Warning: I was smoking a brisket in Austin and a friend pointed out my fire was too hot

I kept getting tough, dry flats and couldn't figure it out, but my buddy saw my firebox glowing orange at 2 am and said 'dude, you're cooking it like a steak.' I dropped the temp to 225 and held it there for the next 8 hours, and the difference was night and day. Anyone else have a simple tip that fixed a major cook for them?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowanellis1mo ago

My first time trying a whole chicken on the grill, I was so focused on the internal temp I forgot about carryover cooking. Pulled it at 165, let it rest, and it shot up to 180. The breast was like sawdust. Now I pull poultry way earlier, around 155, and let the rest do the work. That one mistake taught me more about heat than any recipe.

thomas8621mo ago

Man, "glowing orange at 2 am" is such a perfect way to describe that mistake. I did the exact same thing with a pork shoulder once, just absolutely blasting it trying to rush it. Ended up with something you could use to resole a boot. It's crazy how just backing off the heat and being patient fixes almost everything. That low and slow thing really is the whole secret.