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 flat away, blah blah do other things with it, blah blah blah" 
Beware long post ahead, but it is informative!
My Brisket Smoking and Trimming Approach
Here is a simple summary of how I smoke a brisket:
Ok with that out of the way let's get to the point.
I trim my brisket very much like Aaron Franklin does which includes removing the thin portion of the flat in a specific way.
Why do I do this?
-Because the thin portion of the flat (for me and my smoking method) just burns up and becomes inedible.
-Also I dislike that good meat going to waste so I make sure it gets put to good use
Here is the diagram I always show when I recommend trimming the thin portion of the Flat away in a specific nature:
The image shows that when trimming in this fashion the goal is to leave the Brisket packer in a shape where the flat meat is close to being uniformly thick all over to avoid the then end burning up while the rest of the brisket cooks.
Additionally it leaves the brisket in a "round'ish" shape as any corners or straggling pieces of meat catch air and dry out more than round edges which allow air to flow nicely over/around the meat.
Here are two briskets where the first is untrimmed and the left hand side shows the super dark and charcoal crusty thin portion of the flat. That meat was inedible, wasted, and that portion of the brisket was carved away.
BRISKET 1 untrimmed:
![DSC_0511[1].JPG](/media/dsc_0511-1-jpg.546796/full?d=1507263298)
Brisket 2, flat trimmed to avoid wasting meat, right hand side is flat:
![DSC_0007[1]](/media/dsc_0007-1.554521/full?d=1556393900)
Trimmed Flat Meat Uses
After recommending that trimming approach I then follow it up with my approach to using that good trimmed away meat!
In short you can:
Intentionally making burnt ends is nothing more than taking a piece of meat, smoking it, cubing it up, saucing it, and returning it for the finishing smoke.
It seems the burnt end trend is to separate and use the Point of the brisket
I think the Point is the best part of the brisket but if people prefer to make burnt ends out of it then I'm cool with whatever makes them happy.
With all that said, people make pork belly burnt ends, chuck roast burnt ends, etc. so you can do it with all kinds of meat INCLUDING using a brisket Flat meat that was trimmed away
I'm not nuts for burnt ends and when I eat them it is because they actually came off my brisket rather than me intentionally engineering burnt ends. A nice feature of doing a naked brisket is that I will naturally get a small portion of burnt ends on the brisket itself.
HOWEVER, people love the burnt ends so much that I have come to repurpose the trimmed away brisket Flat meat to be somewhat engineered burnt ends.... or chopped/shredded brisket.
My approach is to take all good meat trimmed from my brisket, roll/fold it up, and throw it on a small bed of fat in the foil pan that sits under my brisket inside the smoker.
Here is a visual of my Brisket-> on silicon mat lined crisper tray-> on foil pan-> which all sits on the smoker rack in the smoker:
![DSC_0006[1]](/media/dsc_0006-1.554522/full?d=1556393900)
![DSC_0005[1]](/media/dsc_0005-1.554523/full?d=1556393900)
Here is the trimmed Flat meat rolled/folded up in the foil pan (on a small bed of fat) that was under the brisket the ENTIRE smoke and was touching the bottom of the crisper rack where you see the white spot:
![DSC_0008[1]](/media/dsc_0008-1.554524/full?d=1556393900)
I personally don't like fooling with the meat in the smoker if I don't have to so I don't.
Because of this, the meat in the pan either turns out as burnt ends or it turns out as super tender meat ideal for shredding/chopping and making sandwiches (my preference).
If you don't have any issues playing with the meat in the smoker while it is cooking you can really dial in this trimmed Flat meat to become burnt ends with all the methods where people pull the meat, cube the meat, sauce the meat, return the meat, massage the meat, dance around the meat while chanting, etc.
Again I don't like fooling with the meat in the smoker AND I don't like it to go to waste so I have this method to throw it in the pan and let the chips fall where they may when the smoke is done hahaha.
In today's case I have like a half burnt end, half shredded/chopped piece of meat that came out of the pan. So everyone wins today!
![DSC_0010[1]](/media/dsc_0010-1.554525/full?d=1556393900)
![DSC_0011[1]](/media/dsc_0011-1.554526/full?d=1556393900)
![DSC_0012[1]](/media/dsc_0012-1.554527/full?d=1556393900)
![DSC_0009[1]](/media/dsc_0009-1.554528/full?d=1556393900)
I take that meat and throw it in the foil with my brisket (double foil wrapped), wrap with 3 bath towels, and then rest until meal time (usually 3-4 hours until meal time because I time these pretty well).
Conclusion
If you ever see me mention trimming the brisket in this manner and re-purposing the trimmed away Flat meat to become burnt ends, you know I'm not pulling your leg and that it is totally doable!
I hope this super long post was helpful for those who see me mention this stuff all the time in the brisket advice threads that pop up. Enjoy!
Beware long post ahead, but it is informative!
My Brisket Smoking and Trimming Approach
Here is a simple summary of how I smoke a brisket:
- Hot and Fast at 275F smoker temp
- Nekkid smoke all the way (no foil, no paper wrap for me)
- Fat side up
- No Messing with the meat while cooking - I don't spritz, rotate, massage, caress, etc. while it is cooking
- Temp with 3 probes and pull when Tenderness testing tells me brisket is tender/done (I stab the brisket all over with a bamboo skewer and when little to no resistance occurs the tenderness test is passed!)
- Temp probe placement that works best is center most, thickest part of the brisket Flat... the Point is always tender WAAAAAAY before the Flat
- I season with SPOG - no marinading, injecting, mustard coating, no mandatory resting before smoking etc.
- Brisket sits in a silicon mat lined crisper tray and the tray sits on top of a foil pan to catch drippings and more!
- Finally, I trim my briskets much like Aaron Franklin
Ok with that out of the way let's get to the point.
I trim my brisket very much like Aaron Franklin does which includes removing the thin portion of the flat in a specific way.
Why do I do this?
-Because the thin portion of the flat (for me and my smoking method) just burns up and becomes inedible.
-Also I dislike that good meat going to waste so I make sure it gets put to good use
Here is the diagram I always show when I recommend trimming the thin portion of the Flat away in a specific nature:
The image shows that when trimming in this fashion the goal is to leave the Brisket packer in a shape where the flat meat is close to being uniformly thick all over to avoid the then end burning up while the rest of the brisket cooks.
Additionally it leaves the brisket in a "round'ish" shape as any corners or straggling pieces of meat catch air and dry out more than round edges which allow air to flow nicely over/around the meat.
Here are two briskets where the first is untrimmed and the left hand side shows the super dark and charcoal crusty thin portion of the flat. That meat was inedible, wasted, and that portion of the brisket was carved away.
BRISKET 1 untrimmed:
Brisket 2, flat trimmed to avoid wasting meat, right hand side is flat:
Trimmed Flat Meat Uses
After recommending that trimming approach I then follow it up with my approach to using that good trimmed away meat!
In short you can:
- save for a great roast
- grind for great burger meat or use in sausage grind
- cube up for stew meat
- make "burnt ends" from it in the smoker
Intentionally making burnt ends is nothing more than taking a piece of meat, smoking it, cubing it up, saucing it, and returning it for the finishing smoke.
It seems the burnt end trend is to separate and use the Point of the brisket
I think the Point is the best part of the brisket but if people prefer to make burnt ends out of it then I'm cool with whatever makes them happy.
With all that said, people make pork belly burnt ends, chuck roast burnt ends, etc. so you can do it with all kinds of meat INCLUDING using a brisket Flat meat that was trimmed away
I'm not nuts for burnt ends and when I eat them it is because they actually came off my brisket rather than me intentionally engineering burnt ends. A nice feature of doing a naked brisket is that I will naturally get a small portion of burnt ends on the brisket itself.
HOWEVER, people love the burnt ends so much that I have come to repurpose the trimmed away brisket Flat meat to be somewhat engineered burnt ends.... or chopped/shredded brisket.
My approach is to take all good meat trimmed from my brisket, roll/fold it up, and throw it on a small bed of fat in the foil pan that sits under my brisket inside the smoker.
Here is a visual of my Brisket-> on silicon mat lined crisper tray-> on foil pan-> which all sits on the smoker rack in the smoker:
Here is the trimmed Flat meat rolled/folded up in the foil pan (on a small bed of fat) that was under the brisket the ENTIRE smoke and was touching the bottom of the crisper rack where you see the white spot:
I personally don't like fooling with the meat in the smoker if I don't have to so I don't.
Because of this, the meat in the pan either turns out as burnt ends or it turns out as super tender meat ideal for shredding/chopping and making sandwiches (my preference).
If you don't have any issues playing with the meat in the smoker while it is cooking you can really dial in this trimmed Flat meat to become burnt ends with all the methods where people pull the meat, cube the meat, sauce the meat, return the meat, massage the meat, dance around the meat while chanting, etc.
Again I don't like fooling with the meat in the smoker AND I don't like it to go to waste so I have this method to throw it in the pan and let the chips fall where they may when the smoke is done hahaha.
In today's case I have like a half burnt end, half shredded/chopped piece of meat that came out of the pan. So everyone wins today!
I take that meat and throw it in the foil with my brisket (double foil wrapped), wrap with 3 bath towels, and then rest until meal time (usually 3-4 hours until meal time because I time these pretty well).
Conclusion
If you ever see me mention trimming the brisket in this manner and re-purposing the trimmed away Flat meat to become burnt ends, you know I'm not pulling your leg and that it is totally doable!
I hope this super long post was helpful for those who see me mention this stuff all the time in the brisket advice threads that pop up. Enjoy!
Last edited:
