The Secret To Good Sliced Brisket Defies Conventional Wisdom

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Look the woman can sit down and put a serious dent in a cheese cake and not take issue with the amount of fat she is eating but fat on a briket or butt is a no no.

  Go figure,  life would be a lot easier if I understood all that!
Al, morning.... Are you saying life would be easier if you understood women ?????  
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Because I like the smoked kissed rub and crisp edges on the fat.  If I trim afterwards I take all that off and a thin layer of fat remains on the meat.   I does add a bit of seasoning to the meat if you eat the meat and thin fat ring at the same time.  If you trim off all the fat as you are eating it is better to leave the fat cap on I believe.

Look the woman can sit down and put a serious dent in a cheese cake and not take issue with the amount of fat she is eating but fat on a briket or butt is a no no.  Go figure,  life would be a lot easier if I understood all that!


I do too.

When you get it figured out let me know.
 
Do you trim off any of the hard fat?  Or do you simply leave the brisket as is?  Also do you score the fat at all?  I still haven't made a brisket that I am proud of so this is a good read.
 
Do you trim off any of the hard fat?  Or do you simply leave the brisket as is?  Also do you score the fat at all?  I still haven't made a brisket that I am proud of so this is a good read.


Nope. No trimming or scoring for me. I want to make sure that we all understand that I am not saying that trimming or scoring is a bad thing. I am simply putting out there what has worked for me and a few others hoping to help others shorten their learning curve.

It took me a good 6 months to make a brisket I was proud of Tank. I am sure some think that isn't a very long time but you need to know that I obsess over these things. So in our house we ate brisket for 6 months straight because I was making at least one every weekend until I felt like I had a handle on it.
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I have only done a few briskets in the past 5 years that I have been smoking. It also took me that long to get a smoker that I liked. but I had a "packer" that I unknowingly cut right in half. So now I have this large piece of meat that no longer resembles a brisket anymore that I wanted to use to make burnt ends with. I left the cap on but I did cut a cross hatch pattern in it, I then smoked it for 12 hours based on 1.6 hours per pound which took it to a IT of 195. My wife's previous encounter with a brisket was a bit like eating over cooked jerky I believe he took it to about 170. But this time she was pleasantly surprised when I gave her a piece that was tender, juicy, and flavorful. That being said I will continue to do brisket in this fashion(minus the breaking into two parts) until one doesn't turn out right.
 
Now you just got me really hungry for brisket !!   I guess I am going to have to go get one now!

was going to take a break from the smoker after last weeks sausage fest but now Im going to do a brisket on my days off this week!

thanks Solar  Yummmm is coming!
 
Now you just got me really hungry for brisket !!   I guess I am going to have to go get one now!

was going to take a break from the smoker after last weeks sausage fest but now Im going to do a brisket on my days off this week!

thanks Solar  Yummmm is coming!


You are welcome Lar.
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I fully agree with Joel in that the fat should stay ; for moisture, flavor and simplicity. However , once in the Smoker , I will leave them in the "CLOSED" environment until I probe the meat , then closed till my temp. is at hand and I'm ready to pull it out. I'll post a discussion on how and why I do  like I do.
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Have fun and...
 
I have always left the whole fat cap on, everyone has loved it. To much fat trim before eating. Try to go to 190 IT. Last brisket I did we trimmed and scored, it seemed dry but tender. I will be leaving the fat cap alone. 
 
Sure loved being the guinea pig that evening Joel, l let Rick (shooter) know at SELA.how good your brisket was also along with picking his brain to boot. My niece is strongly showing her intrest in our hobby, the other day she helped me get 20 assorted#s bacon in cure. Been tossing back n forth an excuse to get the drum showing some TBS and after seeing your thread along with a silent but friendly competition with a brisket loved by another family member from local Q joint, I gonna try and fallow your lead. If I only get close I will consider it a success. Will let you know .
 
Sure loved being the guinea pig that evening Joel, l let Rick (shooter) know at SELA.how good your brisket was also along with picking his brain to boot. My niece is strongly showing her intrest in our hobby, the other day she helped me get 20 assorted#s bacon in cure. Been tossing back n forth an excuse to get the drum showing some TBS and after seeing your thread along with a silent but friendly competition with a brisket loved by another family member from local Q joint, I gonna try and fallow your lead. If I only get close I will consider it a success. Will let you know .

Glad to be your excuse Bob. I hope you put that family member to shame! In a friendly way of course. ;o)

Glad to hear your niece is taking an interest in our sport.
 
Well I do agree but since all the brisket I buy has about 1/4 inch cap on it I always say trim to 1/4 inch fat cap.  I have to have some excuse for those expensive knives I bought!
 
I'm of the mind not trimming fat is beneficial to the moisture of the Brisket.  I've seen pictures of trimmed briskets with the fat resting on the grate above and wondered "why?", since the fat is just going to drip down in a less efficient manor than if it was still attached to the meat.  I prefer to make the trimming of the fat a part of the serving ritual.  It impresses the heck out of your guests and makes them feel they're getting the royal treatment.  Meanwhile, the much hotter fat cap is helping to keep the roast moist and at serving temperature while foiled in the warming tray.  Some guests like their brisket with a lot of fatty bark.

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Hey Joel - great post and great thread with lots of info. Thanks for posting  
 
I rarely trim fat for reasons mentioned...One of the two butchers I use always has a surprised look when I buy Strip Loins and tell him there is no need to trim...Same with Brisket, no trimming, except 1/4" trim on Pastrami...I know it is anti-YAWYE, but heck we don't eat Brisket or Steak everyday, FAT is darn TASTY and fat with a coat of Rub and all Crispy like is AWESOME!...As far as the Toothpick deal, I learned in Culinary School to use an Instant Read Thermo' for everything I cook...Bread, Cakes, Meat, I cook everything to temp, with time as just a guideline. So I have always used the Thermo Probe to test for tenderness as well...Come to think of it, the only thing I use Toothpicks for is Holding Bacon on ABTs and Moinks...We use Flosser's after meals...JJ
 
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I rarely trim fat for reasons mentioned...One of the two butchers I use always has a surprised look when I buy Strip Loins and tell him there is no need to trim...Same with Brisket, no trimming...I know it is anti-YAWYE, but heck we don't eat Brisket or Steak everyday, FAT is darn TASTY and fat with a coat of Rub and all Crispy like is AWESOME!...As far as the Toothpick deal, I learned in Culinary School to use an Instant Read Thermo' for everything I cook...Bread, Cakes, Meat, I cook everything to temp, with time as just a guideline. So I have always used the Thermo Probe to test for tenderness as well...Come to think of it, the only thing I use Toothpicks for is Holding Bacon on ABTs and Moinks...We use Flosser's after meals...JJ


Probe, toothpick, doesn't matter to me if you have some extra laying around.
 
I will try both the toothpick and non-trimming next time. Thanks!

Flat toothpicks vs. round ones? I hope you don't have guns in the house.
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