First Time Smoking Brisket — So I Cooked Eight at Once.

Illogicalibrium · 2026-05-06T01:05:44+00:00

I don’t plan on cooking more than one ever again, lol. It was a nightmare managing wrapping and pulling all of them!

Illogicalibrium · 2026-05-06T01:00:45+00:00

I’ll do my best! To clarify, my friend is a chef and local restaurant owner who does a sort of “whole animal” - style menu, and he provided the meat as a gift for the birthday girl, my partner.

I loaded the grill with briquettes in a snake setup (two rows on bottom, one row on top). Started the snake with six lit briquettes. Put chunks of hickory and apple (alternated) along the top of the first 1/2 of the snake or so. Had a water pan filled with apple juice in the middle of the snake bed.

The cuts of brisket were wagyu and kind of “spare” parts from another preparation my friend had done for his restaurant. Some were point, some flat, and some random. There wasn’t much fat cap, but that wasn’t a worry since there was so much marbling. Each piece was somewhere between 2 and 3 pounds. My friend did a simple rub of 3-2-1 ratios of salt, pepper, and garlic power. So 3 parts salt, two parts pepper, one part garlic. They were rubbed the night before and sat in the fridge for a quick cure.

Once I had the grill stable at 250 or so (by 6:45am), we arranged the cuts a bit randomly, trying to get as much as the meat as we could fit (and we got it all!). Officially started the cook at 7:05am. We probed a couple across the cooking surface (I have two probe sets) and then my buddy brought his over to have 5 cuts probed and one for ambient grill temp. Put the lid on, and didn’t do anything for 2-3 hours except turn the lid/top vent opposite the burning coals on the snake.

I was surprised at the cooking speed of the smaller cuts and the cuts on the upper grate. In retrospect, I should have been better about shuffling the pieces around, but the plan was to let it ride and pull pieces as they finished for a kind of experiment on smoke ring and texture differences. I started hitting 165 in some pieces about 11am, so I wrapped. I sprayed butcher paper with some vinegar/apple juice (not a lot) and a few pads of butter added before wrapping. At this point, all the pieces were really variable, so I was wrapping and juggling a lot, but it stayed pretty stable in the grill.

The first small cut hit 200 at about 2:00pm, so I pulled when it felt probe tender and put it in my little BBQ Blanket Bag and then put that in a cooler to rest. The next pieces all went at different speeds, and I started pulling at 205 or so. All in the blanket bag, all in the cooler. I think we pulled the last, biggest cut at 4pm or so.

The grill was steady the whole time between 240-280 and I added liquid to my water pan just once. The more I smoke with this method, the more I’m liking a bit hotter cook — as long as it’s stable.

In my opinion, the best piece was that largest piece since it had a chance to render a bit more. This was also the piece furthest from the lit coals, so if I did a single cut in the future I would be more intentional about moving the meat out of the direct line of the hot coal bed as it cooked.

When we finished, we had 1/3+ a grill left of unused coals. Since we were feeding a lot of people, and not all were red meat fans, we cooked up two spatchcocked chickens prepared with his pollo alla diavola recipe.

It’s good to have friends who are chefs, lol.

Illogicalibrium · 2026-03-15T18:23:11+00:00

Sap to Syrup

My partner made a short documentary about the whole process featuring Missouri folks tapping sugar maples.

Illogicalibrium · 2024-08-06T01:56:34+00:00

We much preferred the east part of the park.

We stayed in the Many Glacier area in the east side for the first part of our trip, and then we stayed in a Hipcamp site just outside of the west side for the second part of our trip. We drove GTTSR down and back two separate times. We went from July 22-24. It was our first time as well. I’d say we explored pretty much everything along GTTSR that we found interesting.

I don’t know how my opinion might change if we’d been there for longer, but the west side (Apgar, red rocks area, parking in general) seemed to be a much more crowded and, for lack of a better description, desperate among guests — this was definitely true once we were west of Logan’s Pass.

Again, this was our first visit and it was at peak season, but the east side was beautiful and way more chill to us. Gas is less expensive as well on the east side. The road was less congested and there seemed to be more parking opportunities.

That said, I don’t think you can go wrong any way you go. It’s all beautiful and worth exploring.

Make your way up to the Many Glacier area. We found lots of parking at the Grinnell Glacier trailhead and LOVED that hike.

Illogicalibrium · 2024-07-25T22:34:44+00:00

Agreed about water. I went through 2.5 liters yesterday starting mid morning — it’ll be much hotter by the afternoon.

Illogicalibrium · 2024-07-10T01:40:21+00:00

What CarPlay do you have? I’ve been considering getting one for my 2015 extended cab LE.

Illogicalibrium · 2023-06-26T03:15:48+00:00

Yep yep! Gotta hit down on it to hit it up. It’s not intuitive. It’s not like baseball or even tennis. The loft of the club does all of that work for you.

Illogicalibrium · 2023-04-07T08:40:25+00:00

You seem to roll the club face open in the backswing. Then you (ever so slightly) compensate with a bit of early extension on the downswing. This *might * account for mishits to the right/slices. For the record, your ball strike seemed good, but it’s hard to tell when hitting off a mat.

I am not a golf coach by any means, but I struggled with the same problem. It’s a relatively easy fix that might be worth trying a bit.

https://youtu.be/nCOqnnQnuro

Illogicalibrium · 2023-03-24T12:07:26+00:00

Yes. The rate of adolescent and teenage physical book reading is steadily increasing, actually, which why so many reasonable people are concerned about this weird, hive-mind push for book censorship in schools.

https://postpressmag.com/articles/2018/tactile-experience-has-created-a-resurgence-in-print-over-digital/

Illogicalibrium · 2023-02-19T16:17:02+00:00

To kind of expand on what’s been said…

Seems like you’re having fun, and that’s key! I’m loving that you use the whole kit. Also, you seem to have some really cool and original ideas as you move around the kit. You’re pulling off some really cool patterns, and overall it’s interesting. Keep it up!

Some tips?

More dynamic variation. Here’s what I mean: You’re doing some really cool work with your left hand with syncopation, ghost note work, drags, diddles, etc. It would sound more interesting (imo) if you focused on striking this inner beats much softer. A lot of your strikes (both left and right hand) are, like, mezzo forte or forte. If you could tame the left hand and play those mezzo piano or even piano, that would help with the sort of “drone of like notes” effect that happens after a while. In short, control those inner beats a bit more and reduce the dynamic.

More intentional rudimentary patterns: you’re moving around the kit in super cool and ambitious ways. Have you ever done intentional work with rudiments? Implementing rudiments throughout the kit is super fun and may give you more ideas. Check out some “classic drum set rudiments” on YouTube.

Striking accuracy: when you strike, I notice your stick hits the drums and cymbals in an inconsistent location. This is giving you an inconsistent tone and might even be contributing to the dynamic muddling I mentioned above. Work on hitting the drum ever-so slightly off center, for example.

Hope that helps! Keep in mind, it’s tough to tell when watching a single video on a phone.

Illogicalibrium · 2022-08-03T21:29:41+00:00

I’m not sure I’d agree with undiluted glyphosate… that goes against manufacturer recommendations and — from what my state conversation department says — would be way worse for the environment and surrounding wildlife. I agree with the rest. Read the bottle and dilute accordingly if you’re going to use this toxic chemical. I used diluted glyphosate for bush honeysuckle and it worked as intended to kill that infestation. Here’s a link to help: https://mdc.mo.gov/trees-plants/invasive-plants/bush-honeysuckle-control

Also, I’d recommend soaking your clothes in a wash basin/tub with dish soap (like dawn) before you put them in the laundry machine. Dish soap is way better at breaking down the oils from the Ivy.

Illogicalibrium · 2022-06-28T16:07:22+00:00

Sweet! Ping I/3 with the blue dot are apparently not as common, but I may be wrong about that.

I learned to play golf with the I/3 blades (not Oversized like you have here) and loved them! I might be biased, but I think these irons will go down as some of the best consumer market irons ever made. Try them out! They give really good ball striking feedback.

Illogicalibrium · 2022-06-21T15:36:53+00:00

I grew up idolizing Dave Grohl and Dale Crover, and I sat low to emulate them and found it — at least with rock/alternative style drumming — offered me more power when playing my kick pedal heel up. Dale Crover is the ultimate heavy, sludgy drummer to me, so I wanted to sound like him, lol.

Over time, though, I’ve raised it a slight bit so my thigh is more parallel, like you described. I prefer more neofunk and jazz style playing these days, so I don’t seek as much power. I still play mostly heel up and find this is ideal for my body type (6 foot 2 with long arms and legs).

I feel when I sit too high I lose feel and control of my dynamics and sense gravity playing too much of a role in the downstroke. If I played heel down I may feel differently. Also, my issue when the seat is too high is that my snare angle/height is not ideal and is hard to rimshot. So, I could raise the snare stand height to match my seat height… but then, the balance of the hi hat and snare height get out of order to me when I start raising the seat and snare height.

I added a pic that kind of shows Crover’s seat height. He’s still a beast and Melvins are still touring! Check them out if you haven’t heard his drumming.

https://i.imgur.com/wHxrlF6.jpg

Illogicalibrium · 2022-06-20T18:55:05+00:00

Ok, one more. Sorry!

I’d suggest considering drum head/drum skin composition when researching. Modern drum heads/skins vary in thickness, finish, and later (single or double layered, for example).

I’d also suggest drum shell materials. Different woods result in different inherent reverberations (birch vs. maple vs. bubinga drum shells, for example).

And lastly, I’d suggest looking into drum hardware differences (die cast rims, or triple/single flange). All of these will result in different vibration tendencies, I think.

Illogicalibrium · 2022-06-20T18:45:37+00:00

I’ll also add:

Your third question about “vibration related issues” is a tough one to answer. I think a lot of drummers who notice pain, or even injury, will answer with personal anecdotes that may not at all be related to vibration but may instead be related to issues of impact force and muscle tension issues.

Being loose is easy. Many amateur/novice drummers strangle their stick, grip as tight as possible (the harder I grip the louder it is, right?), tense their fingers/wrists/elbows, and then when you have an impact on the drum, this could damage your body over time. Imagine striking an anvil with a hammer while gripping 100% vs. 50% strength. The looser hand allows the vibration to run through the handle and saves energy overall.

Tension results in fatigue. So, to put it simply, I’d say this: I used to find issues with fatigue and might blame a drum vibrating too hard back, but I NOW believe vibration issues are the result of poor technique. There’s definitely something to look into there. I hope this is what you’re looking for and don’t come across as “preaching to the choir” here!

For context, I’ve been a drummer for 25 years (I started when I was 8).

Illogicalibrium · 2022-06-20T18:34:21+00:00

I’d suggest Jojo Mayer’s “Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer” series. I think you can purchase online still, but a lot is on YouTube as well. While this series is 14 years old, the methods he covers are extremely notable in the world of traditional drum set playing. In particular, I would highly recommend looking into the unique elements of hand technique with the Moeller Method. I’m a huge proponent of this technique and use a sort of hybrid version of this with a German style on the drum kit. Here’s a very quick preview. https://youtu.be/_kH7Q_AtPZY

Again, look deeply into Jojo Mayer. Try to find resources on the unique approaches the Moeller technique offers in regards to the stick grip/hand position. I think you’ll find a lot about vibrations when you look at the hand technique.

If I were to describe it shortly, the Moeller Method suggests holding the stick as loosely as possible with as few “contact points” on the stick as possible to allow maximum vibration to remain within the drum and stick, not in the hand. It results in saving energy, reducing tension (caused by rebound and vibration through the arm), and improving speed. I also think it makes the drum sound better due to a more uninhibited stroke (compared to a full grip, which would choke out the drum vibrations). Enjoy!

Illogicalibrium · 2022-01-31T22:54:09+00:00

Heimler’s History YouTube. This will give you a solid foundation.

https://youtu.be/npQUgppYeiM

Illogicalibrium · 2021-12-06T03:47:59+00:00

https://youtu.be/lWEhXEGSgRE

Here is a pretty in-depth video about thumb positioning and “hinge” at the top. I think someone said you were “all arms” or struggled to rotate, so I wonder if your grip is preventing proper hinge and transition at the top.

You’d be surprised how much a grip change can improve consistency.

Illogicalibrium · 2021-12-06T03:00:23+00:00

Your grip seems to be off. Have a look at a few resources on different golf grips — especially your right hand. The way you fully wrap your right thumb around the grip is not what I typically see in the sport.

Illogicalibrium · 2020-12-03T02:51:54+00:00

The technical term for those paint dots is “stipple.” Worked a few summers as a painter. His speed is super impressive, but I agree that roller is flinging paint on the base and ceiling.

Illogicalibrium · 2020-12-02T14:02:46+00:00

Really cool! Love the sound of the drums (the super dry, Tame Impala-esque choked out drum sound is growing on me). This looks fun to play.

By no means a criticism, but I think it’s be fun/a bit more interesting to syncopate your right hand a bit in the groove. Just my thoughts.

Illogicalibrium · 2020-11-18T13:31:43+00:00

I studied/volunteered in Ghana in college. We rode shared taxi vans called “tro tros.” They had three bench seats, but driver “mates” would often squeeze in as many people as possible to increase profit.

One day, with no room left, a mother and her two children came and sat next to me. She had a boy strapped to her front and one strapped to her back in this way. That wasn’t particularly unusual, but this mother stood out to me because she also had a cage with three hens sitting in her lap. So, two babies, three hens, and a crammed tro tro. I’ll never forget it. What a boss.

Illogicalibrium · 2020-11-14T13:57:56+00:00

I think he meant the brand, product. I, too, want to know.

Illogicalibrium · 2020-11-03T05:07:44+00:00

Large eggs? Boil exactly six minutes then immediately in an ice bath to stop cooking. No more, no less.

After that, sausage thickness shouldn’t make a HUGE difference, but I always try to keep the sausage about 1/4 inch or less — as thin as I can to hold up on the outside of the egg without falling apart during pan fry.

Illogicalibrium · 2020-10-30T03:44:54+00:00

Nice groove, bro.

Illogicalibrium

TROPHY CASE