Meat + Poultry - June 2017 - 25

who spends much of his time during the
camp in front of the classroom describing the
mystical muscle with a memorable visual aid: a
split beef carcass hanging from a rail traversing
the ceiling. Riley is the longtime manager of
A&M's Rosenthal Meat Center, working behind
the scenes during the camp in addition to
making a presentation on beef grading.
The event typifies the rich history of
Texas and the prominent role of food in that
history, which is at the heart of the mission
of Foodways Texas. It is said that Camp
Brisket is the crossroads of food, fire and
science. The agenda includes academicstyle lectures, panel discussions, cutting
demonstrations, plenty of Q&A and no fewer
than four brisket-based, taste-testing meals.
There is also plenty of time to mingle and
rub shoulders with some of the pitmaster
legends known for their barbecue expertise
not only in Texas, but all over the world.
Attendees learned about all the factors that
go into mastering the brisket, from breeds to
brands and attributes when selecting meat to
preparation, cooker types, the role of wood
and smoke and specifics, including target
temperatures and holding times.

All photos courtesy of Kelly Yandell

FORTUNATE FEW
During the introductions for Camp Brisket
2017, it quickly became apparent that the
attendees, seated in the theater-style classroom
of the Rosenthal Meat Science and Technology
Center, were far more than a little giddy about
the opportunity to be part of the annual event
dedicated to brisket.
Two years ago, organizers switched
the registration process for the camp to a
lottery system, randomly awarding about
60 seats to the coveted two-day, $495 class.
In previous years, online class registration
would routinely sellout in a matter of seconds.
But still, hundreds of those who don't make
the cut spend the ensuing weeks begging
to be granted an exception from the event's
organizers, leaving post-lottery voice mail and
e-mail messages for Savell and even more for
Foodways Texas Executive Director Marvin
Bendele. They joked about the shameless
bribes and pleas from people who freely admit
their willingness to beg, borrow or steal to get
a seat in the class. Incidentally, the next lottery
winners will be announced in August 2017

for the 2018 camp, which will undoubtedly be
another sellout.
The 2017 class included attendees from
diverse walks of life and whose reasons were
just as varied. Some traveled from all corners
of the globe to be a part of the event. This
year's class included backyard and competitive
barbecue practitioners whose day jobs ran the
gamut while others were restaurant operators
wanting to learn more about brisket. Sitting
side by side were IT professionals, attorneys,
a nurse, a physics student, a physician and a
surgeon, a rancher, a
CPA, a railroad worker, a
retired salesmen, several
current restaurant
operators, several other
aspiring restauranteurs
and many barbecue
hobbyists. All were in
pursuit of what many
consider to be barbecue's
Holy Grail: cooking the
perfect brisket.
"We're kind of
obsessed with brisket
here in Texas," said
Robb Walsh, author of
the "Legends of Texas
Barbecue Cookbook,"
during an opening
presentation that
provided an overview
of the history of Texas
barbecue. He explained
how, prior to the
evolution and adoption of boxed beef in the
beef processing industry, the forequarter
was the predecessor to brisket. Black and
white photos show mustached butchers
tending large, open fire pits where large
cuts were skewered, sometimes on scrapped
axles of old cars and positioned over fires
and systematically rotated over trench-style
pits. The low-and-slow style of cooking what
is still known as cut No. 120 in the North
American Meat Institute's "Meat Buyer's
Guide" was an art form in Texas dating
back centuries and still is being perfected
as cooks obsess about how to turn a
shoe-tough cut into a transforming eating
experience that entices and challenges
barbecue cooks across the US.

On Day 2 of Camp Brisket,
attendees got an upclose look (and smell) of
a variety of cookers, from
back-yard varieties to
large commercial rigs.

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