Featured First Brisket Trim. Howd I do?

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Okiejoebronco25

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Apr 13, 2025
145
130
South Jersey
Cooking my first smoker brisket today. 6# flat. Didn’t have a great knife( daughter ordered Wusthof boning for my b day) any corrective criticism welcome. Was aiming for clean one side and 1/4” fat cap on other. Appreciate feedback.

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Even for the best, most experienced folks, the trimjob is never quite *perfect* - there will always be little tidbits somewhere on it that are awkward to get at, or could be shaped a little better, or might not cook at the same rate, etc., etc. The hope is just to get far enough into diminishing returns that cutting/leaving them won't make any discernible difference in the end result, anyway (threshold may vary, based on the cow, the audience, the weather, and your own energy levels).

But yes, practice and a good knife will make trimming go faster and give you confidence in knowing what/how much to remove and what to leave. Pay attention to the brisket after it gets cooked; the bark and the meat will clue you in to places that should have been trimmed more/less.
 
Looks good to me. Most important though, did it taste good? Looks are for beauty pagents. I'm more concerned about flavor and taste.
The meat itself was scrumptious. The rub that was still wet on exterior I didn’t love but easily rubbed excess off.
 

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Looks fine to me. It's all about your preference. I find myself caring less & less about trimming anything these days. I'll trim the stuff that just looks like it needs to come off. Other than that... I just send it.
 
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Post pics of the finished smoked brisket. If this is your first brisket, we kinda have a thing here for first briskets get a ride on the carousel at the top of the page. Brisket can be so intimidating for new people, we want to give all the encouragement we can here at SMF!
 
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