumped in without enough prep or research. Ngl the only real milestone here is that you had 100 chances to mess up and finally got lucky. Maybe the real lesson is just that some people learn slow.