FOOD NETWORK IS LOOKING FOR AMAZING STORIES FOR A GROUNDBREAKING NEW SERIES!!!

Do you or someone you know have an amazing food related story to tell? Do you know someone who has gone from being homeless to the owner of their own restaurant, makes pop art out of pineapples, or eats nothing but peanuts? Do you know someone who is battling food fears or phobias? Has food helped to cure an illness, changed the course of your life, or helped to inspire you in some dramatic way? We are looking for all types of stories even those that are odd or humorous to feature on and upcoming series for the Food Network.

Casting is underway, so Email a brief description of your story with your contact information and picture of yourself ASAP to michaelraptis@alroker.com or call 646.723.9848 to be considered for the show.

I’ve never made a brisket before and never thought about trying one until moving here. You see, brisket might well be the staple of Texas BBQ. If a BBQer can cook a mean brisket, well, then they can cook just about anything. After my 2nd trip to Southside Market (I have to travel to Austin for work) - I decided to attempt my first brisket - after all, how hard could it be?

Following some advice that I found online, I picked up a “packer” cut brisket at the market on Friday night and went to work. I seasoned it with the 6 Pepper Blend Seasoning that I picked up at Southside (note: good on brisket, too powerful for ribs) and fired up the BGE. I put the brisket on the BGE around 7pm, with the intention of letting it slow cook all night long. It barely fit on the grill by the way.

Around 11pm, before heading off to bed, I checked it and noted that the temp had creeped up to almost 300 degrees (it was supposed to hold at 200). Seeing that the brisket was cooking way to fast, I pulled it off and wrapped it in foil. I dampered the fire down to 225 and put the brisket back on. Off to bed I went.

At 5am on Saturday, the brisket fumes were getting to me and I dragged myself out of bed and pulled it off the grill. You can see just how tasty it looked - now imagine the smell of that in your house at the butt crack of dawn. We most certainly had brisket for breakfast.

You can see on the brisket, there’s a slight smoke ring to it - but not as good as I would have liked. The meat itself was just slightly tough - the high early temp didn’t allow it to slow cook like I would have liked.

Nevertheless, the brisket was still excellent for sandwiches. Not one I would serve just sliced and on a plate, but it certainly was tasty enough for a good BBQ ‘wich. Next time notes: lower & slower - more smoke. Anyone else have brisket tips to share?