Life Is Like Cooking a Brisket

Shortly upon arriving in Vegas and settling into our cute little cookie-cutter suburban house, I bought a grill. I’ve always enjoyed cooking, but my living arrangements have never allowed for a traditional grill and after watching an episode of “Chef’s Table” with Francis Mallmann, I was itching to cook over an open fire.

Clueless about what type of grill to buy as a rookie, I asked for help from two friends who I consider to be grill-masters. Coupled with some online research, there seemed to be no question: buy a Weber kettle charcoal grill. It’s like the Honda of grills. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done and will last damn near forever. The only other mandatory items were charcoal, a set of tongs and a meat thermometer. For under $200 I was on my way.

Over the last two months, I’ve started to get the hang of grilling. Burgers, chicken, pork, then my favorite—steaks. I had my share of failures along the way, but nothing that could deter me from my ultimate mission—smoking a brisket.

Lured in by Aaron Franklin’s MasterClass on BBQ, I began to uncover the cult phenomenon that is smoking a brisket. It’s like the holy grail of bar-b-que. If you can cook a delicious brisket, you’re crowned a grill master. With my calling crystal clear, I embarked on the journey of smoking my first brisket.

The Foundation

The grilling I had done thus far acted as the foundation I needed to take on the brisket quest. Understanding charcoal, wood, fire, direct versus indirect heat, etc. A burger is not a brisket, but what I learned perfecting my burger skills was crucial for this next step.

Life has been very similar for me. Currently, my career focus is writing screenplays and building a new community and online learning platform called Spartan Artists aimed at helping other artists gain creative success. A far cry from the lawyering and musicing that made up my past. Yet all the skills I gained through those experiences are coming in quite handy. I’d even go so far as to say I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing now were it not for my earlier experiences.

Choosing your meat

Step one in cooking a brisket is buying a brisket. You could do everything flawlessly on the grill, but if you choose the wrong piece of meat, it’s just not gonna taste right. I’m no butcher, but while looking at various choices in the store I paid attention to the color, size, shape, marbling, and thickness of each option. That ruled out some cuts, and from there I let my intuition take over—landing on what felt like the right hunk of meat.

The career focus I have chosen came about the same way. There are dozens of different directions I could have gone. I considered going deeper down the traditional music path, focusing on acting, directing exclusively, songwriting, and many many more. A combination of knowing what I want my life to look like, what I enjoy doing, and where I think my natural talents are best utilized fused with a deeper intuition—helping me select my focus.

Trimming the meat

Step two is trimming the large chunks of fat off the brisket. Now I’ll be honest, I bought my brisket at the grocery store, so it was already trimmed. Whether you call that cheating or genius is up to you, but for me it ensured another step in the process was done right.

So much of my creative journey has been driven by a “I can do it all myself” mentality. I chalk that stubbornness up to life as an only child 😊 However, I credit filmmaking with hammering home the learning that just because you can do something yourself, doesn’t mean you should do it yourself. Sometimes the smartest decision you can make is hiring a professional.

The other interesting thing about the trimming phase is how life demands the same. With a brisket, you can’t trim off all the fat or you’ll wind up with dry jerky. Trim too little though, and you’ll be drowning in overwhelming fat flavor while making it harder to cook the meat. In life, I consider fat to be indulgences. Remove all indulgences from your life, and it just becomes dry. You lose so much of what it means to actually enjoy living. However, if you leave all your indulgences fully intact, they’ll swallow you whole—making it impossible to develop.

applying the rub

This might be my favorite part of the whole process. For starters, rubs are an incredibly personal thing. There’s no end to options when googling “the perfect bar-b-que rub” because everyone has their own take on what perfect means. So much about cooking a brisket is more or less set in stone, but the rub is up to you.

This reminds me of “finding your voice” as an artist. Following other people’s recipes, developing your taste, and ultimately choosing your own blend of spices from myriad options. This is what makes your work unique.

setting up the grill

When smoking anything the low-and-slow way, you need to maintain consistent heat, funnel the smoke into the meat, and maintain enough moisture through the process to prevent drying out the brisket. On my tiny little Weber, that meant using natural wood on one side of the charcoal grate and a foil tray of water on the other. I positioned the brisket over the water and top vent over the meat to direct the smoke properly.

I just finished setting up my office here in Vegas, and the process was equally important. I had to think through what I needed to accomplish my work effectively, efficiently, and most importantly—enjoyably. Don’t underestimate the importance of literally setting yourself up for success.

the first half of the cook

The first half of my brisket cook was all about temperature control. Building the right base fire with wood, adjusting the vents, getting the grill up to temp, then adding a few charcoal briquettes for consistency. After that, I had to monitor the smoke coming out of the grill to determine the best number and size of wood chunks to add in to keep the fire going at the same rate. Over the six hour cook, this meant checking the temperature about every 15 minutes and catching a drop early. I had a couple spikes in temp, but overall managed to keep it right around 250 degrees the whole time.

The way I’ve pursued my career has been similar. You must determine the right metrics to track, then monitor them regularly. You also need to know what to tweak when things get too hot or too cold. Life isn’t about running as hot as possible for as long as possible, it’s about knowing what you need to do to maintain the ideal consistent temperature that will deliver a tasty meal.

the stall

All the research I did online told me that at some point, roughly half way through your cook, the meat will “stall.” This means around 150-160 degrees internal temperature, the meat will stop cooking. The problem is, you need to get the meat up to 200-203 degrees to ensure it’s tender enough to eat.

The stall is inevitable. It’s caused by competition between the cool air inside the meat trying to get out and the hot air outside trying to get in. Though the hot air will ultimately win, it results in a stalemate for a while… sometimes a long while. Knowing this ahead of time made all the difference. It allowed me to not freak out when it began, and also served as a trigger for my next action—wrapping the meat.

Any long-term career pursuit will involve at least one stall, and if you’re not anticipating it, it’ll freak you out. In fact, this is what stops a lot of people from “cooking” per se. That’s why the first step to beating the stall is simply knowing it’s coming. The second is pulling the meat off the grill, wrapping it (typically in either foil or butcher paper) and putting it back on.

the wrap

Wrapping the brisket in foil or butcher paper is like putting the meat in an oven inside your grill. It traps the heat (and the moisture) helping you push past the stall faster and continue cooking while not drying out the brisket. Sure, you can leave the meat on without wrapping it, but you’ll be adding a few hours to your cook.

To me, wrapping the meat is like pivoting in your career. At some point, your artistic/entrepreneurial pursuit will plateau—it happens to everyone. If you press on, you will eventually push through and continue to grow. However, if you pause for a second, take your foot off the gas, and rethink things a little bit, you can accelerate your growth. Understand what’s working and what’s not working, then adjust a little to push through faster. For me, the perfect example of this has been turning my love of storytelling from music to film/TV. I have already noticed an acceleration in my growth.

the rest

After a few more hours of cooking, all while still maintaining that consistent fire, the meat hits its ideal temp of 200-203. Then it’s all about getting a feel for whether the brisket has tenderized enough. At that point, you pull the meat off and eat it right? Wrong! You wrap the meat in a towel (or moving blanket if you’re like me and it’s all you have on hand) and let it rest for at least an hour. Once you pull the brisket off the grill, it still has more cooking to do. There is literally nothing left for you to do except wait.

This might be the most torturous part of the process. Lambert and I sat in the kitchen with our eyes fixed on the meat, smelling its beautiful aroma every second. The only chance I had to not ruin the rest was to divert my attention and start chopping vegetables.

In every career, there comes a point when your work is done. The song is recorded, the app is coded, the novel is written. There’s a time when you have to wait. Your part is done, but the work is still cooking. Patience here is vital because if you start slicing too early, you’ll sacrifice flavor and tenderness.

the slicing

The wait is over! I can’t tell you how excited I was to hoist that giant moving blanket onto the counter and unwrap it. There it was, a beautiful brisket sitting on the cutting board waiting to be sliced. Yet even at this point near the end of the journey, moments before eating, there’s still work to be done.

A brisket, like most meats, must be cut against the grain. Otherwise, you may as well eat a Slim Jim. The final slicing of the brisket is just as important as any other part of the process.

Oftentimes in life, the final stages of any career-related project will require you to go against the grain. The peanut gallery will be screaming at you to do one thing, and you’ll have to trust yourself and the process to do the other. This last phase can make all the difference.

the eating

Finally, after nearly eight hours of work, the brisket hit my tongue. I was nervous. Cooking an edible brisket on your first try with a simple grill isn’t easy.

IT. TASTED. AMAZING!

Could it have been juicier? Sure. But hot damn, I DID IT!! My girlfriend and her father backed up my critique by devouring it with me. Her father said he could, “die happy now,” which apparently is the highest praise he’s ever given a home-cooked meal.

Looking back on it, while it wasn’t easy… it was simple. Research the journey so you know what to expect. Trust the process. Trust your intuition. Stay patient. And for the love of God, don’t slice with the grain!

If you live your life like you’re cooking a brisket, I promise you’ll end up eating a delicious meal.