11/21/2025
🔥 THE REAL COST OF GREAT BRISKET (Most Folks Have No Idea) 🔥
If you’ve ever wondered why true, slow-smoked BBQ has a price tag… let me show you what happens to a single brisket over 24 hours.
This is the honest, behind-the-pit reality:
1️⃣ 18.4 lbs — straight out of the package. Big. Heavy. Full of potential.
2️⃣ 14.8 lbs — trimmed and seasoned. Hours of prep, and we haven’t even fired up the pit yet.
3️⃣ 8.35 lbs — after a 14-hour slow smoke. Perfect bark. Juicy. Tender.
➡️ And almost HALF the size. 😳
That’s a 45% yield (average is maybe 50% if you’re lucky).
So when brisket costs around $5/lb wholesale, that big 18+ pounder is already about $100 before it even touches fire.
But here’s the part most folks never see:
🔥 After trimming.
🔥 After smoking.
🔥 After babysitting it through the night.
🔥 After wood, seasoning, wrapping, rest time, AND labor…
You’re left with roughly 8 pounds of usable brisket, putting real cost closer to $12.50–$13 per pound before anything else.
So no… BBQ isn’t expensive because we want it to be.
It’s expensive because quality takes sacrifice — time, weight, labor, love, and patience.
And if you’ve ever cooked a brisket, you know one thing for sure:
There’s a whole lot of shrinkage in the heat.
(Fellas… you understand. 😉)
But here’s what matters most:
❤️ When you support local BBQ, you’re not just buying meat —
You’re supporting families, small businesses, long nights, early mornings, and the craft we pour our heart into.
Thank you for choosing local.
Thank you for choosing BBQ AndAPrayer.
🔥 Class dismissed. But the pit stays open. 🔥
www.bbqandaprayer.com
