That time I dropped a 12-pound brisket on the pass at 6pm

Busy Saturday at a 40-seat spot in Austin, ticket rail was full, and I went to flip this big brisket during service. My towel slipped and the whole thing slid off the cutting board, landed open side down on the floor right in front of a server. I panicked for a second, then grabbed a fresh glove, scooped it up, rinsed the exposed part fast, and seared it hard on the flat top before slicing. Told the server it was now "smoked and crusted" and we sold every plate, no one said a word. Have you ever had to save a dropped protein mid-rush and how did you handle the floor mess?

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julia_burns91mo ago

Rinsing raw meat off the floor and searing it isn't the safest move. The health code folks would flip if they saw that, and it's not really about whether nobody got sick this time. A 12 pound brisket has a lot of surface area, and even a quick rinse doesn't kill the bacteria that can cling to it. Good on you for keeping your cool and not wasting the product, but the safe play is to toss whatever hit the floor and grab something else. The floor mess part is easy, it's the food safety call that actually matters.

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