Fifteen years of wrapping brisket in foil before I saw a guy in Lockhart use butcher paper

I always thought tight foil was the way to go for tenderness, but watching that pitmaster peel back paper with the bark still intact at Kreuz Market made me question everything. Has anyone else had that moment where you watched someone 50 years older than you do it completely different and knew you were the one being stubborn?

2 comments

2 Comments

spencer1991mo ago

Haven't you ever noticed how the older guys in any craft have this quiet way of showing you you've been overcomplicating things? I was at my uncle's shop last summer watching him rebuild a carburetor with nothing but a screwdriver and a paperclip, while I had a whole socket set and a service manual out. He just laughed and said the trick is knowing what you don't need to touch. Same thing with my neighbor who grows tomatoes in his backyard compared to my whole fertilizing and staking system. That Lockhart pitmaster probably watched you struggle with foil for fifteen years and just smiled to himself, knowing you'd figure it out eventually. It's like every generation has to prove the simple way doesn't work before they finally give in and try it.

the_rose1mo ago

Catch myself doing the same thing with cooking actually. @spencer199 that's exactly it, it's like we're all trained to think more tools equals more control, but the real mastery is knowing when to step back and let the thing do what it already knows how to do. My grandmother makes the best pie crust you've ever had and she just uses her hands and a fork, no fancy pastry blender or marble rolling pin. It took me years of buying gadgets to figure out her secret was just not overworking the dough, which is basically the same lesson as your uncle and his paperclip. It's humbling but also kind of freeing once you realize the simplest answer is usually the right one, even if it takes a while to admit you were wrong.