Where do I start if I am cooking brisket?
Open the brisket calculator, set the time you want to slice, then read the brisket rub and the stall note before the meat goes on. The thermometer page is there so the pull temperature is a real number.
Backyard barbecue
Cook better barbecue at home
Set the time you want to eat, then work backward through the fire, the stall, and the rest. The notes explain why a cook goes sideways, written from about ten years on a Kamado Joe.
What are you cooking?
Pick the meat. Each card is the outcome, then the pages that get you there.
Brisket
A sliceable flat
Stall, wrap, rest, and the salt-and-pepper rub.
Pork butt
Pulls into strands
Trim, the stall, the wrap, and a bone that wiggles.
Ribs
Bark, then a clean bite
Membrane, a short clock, and the bend test.
Chicken
Skin that sets
A shorter, hotter cook. Start from the technique index.
Gear
A probe you can leave in
Wireless, wired, and what a kamado does to the signal.
Plan your cook
Fix the common problems
The stall
The flat sits still because the surface is evaporating, even while the fire is doing its job.
Paper or foil
Foil is faster and softer. Paper keeps a drier bark and takes longer.
The rest
Two hours above 140°F is the short plan. Slicing sooner wets the board.
Meater drops out
Charger distance, a buried tip, and a kamado shell are the usual causes.
Gear I trust
Three picks I would actually hand someone. No prices here, and no score until a cook is logged against a reference probe.
About Justin
Justin has been smoking barbecue for about ten years, mostly on a Kamado Joe. These pages are the clocks, rubs, and gear choices from that pit, with maker specs labeled as specs.
Questions
Is this only a brisket site?
No. Brisket, pork butt, ribs, and chicken each have their own notes, and the gear pages cover probes you can leave in for a long cook.
Do the gear pages include test scores?
Not yet. A score waits for a logged cook against a reference probe. Until then a page says what is a maker spec and what is pit practice.