Trimmed brisket
Trimming a brisket may non be the most fun thing to do in BBQ, but you'll be glad you did.

How To Trim a Brisket

Ah, brisket trimming. The joyful moments that come cutting off fat and silver skin. While information technology may non be the near heady office of prepping, knowing how to trim a brisket is very important. You trim a brisket for multiple reasons: to enhance the smoke penetrating the meat, creating some tasty bark, and removing some thick portions of fat that don't return.

At that place is one side of the brisket that has a agglomeration of fatty on it, this is chosen the fat cap. The other side will have a lot less fatty on it, simply likely a bunch of silver peel. This tutorial will show you how to trim a brisket to maximize the experience.

Brisket Anatomy

Before we go into the process of how to trim a brisket, I feel it is important for you to know the whole brisket, or packer cutting, comes with 2 types of meat: the point and the flat. The signal is the bigger chunk of meat that is covered nether all of that thick fatty. Information technology is the softer, juicier portion of the cut and where burnt ends come from. The flat is the leaner portion that is long and thinner than the betoken. Hither's a visual to help:

Brisket diagram
Brisket diagram courtesy of eggheadforum.com

Now that we have that out of the manner, let us go along!

The Fat Side of the Brisket

With some other cuts of meat, you want a layer of fat and then it will render into the meat and provide more flavor. With the fat cap on the brisket, a lot of that is difficult fat that does not render. If left on, it volition make the meat absorb less fume season, non to mention the prime number real manor for eating that bawl that develops over the cook. Nearly folks won't want to eat a rima oris full of fatty, so no need to keep so much of it on.

Trimming the brisket while it's cold is best.
The fat cap does non render while cooking, so trim information technology down to nigh 1/4 inch.

Y'all have probably heard much communication on trimming a brisket, some involving cooking fat side up over fat side downward. This is a topic up for much debate, only we will side step that one correct at present (but for the record, I like to melt mine fat side down). Some say trim the fat cap downwardly to 1/2 inch. Others may trim it off completely. I prefer to trim information technology downward to roughly 1/4 inch. That ways there are some spots of the brisket that don't get trimmed, and that's okay. Just know that you volition do more trimming near the indicate than anywhere else.

The Other Side

The other side of the brisket will exist much leaner and comprise the flat with meat surface generally exposed, with the exception of some small spots of fat and a lot of silver skin. I detect I spend about half of my trimming fourth dimension on the silvery skin. The best way to trim this is by taking the tip of your boning knife and poking just barely under the silver skin and above the meat. I like to go across the grain while doing this and so moving the bract down the grain in a sawing-like motion.

Beginning to learn how to trim a brisket.
How the brisket looks before you lot trim off the silver skin.

If you lot cut a trivial layer of meat under that argent skin, it's nothing to freak out about. It however happens to the self-proclaimed experts. Information technology'southward a small toll to pay to become that meat surface exposed for more smoke flavor and better tasting meat.

How the brisket should look after you trim the silver skin.
How the brisket should lookafter you trim the argent skin.

Between the Betoken and Apartment…

Speaking of the betoken, there's a thick layer of fat that separates information technology from the flat. You may be tempted to carve deep into that. If yous go too deep yous may end up getting to a spot where y'all should just split up the two. Going too far in and putting your mix of rub in that cavity yous created may cause your meat surface in that spot to go all goopy and gross. Fight off that urge to cut deep into information technology and only go a little flake in, well-nigh an inch or then.

What Nearly the Sides of the Brisket?

Don't forget to trim the sides!
Don't forget to trim the sides!

I think everyone who has trimmed a brisket before can agree that y'all will desire to trim down the fat on the sides. The excess fatty does you no good and robs you of some awesome meat bark for your end result. Foursquare off the sides every bit best as you can.

And so In that location's the Trivial Flaps of Meat

You will find when you trim a brisket that it volition backlog flaps of meat hanging off, normally some little, skinny flaps on the flat and small chunks on the betoken. These are normally the result of how they are cut by the butcher earlier packaging. As much equally you want to capitalize on all the meat that the brisket provides, these thin, smaller flaps of meat will burn down to a crisp during cook and serve you no value. Do yourself a favor and trim these off.

There you have it! You lot've successfully learned how to trim a brisket! If it didn't get the way y'all had hoped, don't worry. The main goal here is the flavor of the brisket, not how pretty it looks pre-melt. Keep consequent with the trimming and I promise you'll go better!