Competition questions
 

I did my first comp two weekends ago at Smoke on the water at lake Shawnee. Needless to say I learned a lot about my cooking and what I need to try and improve. Out of 50 teams I got 8th overall. 12th in chicken, 34th in ribs which I overcooked, 10th in pork and 4th in brisket. Main thing I took from this contest is to learn to time things better. I had a question about brisket. I used a cheap brisket from the store but noticed that some of you use a prime brisket. Would it be worth it to find a better brisket or is it the cooking method. Sorry for the long post!

4th? Sounds like you know how to cook brisket :becky:.

Beginners luck:-o

Ha! Well I wouldn't change anything until it starts to tank.

I would say don't change what you did other than the overcooking of the ribs.

never hurts to start with good quality, just make sure you practice with it. of course our brisket sucks so what do i know.

Sounds like your brisket method works, I wouldn't change that. Using choice or prime may help but no guarantees, you still have to cook it.

I think you'd be fine to cook a better grade of meat. we cook prime briskets and love em. We had the same experience. First comp 7th overall. Best advice I got, but didn't heed was don't change things up. Next comp we really learned a lot, 21st overall. It sounds like your flavor profiles are spot on. Congrats and good cooking.

Remember they grade the carcass not the cuts. More important than the grade is that you cook well marbled thick briskets.

Thank you all for your replies. This place has been great for info. I know I have a lot to learn about this hobby but I was hooked when I heard my name called!

With that finish, sounds like no help is needed. Congrats on the great showing and good luck in the future for your new obsession.