New Member from Seattle

[EricCamm]

Hello all. Been using this site for some time and decided to go ahead and join. Have lived in Seattle for a long time but both myself and my wife have Texas roots and love Texas style BBQ. Have been smoking brisket/ribs/chicken/sausage fairly regularly for several years but have really gotten into it in the last year or so.

Recently my wife and I landed 2 spots at "Camp Brisket" at Texas A&M and had the opportunity to spend 2 days down there with the incredible professors in A&M's Animal Science department, as well as some of the best Pitmasters in Texas, learning more about Brisket. Was an incredible experience.

Looking forward to using this site regularly as I continue to delve into the world of smoked meats and BBQ. Can't wait.

[DWCowles]

Welcome aboard Eric

[Huskee]

Welcome aboard Eric, glad to have a fellow BBQ artisan here!

Since this is your first post, please check out our homework assignment post for new members, it contains a few how-tos and please-dos.

Hope to hear & see more from you!

[JeffJ]

Camp Brisket?
Setting aside winter I mostly love Michigan but when I read "Camp Brisket" I begin to question whether or not Michigan is where I belong.

Regardless, welcome Eric.

[Rodcrafter]

Welcome Eric,

Is "Camp Brisket" like Vegas or can you tell us some cool stuff you learned there?

[Guy]

Welcome Eric and thanks for your support.

[Gunderich_1]

Welcome to The Pit Eric. Seattle is beautiful country. Soooo, tell us about Camp Brisket. It sounds interesting and I am up for anything I can learn about brisket.

[EricCamm]

So Camp Brisket - It's co-hosted by Texas A&M and Foodways Texas (non-profit focused on food culture/history of TX http://foodwaystexas.com). They actually do 2 separate "BBQ Camps" - one is the Camp Brisket that I went to in January with my wife, and the other is a broader "Barbeque Summer Camp" that's 3 days long in June. Both of these camps started out a couple years ago and have grown in popularity. Getting tickets to these events is getting to be very difficult.

At Camp Brisket this year we spent 2 days learning about: (1) the history of Brisket, (2) the specifics of the brisket cut and where it comes from (this included a full demonstration of harvesting a brisket, see picture), (3) how to properly slice brisket (demonstration by Aaron Franklin), (4) the mechanics of building and maintaining a pit (sponsored by Weber), (5) the different choices when it comes to what wood to use, and (6) several panel discussions on the present and future popularity of Brisket (featuring Franklin, John Mueller, and Bryan Bracewell). We also had several brisket tastings using different wood types and then also using different grades of meat. Overall it was a pretty incredible experience and I'd highly recommend it to any BBQ / Brisket enthusiast.

[JeffJ]

That sounds absolutely awesome, Eric.

[BBQFOOD4U]

Welcome Eric
Camp brisket sounds like a good time.
I can't believe the price of brisket around here these days.

[BruceB]

Welcome to the Pit from another Seattle area enthusiast !

BTW, the pics aren't showing in your post #8

[The Burn]

Welcome Eric. Other than being locate at A&M that sounds awesome

[Jon Solberg]

Hey Eric, Welcome.

[EricCamm]

Welcome Eric. Other than being locate at A&M that sounds awesome

Well they didn't consult me on the location of the camp unfortunately. That being said, A&M's Animal Science building (classroom had tracks in ceiling leading directly to freezer for meat transport) and their professors were pretty amazing.

All things being equal, it wasn't that difficult to get to College Station. Only about 90 minute drive from IAH.