I finally hit the 10,000 brisket mark last weekend and it got me thinking about quantity vs quality

I've been smoking briskets for 15 years and crossed 10,000 cooked last Saturday at a competition in Austin. Some folks say you need that many to really master it, but I've seen guys with half that number win every time. What do you think matters more, reps or raw talent?

3 comments

3 Comments

keith_bennett12d agoMost Upvoted

Reps matter but only if you're paying attention the whole time. Ten thousand briskets with bad habits just means you got really good at making mistakes. Seen plenty of guys with half the cooks who win because they actually learn from each one instead of just cranking them out.

hugos4612d ago

Is it really that deep though? Plenty of guys win competitions by just cranking out the same thing over and over until it's perfect through pure muscle memory. You can overanalyze a brisket just as easy as you can ignore one.

robert65912d ago

My buddy's dad ran a lawn care business for 30 years and always said the same thing about mowing patterns. @keith_bennett nailed it - volume without reflection just builds bad muscle memory, same as a line cook going through the motions or a contractor framing houses the wrong way year after year. Really makes you wonder how many people are just grinding instead of actually getting better.