A pitmaster in Memphis stopped my whole cook over one split piece of hickory

Taylor Hayes · 2026-10-03T23:50:03.206477+00:00

I was 4 hours into a brisket at a comp in Memphis last month and he reached in my firebox, pulled one split out, and tossed it in the grass saying 'that stick will taste like smoke, not BBQ.' I've been cooking 9 years and never once checked for bark on my wood, now I split every piece and smell the inside before it goes in. Anyone else get humbled by an old timer over something this small?

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A pitmaster in Memphis stopped my whole cook over one split piece of hickory | BBQ Pitmasters - Talk Freely