Hi,
I got an e-mail today from someone asking about the yield you should expect from cooked brisket. I thought the answer might be of interest to those thinking of cooking a brisket for the first time.
You should plan on a 50% yield of edible meat from a whole, untrimmed brisket. You can lose about 25% by trimming fat before cooking, and another 25% due to moisture loss during cooking and more trimming after cooking. Of course, "your brisket may vary" and you may end up with more than 50% yield, but it's a good place to start for planning purposes.
For example, a 12 pound untrimmed brisket should yield about 6 pounds of cooked, trimmed meat. That could be used to make 24 4-ounce sandwiches, or 16 6-ounce plate servings.
I got an e-mail today from someone asking about the yield you should expect from cooked brisket. I thought the answer might be of interest to those thinking of cooking a brisket for the first time.
You should plan on a 50% yield of edible meat from a whole, untrimmed brisket. You can lose about 25% by trimming fat before cooking, and another 25% due to moisture loss during cooking and more trimming after cooking. Of course, "your brisket may vary" and you may end up with more than 50% yield, but it's a good place to start for planning purposes.
For example, a 12 pound untrimmed brisket should yield about 6 pounds of cooked, trimmed meat. That could be used to make 24 4-ounce sandwiches, or 16 6-ounce plate servings.
