A guy at a Memphis contest told me my brisket was 'too smoky' and I still think about it

I was at the Memphis in May event a few years back, just starting out. I was proud of my brisket, using a mix of hickory and cherry wood. This older pitmaster, who had a big, quiet setup, tried a piece. He chewed slowly, looked at me, and said, 'Son, you're hiding the meat. It's just smoke.' He wasn't mean, but it hit hard. I realized I was cooking for flavor I wanted, not the flavor of the beef itself. That one comment made me change my whole approach to wood choice and timing. Has anyone else had a judge or fellow cook give you advice that totally flipped your method?

3 comments

3 Comments

evanschmidt1mo ago

Honestly, that's the kind of feedback that sticks with you forever. Tbh I had a similar thing happen with my ribs, where a judge just wrote "sauce crutch" on my score sheet. Ngl it stung, but he was right. I was slathering on sauce to cover up dry meat instead of fixing my cook time. It totally changed how I handle the last few hours on the smoker.

terryk281mo ago

That sauce crutch note is brutal but useful. A good probe thermometer helps more than guessing cook times. It forces you to cook to temp, not just hours on a clock.

rileyb611mo ago

Wait, he said you were hiding the meat? That's such a specific way to put it, but it makes total sense. It sounds like he was really saying you can't taste the beef at all. Did you switch to a lighter wood after that?