I finally caved and bought that $200 insulated cooler bag for comps

Saw a bunch of teams using them at the Memphis in May event and thought it would be a game changer for holding temps on my brisket turn-ins. It's basically a giant padded lunchbox, and for that price I expected it to work miracles. Used it at a local contest last weekend, and my brisket still dropped 15 degrees during the 10 minute walk from my pit to the judges' tent. Felt like I just paid for a fancy logo. What do you guys use to keep your meat hot during that final walk?

3 comments

3 Comments

ericw9321d ago

Man, I was totally in the same boat. I used to just wrap my brisket in towels and throw it in a cardboard box, thinking fancy gear was a scam. Then I saw a guy pre-heat his cooler with boiling water for like 10 minutes before he put the meat in. Tried it last season and my temp drop was maybe 5 degrees. Total game changer.

wendy3221d ago

My husband's old truck gets way better gas mileage after he started warming it up for five minutes. People skip the simple prep step and blame the tools. It's true for coolers, engines, and even baking a cake.

xena83121d ago

Pre-heating is key. That fancy bag is just a shell without heat inside it first. Try the boiling water trick or even a heating pad for a few minutes before the meat goes in.