Wait till you hear how much wood a single burnt brisket costs you

I was crunching numbers for our team cookoff last weekend and realized I'd never actually added up what a ruined brisket costs. So I did the math. A 15 pound prime packer at my local Costco runs about $85. After 12 hours on the smoker, if I mess up the temp or the wrap timing, that's $85 plus the wood and charcoal (another $20 easy) straight in the trash. That's over a hundred bucks gone if I don't get the stall right. Found this out the hard way when I pulled a brisket at 6am that was still tough as shoe leather from a bad trim. Has anyone else actually tracked what a failed cook costs them? I'm thinking about keeping a log now.

3 comments

3 Comments

brian_ramirez1mo ago

Time spent is just practice, so that $85 is tuition for a lesson you'll never forget.

daniel8571mo ago

Does that $85 include the cost of your time babysitting it all night?

faithwalker7h ago

My buddy Jake once brought a brisket to a church potluck that he'd babysat for 14 hours straight on his Traeger. That $85 might cover the meat and pellets, but not the 3 AM wake-up calls to check the temp or the panic when the stall hits. @brian_ramirez is right that you learn stuff, but you also learn how much your sleep is worth. I'd rather just pay a pro to smoke it overnight and pick it up at noon, honestly. There's a reason barbecue joints don't have folks standing around watching pits all night for minimum wage.