Honest rating 1-10 on my brisket trim.
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Honestly, you trimmed more than I would have. How much fat cap did you leave on the other side?
I trim off the excessive fat to something reasonable but not bald. I trim anything that looks “off” but for the most part just let it roll. I’m not making competition bbq nor do I want to, I want to eat good food is all. Those huge bbq places in Texas for instance, they don’t trim much at all. When you smoke 4 tons of brisket a week you don’t spend much time trimming, and people lined way outside the door so you know it works. They will square off really thin flats to cook more uniform and excess fat but not much more. I’m in that camp. Unless you just need the meat trim for sausage I’d leave most of it alone. Everyone has their own way and they all work
I trim off the excessive fat to something reasonable but not bald. I trim anything that looks “off” but for the most part just let it roll. I’m not making competition bbq nor do I want to, I want to eat good food is all. Those huge bbq places in Texas for instance, they don’t trim much at all. When you smoke 4 tons of brisket a week you don’t spend much time trimming, and people lined way outside the door so you know it works. They will square off really thin flats to cook more uniform and excess fat but not much more. I’m in that camp. Unless you just need the meat trim for sausage I’d leave most of it alone. Everyone has their own way and they all work
That’s why I love this forum. Great info. I didn’t mess with the other side much. Cut just a bit. Next go round I will take your advice. Less prep the better if not needed
I leave about 1/4" on the back, and trim out most (not all) of the deckle between the point and flat. Helps keep it moist for the long smoke.
voyager 663rd
Meat Mopper
Looks like a poorly-skilled barber that skinned a kid who wanted a trim.
Needs 1/4" on there. Be sure to cut the old wrinkled stuff off. Then cut the white back to 1/4" and then render that cut-off fat for tallow.
There is none on the flip side in my experience.
Needs 1/4" on there. Be sure to cut the old wrinkled stuff off. Then cut the white back to 1/4" and then render that cut-off fat for tallow.
There is none on the flip side in my experience.
Hi there and welcome!
I'm with Smokin on this.
That seems to be a lot of trim, if you were making a pastrami out of it then it looks like a great trim to have very little pastrami fat.
Since you are making a smoked BBQ brisket, that is a lot of fat trimmed.
My trim job takes about 3-4 min and that is mostly just flipping the thing around. I don't even trim anything off the meat side, any fat or thin tissue there will render away or burn up or turn into bark so not worth the effort.
On the fat side I will trim down fat that is clearly over 1/2 thick. I stopped chasing 1/4 inch thickness because it's too easy to trim too much trying to get 1/4 inch. So I just trim to reduce the very thick amounts of fat and if it's over 1/2 an inch but close then it is good.
I too cut out the big thick deckle fat that doesn't like to render down BUT I then cut that into slices that I lay on top of my brisket around the edges of the meat, especially the edges of the flat. I cook my briskets fat side down because my heat source is coming from the down side. I then lay the excess trimmed fat on the top meat side of the brisket and boom, fat on both sides as much as it will cover but targeting the edges and the flat!
Finally, to me the most important trimming is actually cutting away good meat from the flat, and then repurposing that meat for grind, stew, braised dishes, etc.
In the picture I remove the green area because it is so much thinner than the rest of the flat muscle. I cut it away in a "U" shaped cut because corners on meat like to dry out but rounded edges not so much.
Notice the black circles indicate that what is left of the flat muscle is about the same uniform thickness throughout the flat and it is plenty thick for the flat. That is the goal.
The green part will almost always burn up or dry out on you, so why waste that meat when it can be used for something else amazing.
This part of the trimming is the MOST important to me. You could leave all the fat on if you like and still be ok but there is no way the dried out or burnt up end of a flat will ever be ok. So just repurpose it :D
I cook my briskets unwrapped the whole time in my electric MES40 which holds moisture like a champ without me having to add a water pan or anything.
The trimmed fat, and deckle slices are laid where the green line is and along the sides of the flat and then I just start to cover up any exposed meat starting with the flat. The main thing is extra love for the flat and the flats' edges helps it out and allows for great bark.
Also the beef fat renders and gets crispy and becomes... beef cracklins!!! Those things are out of this world good!
If you want a lot of details on this trimming here is the full post on it:
My Brisket Flat Trimming Approach Explained - QView
Well I have had a number of private messages where people ask for more info about what I do when I trim away the thin Flat portion of a brisket I smoke. So today I figured I would just post about it with plenty of pics so it becomes easier to understand vs when I just go "blah blah blah trim...
www.smokingmeatforums.com
With how much you trimmed your brisket I would pretty much guarantee you will need to wrap that thing at some point.
Don't fall for the hype of "wrap at 160" or "165" because that statement doesn't contain enough important detail.
***If you wrap too early you will end up with oven flavored roast beef instead of smoked bbq brisket flavor!!!!!!
Wrap when the color looks like a good smoked BBQ brisket (not roast beef) and the bark is there. That definitely will not be the case as it just hits 160-165F starting to stall.
Another detail the "wrap at 160-165F" statement leaves out is that the reason most people do it is to speed up the cook and speed through the stall.
You sacrifice massive amounts of flavor playing this game, screw that! lol.
I generally won't wrap anything before it hits 180F unless it is lean wild game meat. So hopefully knowing my 180F min wrap info AND the tried and true "wrap when it has color and bark", you will be able to cook your brisket success.
A brisket is only done when it is tender, never by time or temp. It is tender when you can stab all over with something like a wooden kabob skewer and it goes in like butter ALL OVER.
You only let a thermometer tell you WHEN to CHECK for tenderness.
So recap. That brisket will very likely need to be wrapped. Wrapped when it looks good or like it needs it (probably foil with that brisket and throw in a couple of shots (2-3oz) of water when wrapping it) and cook it until it is tender!
If you have more questions let us know because there is a lot to line up when cooking a brisket. I covered some important things but we didn't even talk about how to plan/time the thing. Let's absorb this info first and then move on to timing if there is an appetite for it :D
Last edited:
I appreciate your feedback so very much! Thank you for all the details and help. I will save this and use it going forward for sure. I have been grilling and smoking for nearly 40 years but just never fooled with brisket. Now that I am 60 years old I want to start. Always was intimidated to fool with it and guess you have to start to ever get it right. Have a great day!
voyager 663rd
Meat Mopper
Gotta know if you ask for "honest ratings".....Glad I don’t have feelings or they would hurt!Thanks for the feedback!
Distill down what you get and determine if helpful or not. I think most posts on this website are genuinely offered to help you to be a better smoker and in the end, get a superior end product.
I didn’t spend $126 on a 16lb brisket to joke around. Never done one sir. Should have asked first trimmed second. Took advice from someone I knew but don’t seem they know much in the end.
Just relax and enjoy the cook. It will be good in the end. Biggest hump for people smoke their first couple briskets is over thinking the whole thing. It’s just simple seasoning and time, temp and smoke. You will do fine if you make sure to go probe tender and not to a specific IT.
voyager 663rd
Meat Mopper
ONE question that wasn't asked.....and an opinion not offered:
Once you leave that layer of fat on, which side goes up?
Fat side up (to melt and baste the meat)
OR
Fat side down (to protect the meat from the heat)?
Personally, I do fat side up for the reason I said. Others do it fat side down for the reason I provided.
YOU need to try both and determine which works for you.
Once you leave that layer of fat on, which side goes up?
Fat side up (to melt and baste the meat)
OR
Fat side down (to protect the meat from the heat)?
Personally, I do fat side up for the reason I said. Others do it fat side down for the reason I provided.
YOU need to try both and determine which works for you.
Last edited:
Well with my screwed up trim job it will definitely be no fat side either way. One post mentioned taking some of the fat I cut away and lay on the thin edges. I’m going to put some of the meat and fat in a pan underneath it as well.
voyager 663rd
Meat Mopper
Once you’re done cooking, a nice long rest is pretty important as well. An insulated cooler with some towels is what I use. How long to rest will probably get many differing responses, 2-3 hours gives me some pretty great brisket. Good luck!
this is the best advice you will get on how to trim a brisket.Hi there and welcome!
I'm with Smokin on this.
That seems to be a lot of trim, if you were making a pastrami out of it then it looks like a great trim to have very little pastrami fat.
Since you are making a smoked BBQ brisket, that is a lot of fat trimmed.
My trim job takes about 3-4 min and that is mostly just flipping the thing around. I don't even trim anything off the meat side, any fat or thin tissue there will render away or burn up or turn into bark so not worth the effort.
On the fat side I will trim down fat that is clearly over 1/2 thick. I stopped chasing 1/4 inch thickness because it's too easy to trim too much trying to get 1/4 inch. So I just trim to reduce the very thick amounts of fat and if it's over 1/2 an inch but close then it is good.
I too cut out the big thick deckle fat that doesn't like to render down BUT I then cut that into slices that I lay on top of my brisket around the edges of the meat, especially the edges of the flat. I cook my briskets fat side down because my heat source is coming from the down side. I then lay the excess trimmed fat on the top meat side of the brisket and boom, fat on both sides as much as it will cover but targeting the edges and the flat!
Finally, to me the most important trimming is actually cutting away good meat from the flat, and then repurposing that meat for grind, stew, braised dishes, etc.
View attachment 723367
In the picture I remove the green area because it is so much thinner than the rest of the flat muscle. I cut it away in a "U" shaped cut because corners on meat like to dry out but rounded edges not so much.
Notice the black circles indicate that what is left of the flat muscle is about the same uniform thickness throughout the flat and it is plenty thick for the flat. That is the goal.
The green part will almost always burn up or dry out on you, so why waste that meat when it can be used for something else amazing.
This part of the trimming is the MOST important to me. You could leave all the fat on if you like and still be ok but there is no way the dried out or burnt up end of a flat will ever be ok. So just repurpose it :D
I cook my briskets unwrapped the whole time in my electric MES40 which holds moisture like a champ without me having to add a water pan or anything.
The trimmed fat, and deckle slices are laid where the green line is and along the sides of the flat and then I just start to cover up any exposed meat starting with the flat. The main thing is extra love for the flat and the flats' edges helps it out and allows for great bark.
Also the beef fat renders and gets crispy and becomes... beef cracklins!!! Those things are out of this world good!
If you want a lot of details on this trimming here is the full post on it:
My Brisket Flat Trimming Approach Explained - QView
Well I have had a number of private messages where people ask for more info about what I do when I trim away the thin Flat portion of a brisket I smoke. So today I figured I would just post about it with plenty of pics so it becomes easier to understand vs when I just go "blah blah blah trim...
With how much you trimmed your brisket I would pretty much guarantee you will need to wrap that thing at some point.
Don't fall for the hype of "wrap at 160" or "165" because that statement doesn't contain enough important detail.
***If you wrap too early you will end up with oven flavored roast beef instead of smoked bbq brisket flavor!!!!!!
Wrap when the color looks like a good smoked BBQ brisket (not roast beef) and the bark is there. That definitely will not be the case as it just hits 160-165F starting to stall.
Another detail the "wrap at 160-165F" statement leaves out is that the reason most people do it is to speed up the cook and speed through the stall.
You sacrifice massive amounts of flavor playing this game, screw that! lol.
I generally won't wrap anything before it hits 180F unless it is lean wild game meat. So hopefully knowing my 180F min wrap info AND the tried and true "wrap when it has color and bark", you will be able to cook your brisket success.
A brisket is only done when it is tender, never by time or temp. It is tender when you can stab all over with something like a wooden kabob skewer and it goes in like butter ALL OVER.
You only let a thermometer tell you WHEN to CHECK for tenderness.
So recap. That brisket will very likely need to be wrapped. Wrapped when it looks good or like it needs it (probably foil with that brisket and throw in a couple of shots (2-3oz) of water when wrapping it) and cook it until it is tender!
If you have more questions let us know because there is a lot to line up when cooking a brisket. I covered some important things but we didn't even talk about how to plan/time the thing. Let's absorb this info first and then move on to timing if there is an appetite for it :D
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