Just smoked my 100th brisket and it finally felt right

Mary Nelson · 2026-03-19T12:10:07.103376+00:00

I kept a notebook since I started, and yesterday I hit number 100. It was a 14-pounder from a local farm here in Kansas. For the first time, I didn't have to check the temp every five minutes or panic about the stall. The bark set perfectly after about 8 hours, and the flat was actually juicy. I always thought that kind of consistency was just for the pros on TV. Has anyone else hit a number that made things just click for them?

lewis.mila5mo ago

That "kind of consistency" thing is so real. My buddy had that happen with his sourdough starter, of all things. He named it "Bubbles" and around day 90, the loaves just stopped being gummy in the middle. He said it was like the starter finally woke up and decided to work with him.

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barnes.stella5mo ago

Congrats, that's a real milestone.

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rowan_wells304mo ago

Barnes really thinks calling a piece of cooked meat a "milestone" is a normal thing to say out loud. Pretty soon people are going to start naming their briskets and holding funerals when they dry out. Seven briskets, Karen? At some point you just have to admit you're bad at picking meat and move on to hot dogs. Lewis naming his sourdough starter and tracking its emotional development is the part where I check out entirely. We've officially made cooking way more complicated than it needs to be.

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karencampbell5mo ago

I'm on brisket number... maybe seven. My last one was so dry, my dog gave me a look of pure disappointment. I'm still in the "panic about the stall" phase for sure.

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