Failed Brisket

[Darrell Hill]

This weekend I tried my first brisket. I used the Midnight cook receipe from the Forum. It turned out very dry, almost tasteless. I think the problem was that I may have misunderstood the following instructions.

"I prepped both briskets the same way, trimming the fat side to 1/8-1/4" and removing much of the fat around the edges and between the flat and point sections"

I'm not sure what what the instructions wanted me to do, but what I did must have been wrong. I trimed almost all the fat off the brisket to include the section between the point and the flat.

Is the fat side of the brisket supposed to have a covering of fat after it is trimmed? I probably picked a poor brisket to start with because the so called fat side had almost no fat on it to start with. The flap of fat between the point and the flat was almost an inch and a half thick. When I removed it I ended up with two flaps with little or no fat. There certainly wasn't enough fat left to have a need to "scrape off" some of the excess fat.

Can someone provide a little advise?

 

[Guest]

After you're done trimming a brisket you should have a fat cap of about 1/4". Normally, trim excess fat, but leave enough for the meat to self baste.

Some people do not trim briskets until after cooking. Then, the fat literally scrapes away.

If you begin with a minimal fat cap, you may have to add fat by placing bacon on top, mopping, injecting, etc. You may also want to foil an exceptionally lean brisket after you've allowed for good smoke penetration. Maybe Stogie will chime in; he's pretty much the expert on foiling.

I usually buy packer cuts in cryovac. There's plenty of fat, so I trim.

Good luck on your next brisket. You'll come up with a great one pretty quickly. Then you'll know what the fuss is about.

 

[Chris Allingham]

Hi,

Take a look at the pics on the Beef Brisket - Wet Rub and Pastrami pages.

On the Wet Rub page, click on the second photo to see a whole brisket after trimming. The fat side is facing up, with 1/8-1/4" fat remaining, and I've cut some of the fat out from between the point and flat. Sounds like you cut too much fat out of this area. I will reword that text to make things clearer.

The photos on the Pastrami page are of a brisket flat with just a bit of the point still attached. The second photo shows the lean side, the third photo shows the fat side after trimming to 1/8-1/4", and the fourth photo shows a profile of 1/8-1/4" fat remaining.

Hope these help,
Chris

 

[Kevin Taylor]

I would suggest you start experimenting with briskets by cooking them as they come...NO trimming....this will give you a base line to start from.

Now, I only cook flats anymore and do very little trimming...only the really thick parts of the fat cap get a little trimming. HOWEVER.....I do not season that side of the brisket...your rub will NOT penetrate that fat cap. Instead, season the other side.

I also flip mine about half way thru the cook....start by cooking fat side UP and then flip over about halfway thru. I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but it seems to work.

Finally, I think all briskets do very well by wrapping in foil when it reaches 185? and letting it rest for about an hour.

Scrape the extra fat cap off BEFORE foiling. Place on a sheet of foil, former fat side DOWN, pour 1/4 cup of beef both over it and then sprinkle more rub. Wrap tightly and store. When you unwrap to serve, use the juices in the bottom of the foil to either baste the meat again OR add to your sauce.

Keep in mind...this is how I do it....everyone is different!