Trimming Brisket Question


 
S

Shaun H

TVWBB Fan
How much of the fat line BETWEEN the point/flat should I trim? I see some pics where it seems like it is so gone that the point is just a flap on the flat afterwards. Is that the way to do it? Any help?
 
It can be difficult to cut into - there should be 1 side where you can make a V-cut into the fatty area and get some out
 
Hi Shaun,

You are correct. Start by removing that hard fat triangular shaped pocket. Then trim as much of the fat between the point and the flat as you can get to without completely separating the two. If you decide not to trim beyond that hard fat pocket, that's ok. It's mainly the hard fat that should be trimmed off as it never really renders well.

As with most fat, there's almost always some silver skin that should be trimmed off.
 
I am a more of a visual learner. Aaron Franklin has some great YouTube videos that I found extremely helpful when I did my first brisket.

Search YouTube for the following vids-
BBQ with Franklin: The Brisket
BBQ with Franklin: The Payoff

I had great luck following a lot of Franklin's methods. His vids are pretty good productions, good visuals, and he explains things pretty clearly. Like I said, as a visual learner, these were hugely helpful to me.

Good luck!

FM
 
I just remove the hard fat. You can always trim the rest off when you slice it if you want. I like a bit of fat on my beef.
 
Thanks guys! I will try to trim out more of the fat than I have in other attempts.

In fact, Frank, I did watch the Aaron Franklin video, and he doesn't trim much off in the video. I've done 4-5 briskets thus far, none of them to my satisfaction. Hope this one goes a lot better :)
 
Wishing you the Best Brisket ever !

Out of curiosity, what about those briskets didn't meet your satisfaction ?

Bob
 
One of these days I'm going to cook a packer without any trimming at all just to see how it comes out.
 
Bob Bass said:
Wishing you the Best Brisket ever !

Out of curiosity, what about those briskets didn't meet your satisfaction ?

Bob
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I think I haven't been cooking it long enough. I have never had it juicy/flavorful yet. Once I had it crumble, so I guess it was overcooked. But I have had the hardest time trying to get it to probe like butter. And i think I just end up taking it out too early. I have been confused as to what the real window is. 180-185 or 200-205, etc. I've never allowed it to get to 200, so that might be the problem. I am going to try not using any probe and go all by feel/look and see what happens.

I'll be cooking on the 4th, and dinner will just be scheduled for 2 hours after I take it off the WSM...whenever that is.
 
What temps are you normally cooking at? Probing is the best way to tell if your brisket is ready. Forget internal temps to tell you when your brisket is done. If your foiling use temp to tell when you hit the stall then foil it and forget about temps after that.
 
Bob Sample said:
What temps are you normally cooking at? Probing is the best way to tell if your brisket is ready. Forget internal temps to tell you when your brisket is done. If your foiling use temp to tell when you hit the stall then foil it and forget about temps after that.
Click to expand...

My first brisket was at 350. Did as suggested on this site. it was probably my best effort, but not as good as I had hoped.

My second I dropped to 225. I wanted to try the traditional. I didn't wrap at all. It was ok.

My third I tried the Aaron Franklin video style, 250, wrap with BP part way through. It seemed dry when we ate.

My fourth was to try another hot and fast. It looked great coming out the foil, and I decided I'd try to firm up the bark for 30 minutes more in the smoker, out of the foil. This was my worst effort of the lot. I also injected this one with beef broth mixture.

So I've been bouncing around different methods.
 
what grade of brisket are you cooking?
Let me start by saying that each brisket will finish at it's own pace, but generally speaking; a select grade will need around 205-210° to get tender, choice will finish a little lower most of the time. A Waygu needs to come out around 185°, if it goes higher the marbling will melt out and it will get dry and tougher.
Again, no 2 are exactly the same, so just my 2 cents worth
 
I buy mine at Smart and Final, and I had been using choice. Today i went and they only had select. So thanks for the tip.
 
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