kim693•1h ago

PSA: I just found out how much wood some famous pitmasters actually use per cook

I was watching a deep cut interview with a pitmaster from a big Texas joint, and he said they go through a full cord of post oak for a single holiday weekend of briskets. A full cord! That's a stack of wood 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long. I always figured they used a lot, but that number blew my mind. It made me think about my own little backyard smoker and how I fuss over a few chunks of hickory. It puts the scale of real pro operations into a whole new light. The logistics of sourcing, storing, and burning that much wood cleanly is a skill in itself. Has anyone else come across a fact about the behind-the-scenes work that really surprised them?

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the_charlie1h ago

Holy cow, that's insane. I get stressed just trying to find a bag of decent wood chips at the hardware store. Guess my backyard brisket is more of a cute hobby than a real cook.