Honest rating 1-10 on my brisket trim.

[miller51]

Nothing wrong with that trim . People do things the way they like . You may not like the way they do it . So take the advice and see where you end up . If it looks nasty or like something I don't want to eat , it comes off .
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I agree, you do you... ask a subjective question to a group and you'll get dozens of different opinions. I trim differently based on my cook temp, hot and fast 275* or above, I leave a little more "protection" and don't make it look as neat, just get it on the smoker but low and slow 225* I put a little more time in the trim and make it look pretty.

Also, I'm currently smoking on a ceramic smoker and while it does put out central heat, it's pretty evenly distributed, I always put a drip pan under which also blocks some more heat, get plenty of drippings and always go fat side down on everymeat that has a fat cap of sorts... just my thing and it works for me!

 

[TimboBBQ!]

I agree, you do you... ask a subjective question to a group and you'll get dozens of different opinions. I trim differently based on my cook temp, hot and fast 275* or above, I leave a little more "protection" and don't make it look as neat, just get it on the smoker but low and slow 225* I put a little more time in the trim and make it look pretty.

Also, I'm currently smoking on a ceramic smoker and while it does put out central heat, it's pretty evenly distributed, I always put a drip pan under which also blocks some more heat, get plenty of drippings and always go fat side down on everymeat that has a fat cap of sorts... just my thing and it works for me!

Awesome advice! I probably screwed this up. I trimmed way too much and my drum loves to cook fast and hot. I should have dialed it in. We shall see shortly.

 

[801driver]

As you can see, many different opinions using different equipment. You have to practice enough with what you have to work with to see what works best for you. I am presently using a set it and forget it Smoke-it electric most of the time for convenience. I only trim the hard fat what ever it is called, rub it down and throw it in. I wait for the 200' beeper then start poking. Sometimes ready then, sometimes ready at 216' depending on that particular chunk of meat. I trimmed way too much early on one time, that will never happen again. 1/4 or 1/2" or a little more in spots, so what? Most of it renders down and the smoke soaks through, some people like a little of it. I can just scrape some off after smoking easier than trimming raw if needed if I think it is excessive. I fry eggs in it the next morning or it goes into beans with some meat for flavoring. Ha

Fat side up or down works for me, think I like fat side up better, maby as it coats the rest of it while dripping. I catch most of the drippings in a pan on the next rack down below the brisket in this smoker which prob makes my fat side up work better with my low airflow not having alot of totally direct heat on the bottom. I have very little air flow, so do not use a water pan or wrap. To me his is one big factor with different kinds of equipment, how much air flow do you have and what is the outdoor humidity which can make a huge difference. Each are going to affect the bark with how much it drys, even down to the thin part of the flat which sometime I just fold under and hold with tooth picks rather than cutting off to make that part as thick as the rest of the flat.

I do wrap in foil to rest. I had an odd learning experience, I had put my brisket wrapped in foil after smoking and then in towels in a cooler. Had to make a short run. Got jammed up big time and 5 hours later it was still 155' and the most tender brisked I ever smoked. Accident? Don't know, but I started trying to rest at least 3 hours and have been very happy with them.

We can do all this experimenting and planning as we are practicing to do our "perfect every time" briskets, but we have to also realize every chunk of meat is different also. Ha Ha Thanks for posting and sharing, that is what this site is all about.

 

[texomakid]

Any time I attempt something I haven't done or I'm not too familiar with I hit YouTube. There are approximately 11,243 videos on how to trim a brisket on that platform. Aaron Franklin has very good tutorial videos along with many others.

While I do trim briskets I don't trim to the extent of some of these folks. BBQ is subjective so do what makes YOU happy. I've actually cooked several that weren't trimmed at all. Cleaned em up, apply salt & pepper, and throw 'em in the cooker.

In 15 years of smoking, i've never used a pan. For any reason.

Anyone?

I use pans. One of the most used methods from this forum of cooking a flat include the use of a pan.

BRISKET FLAT, MY WAY

It's no secret that a lot of folks have a problem smoking a small well trimmed brisket flat. I to had my struggles for a while, but a couple of years ago I found this method and have been using it ever since. So I would like to share my method with all of you. If you already are successful...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[TimboBBQ!]

Any time I attempt something I haven't done or I'm not too familiar with I hit YouTube. There are approximately 11,243 videos on how to trim a brisket on that platform. Aaron Franklin has very good tutorial videos along with many others.

While I do trim briskets I don't trim to the extent of some of these folks. BBQ is subjective so do what makes YOU happy. I've actually cooked several that weren't trimmed at all. Cleaned em up, apply salt & pepper, and throw 'em in the cooker.

I use pans. One of the most used methods from this forum of cooking a flat include the use of a pan.

BRISKET FLAT, MY WAY

It's no secret that a lot of folks have a problem smoking a small well trimmed brisket flat. I to had my struggles for a while, but a couple of years ago I found this method and have been using it ever since. So I would like to share my method with all of you. If you already are successful...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Thank you for the advice and help!