I smoked my first brisket! I used Copilot (Microsoft’s version of ChatGPT) to help me come up with the instructions and timeline. I texted my plan to my pit master buddy Joe and he gave me the green light. This is how it went.

Wednesday, July 2nd

My college friend Rich is visiting from Japan and we planned to meet at my place. We also invited two of my old roommates and another mutual friend who used to live in Japan. Including our families, we had to feed sixteen people. I was nervous, so I texted Joe.

ME: Gonna try smoking a brisket for the 4th

Plan is marinate today

3July, start smoking tomorrow night

4July, foil wrap about 6am depending on bark and temp. Finish about 1pm. Rest until 3pm. Slice at 345pm and friends here at 4pm. Eat at 5 (gives me 2 extra hours if I need them)

JOE: Solid plan, just remember to check internal temp before and after wrapping

ME: 160. Trying to beat the stall

JOE: I’ve never marinated a brisket, just coated with salt and pepper

ME: ChatGPT says marinade doesn’t help much. Wife wants to try it

JOE: Ok. Happy wife happy life

ME: Yup. I ordered more Traeger mesquite pellets 2

JOE: Pellet smoker makes life easier

ME: Do u do the water tray overnight? bc i’m not basting ever 2 hours

JOE: I have a small water pan in the smoker. Some say it’s not necessary but I do it

ME: I wanna b like u when i grow up

Thursday, July 3rd

1015pm

ME: Stupid Amazon didn’t deliver my pellets. Had to run to Home Depot

JOE: Lowes got pit boss pellets that are just as good and cheaper

JOE: Pit boss competition pellets

ME: Had to get there before 10pm. Will try pit boss next time. Not much smoke coming out now but i think we r ok. No errors on Traeger app so gonna go to bed soon

ME: Amazon says now expected by July 6. Good thing i hit Home Depot. Woulda had to come to ur place and get the pit boss pellets

My Copilot schedule said about 6am, which is a reasonable time to get up for a fisherman. I went to bed.

Friday, July 4th, 2025

4am

Woke up and the Traeger app said the brisket is above 160. I don’t trust it so I used Tammy’s meat thermometer and poked it in a different thick spot. Still above 160 and the crust was good so I wrapped it in tinfoil, put it back, and poked it again. It did not go in like butter so I knew it still had a lot of cooking to do.

521am

ME: 160 baby! To the stall -and beyond!

JOE: Looking good

ME: I could go fishing now and catch the sunrise bite . . . Nah

757am

Fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up, the Traeger says it was 217. Too hot! Copilot said it should be done at 195-205. I don’t want to burn it but I also didn’t want to keep poking it. Checked Venice.ai and texted Joe. (I usually use Venice.ai on my phone because it doesn’t need a login.)

ME: Probe temp says 214. Probe is in the thick part. I was expecting it to take longer to cook. Should I probe somewhere else? Or probe with a meat thermometer? I don’t want to keep making holes where the juice is gonna leak

JOE: Probe the flat and let it rest

JOE: Don’t be too excited to cut in

ME: Ok

JOE: Some folks wrap in a towel to rest

JOE: 1 hour

ME: Yeah gonna put it in cooler to rest. If its really that hot.

ME: Testing again with meat thermo

ME: Super soft. Ok it’s going in cooler.

ME: My dog is like I know there’s beef around here somewhere.

ME: Thanks coach!

ME: I’m tired. Glad I didn’t go fishing. I woulda checked the app between casts and freaked out. Beefs gonna b burnt! Then sped home, got a ticket, called u for advice, and had a bad morning.

Back to the couch. Meat rests, I rests.

Sliced it at 10am and put it in stackable containers. Also set some scraps aside for breakfast. I was gonna share the scraps with Sean but ended up eating them all. Sprinkling Tammy’s Maldon finishing salt made it really good. With her barbeque sauce? Incredible. Had brisket and an egg for breakfast with a side of Tammy’s homemade potato salad. I passed on the bread because that was hearty enough for me. I want to be able to eat when our guests come too!

Our barbeque was a smashing success. The brisket was a big hit. Rich and Shin kept digging in and Caleb ate several pieces too. Simon said great job for your first time cooking it.

Tammy’s desserts were awesome.

I loved her meringue with chocolate buttercream and sliced strawberries. Crispy meringue melts in your mouth and the tartness of the strawberries mixed with the richness of the chocolate. OMG. Sooooo good.

When Tammy presented her Bavarian cake, everyone jumped out of their seats to take a picture of it with their phone. Topped with Tammy’s homemade vanilla whipped cream, fresh strawberries, fresh blueberries, and coarsely grated Valrhona dark chocolate, it was a winner. Simon’s daughter had three servings of it.

The vibe was relaxed and conversations flowed around our dining room table. While we were talking about brisket and barbecue, Tammy mentioned wanting to try a place in Alameda with Patty and Wei. They live around the corner from Fiskcue’s Craft Barbeque, the Texan / Indonesian joint that’s made a splash in the NY Times and other news outlets. Wei has driven past the long lines and heard it could take four hours to eat at Fiskcue. He said they would try it with us – if we were willing to wait in the line.

The very next day, we took Wei up on his offer.

July 5th

ME: We r gonna go to fiskscue bbq today. Probably be there early and wait in line with chairs. Do you want to meet us there around 12pm?

WEI: Wow you guys are serious about food. We will be there. Thanks

ME: Ur just figuring that out?

We got there at 1130am and got rockstar parking. And the meter was broken so didn’t have to pay a dime! Tammy jumped out and got in line while I figured out the meter was busted. I hauled our folding chairs and noticed nobody else had chairs. I felt silly but those chairs wouldn’t do us any good if I left them in the car. By the time I reached Tammy, there were already two guys behind her and maybe forty people ahead.

When the line inched forward, a waiter from Alameda Brewing came out and asked us if we wanted a beer. No, but great idea to try to snag some customers as we are passing by. A waitress from Fikscue offered free samples of their brisket. It was not very smoky and needed a dash of salt. Tender but not as good as the one I made. Tammy agreed.

11:56 am: Wei and his family are not here yet. I put the chairs back in the car and now I’m starting to worry they won’t be here before we get in. I guess we can let other people go in ahead of us. Yeah, we will be fine. I don’t know how many people fit in the joint but worst case scenario, Wei gets here late and we have to wait for them. Not the worst thing in the world but I’m kinda hungry. Tammy is usually okay with waiting for friends but I know she’s hungry, too. We skipped breakfast for this!

It worked out. At 1 pm, Wei and Patti dropped off their son at kung fu and then joined us ten minutes before we reached the cashier. We were able to look at the menu and order our items. They sell everything at the counter and then you go find someplace to eat. Some people took their food into the bar next door and bought beer and drinks. We ended up inside Fiskcue along the wall.

We got the dino beef rib, an order of beef cheeks (special for today only!), a jalapeno-cheese beef sausage, and fried chicken leg and thigh. Our tray included red and yellow barbeque sauces, pickled radish, and regular cucumber pickles. The meats were so good they did not need the sauces. I sliced some meat off the dino bone and it was little tough. My mom’s prime rib bones are better. The beef cheeks were rich and tender. Sausage gave a nice spicy kick and the chicken had the most smokiness.

We also got the balado plate. It came with kale curry, garlic chips, potato fritter, and a fried egg sambal. Tammy wanted to try all the sides, so we also ordered the Indonesian fried rice, potato salad, and their cole slaw. The slaw was the best side! It had pineapple and some peanuts in the sauce. I got the Indonesian soda.

For dessert, Tammy got the banana pudding. I am normally not a fan of bananas or banana pudding but I loved the rich caramel. Best banana pudding we’ve had so far (and we’ve tried a lot lately)! Tammy thought it was too sweet but she enjoyed her Indonesian coconut milk drink. For the record, we didn’t eat it all. We brought a significant portion back to Sean.

The only thing we didn’t try was the soup. It looks pretty good and I’m getting it next time!