Guy at a backyard cook in Waco told me my brisket was "too polite" and I still think about it
Was at a friend's cookout in Waco about 3 weeks ago and an older guy named Ray walked up to my brisket, poked the bark with his thumb, and just says "it's too polite." I asked him what he meant and he said it needed more coarse black pepper and less babying on the smoker. He then pulled out a little ziploc of his own rub, poured some on my slice, and walked off without another word. I've been chasing that flavor since, and honestly my next two cooks came out better. Has anyone else had a pitmaster hand them a random bag of rub at a cookout and just leave it at that?