First time brisket. Is this a decent enough trimming?
Looked up a couple videos on YouTube. It's flat but it's not all the same thickness like I've seen on there. Would love any input. The meat side has a decent gash from processing.
by SkyLX
31 Comments
AltruisticAd1949
Send it!
Region_Fluid
You should check the edges of the flat. Anything narrower than about 1” won’t come out good. It’s kind of why you always see them rounded
Mick_Nugg
Way over trimmed.
Top-Molasses7324
Personally I’d go more in on the point but, I also grind my own ground beef out of it so if you feel good on this, I’d say send it!
chicken-parm88
Try to round out the flat more. A lot of times, you’ll see the Mohawk get trimmed way down which helps with a more aerodynamic shape. But, if it’s just for you, don’t sweat it. Also, the fat looks kinda ragged, like maybe your knife needs sharpening? A sharp knife will make a much more pleasant trimming experience.
131_Proof_Bud
Looks like a smaller packer. I see both a flat and a small point.
National-Ganache-524
I like it a bit another on edges and sides but not bad
JimBeamerton
I’ve heard of trimming the hedges but you done scorched the earth
krakenstan
A little overdone imo, but I like my brisket fattier. So ymmv
babyduck_fancypants
Just know… you are asking about one of the most contentious topics on this sub.
indigoisturbo
I smell your lightsaber
lostpassword100000
This is like asking people what they think about the name you picked out for your unborn child.
Spamburger_Hamburger
Na, it’s fine. I’ve seen some people barely touch them and some trim them down like 1/2 the size they start as. Cook the thing and adjust next time if you like it or want more fat on it or whatever. It’s not a perfect science.
White-runner
Comments will be 50/50 “not enough” or “way too much”. Looks ok for a first attempt. I’d probably round off the thinner side of the flat, gonna dry out a lot anyway.
ItchyIndependence154
Nice! You’ve come this far. Get the rest of that silver skin off the top….then season the F out of it.
Pale-Succotash441
I personally would have left a bit more fat.
jsaf420
You know what happens when you don’t trim it well? You trim off the dried parts after you cook. It’s really not a big deal for the casual backyard cook.
Cook it. Eat the good parts. Do it again.
JHuerta75
Over trimmed
dec7td
Looks good enough to me. I personally do more from the deckle and more rounded in front and save for brisket burgers.
906backroads
Me? I love the fat cap, and leave a lot of it. You do you… Fat means flavor, always.
Responsible_Sound_71
This looks like a brisket off a white walker
ToolBoxBuddy
Oh boy here we go. Looks good OP just send it.
Icedvelvet
When I first scrolled past this I said “oh my lord what did he do”
chinamansg
I’ve watched a few vids on YouTube where no trimming was done and the brisket came out great.
tacticalAlmonds
As long as you got the deckel fat out, send it. For me, it’s the only non-negotiable thing for trimming/not trimming a brisket.
mrbradleyacooper
I personally remove very little fat, I believe the fat rendering down keeps the brisket juicy
Asianlover69696900
You’ll be fine . Go ahead and enjoy the process . You’ll learn from your experience and that’s what is important.
Public_Enemy_No2
Once you’ve done a few of these, you’ll realize that with a brisket, a certain amount of fat is GOOD. In fact lots of bbq joints have both “moist and regular” when you order a brisket sandwich or sliced brisket.
Yup, you guessed it, the moistness is actually the rendered fat. My favorite actually.
jlo575
Expanding on the over trimmed comments Exposed meat will dry out. The fat cap is yummy but also serves a purpose in keeping that top layer of meat nice and juicy.
Be real careful and wrap it before the top gets dry. You’ll lose some ability to develop an awesome bark, but awesome bark with dried out meat isn’t good. Don’t worry, it’ll still be good. It just won’t be BEST
esseeayen
Depends what you’re smoking it on, and how you like it? For me I use a WSM and love a good smoke ring so tend to trim a bit more so the smoke can penetrate the meat (doesn’t go through fat so well). but I do love me some fat and those trimmings make for good tallow!
Edit: didn’t see the last two photos, this is about how much I do.
poop-money
You took a little too much off IMO. All is not lost though. Take that fat you trimmed, try and remove as much meat from it as you can, do a rough chop on it and render it down in a crock pot overnight. Around 8 hours. After that, strain the solids off with a fine mesh strainer. Bam, you got tallow.
Cool your tallow down. When your brisket is just about ready to come out, heat the tallow back up and inject it back into the meat before your rest period. Save any tallow you have for future dishes that might benefit. As long as you rendered it enough and got all the solids out, it’s shelf stable for up to 6 months, 12 months in the fridge.
31 Comments
Send it!
You should check the edges of the flat. Anything narrower than about 1” won’t come out good. It’s kind of why you always see them rounded
Way over trimmed.
Personally I’d go more in on the point but, I also grind my own ground beef out of it so if you feel good on this, I’d say send it!
Try to round out the flat more. A lot of times, you’ll see the Mohawk get trimmed way down which helps with a more aerodynamic shape. But, if it’s just for you, don’t sweat it. Also, the fat looks kinda ragged, like maybe your knife needs sharpening? A sharp knife will make a much more pleasant trimming experience.
Looks like a smaller packer. I see both a flat and a small point.
I like it a bit another on edges and sides but not bad
I’ve heard of trimming the hedges but you done scorched the earth
A little overdone imo, but I like my brisket fattier. So ymmv
Just know… you are asking about one of the most contentious topics on this sub.
I smell your lightsaber
This is like asking people what they think about the name you picked out for your unborn child.
Na, it’s fine. I’ve seen some people barely touch them and some trim them down like 1/2 the size they start as. Cook the thing and adjust next time if you like it or want more fat on it or whatever. It’s not a perfect science.
Comments will be 50/50 “not enough” or “way too much”. Looks ok for a first attempt. I’d probably round off the thinner side of the flat, gonna dry out a lot anyway.
Nice! You’ve come this far. Get the rest of that silver skin off the top….then season the F out of it.
I personally would have left a bit more fat.
You know what happens when you don’t trim it well? You trim off the dried parts after you cook. It’s really not a big deal for the casual backyard cook.
Cook it. Eat the good parts. Do it again.
Over trimmed
Looks good enough to me. I personally do more from the deckle and more rounded in front and save for brisket burgers.
Me? I love the fat cap, and leave a lot of it. You do you…
Fat means flavor, always.
This looks like a brisket off a white walker
Oh boy here we go. Looks good OP just send it.
When I first scrolled past this I said “oh my lord what did he do”
I’ve watched a few vids on YouTube where no trimming was done and the brisket came out great.
As long as you got the deckel fat out, send it. For me, it’s the only non-negotiable thing for trimming/not trimming a brisket.
I personally remove very little fat, I believe the fat rendering down keeps the brisket juicy
You’ll be fine . Go ahead and enjoy the process . You’ll learn from your experience and that’s what is important.
Once you’ve done a few of these, you’ll realize that with a brisket, a certain amount of fat is GOOD. In fact lots of bbq joints have both “moist and regular” when you order a brisket sandwich or sliced brisket.
Yup, you guessed it, the moistness is actually the rendered fat. My favorite actually.
Expanding on the over trimmed comments
Exposed meat will dry out. The fat cap is yummy but also serves a purpose in keeping that top layer of meat nice and juicy.
Be real careful and wrap it before the top gets dry. You’ll lose some ability to develop an awesome bark, but awesome bark with dried out meat isn’t good. Don’t worry, it’ll still be good. It just won’t be BEST
Depends what you’re smoking it on, and how you like it? For me I use a WSM and love a good smoke ring so tend to trim a bit more so the smoke can penetrate the meat (doesn’t go through fat so well). but I do love me some fat and those trimmings make for good tallow!
Edit: didn’t see the last two photos, this is about how much I do.
You took a little too much off IMO. All is not lost though. Take that fat you trimmed, try and remove as much meat from it as you can, do a rough chop on it and render it down in a crock pot overnight. Around 8 hours. After that, strain the solids off with a fine mesh strainer. Bam, you got tallow.
Cool your tallow down. When your brisket is just about ready to come out, heat the tallow back up and inject it back into the meat before your rest period. Save any tallow you have for future dishes that might benefit. As long as you rendered it enough and got all the solids out, it’s shelf stable for up to 6 months, 12 months in the fridge.