Am I understanding correctly that I wasn’t to take all this fat off the flat here?
by iHusk
22 Comments
dogbiscuitsareolay
im no expert but i think you did fine. That is more fat than I normally see
stdaem
I like to leave 1/4 to 1/2 an inch of fat to protect the meat and keep it from drying out. Plus the bark everyone raves about is created due to the fat rendering and crisping up with the pepper. No matter what, take notes about what works and how it tastes. Cooking us a journey where we try to improve the next time always getting better in the process. Have fun, enjoy the fruits (and meats) of your labor, and if all else fails… cook again!
zmunky
No that is too much IMO. I leave about a 1/4 to 3/8 of the cap on. I try the best that I can to remove as I can to the 1/4 amount on the hard waxy fat on the point. It’s really hard to do that one because often times the waxy fat will run in between the meat so if you try and go to town on it you will likely over do it.
The fat cap trim is a balance. Too much it won’t baste the meat through the cook and will have a drier result. Trim not enough and the fat will not render out completely resulting in fat that won’t melt in your mouth.
Good luck in your adventure.
Reeko_Htown
It could go for a bit more but for a backyard cook you’re fine
Tumifaigirar
Some will tell you you can do more, some will tell you less, hence fine to me. Check youtube as well for a more visual approach
bilbo_the_innkeeper
Each brisket is different, but I often end up taking a lot off. But it’s not waste. Put it into an aluminum pan in the smoker, alongside the brisket, and let it render down into tallow, which you can use when you wrap the brisket, and any that you don’t use can be saved to cook with. (It’s incredible stuff. There’s a reason they call it “liquid gold.”)
chunkalunkk
The difference on muscle thickness is what I’d focus on. That’s a thin looking piece, shown in the pic, and with all that fat, it’ll never render completely before it’s a oversized hockey puck. You may want to consider two separate cooks, dividing the muscle where it’s thickest. They’ll vary wildly in cook time.
scottstiger
Appreciate the knife flex! Do tell…..burl handle damascus?
FlatAd7399
The point is really fatty on the inside already, so I’d take more off without worrying about it drying out
Captain-Who
That doesn’t look like the typical brisket one would buy for BBQ.
The fat cap looks thicker and the meat looks leaner and smaller. I would guess this is from a different breed or it’s a cull cow or similar.
It would probably be better utilized for a homemade ground beef, or maybe braised.
eletricboogalo2
That’s a bad cut.
It’s tight and 30% deckle.
The answer to your question is yes though. Remove all the hard fat and trim the soft stuff down to 1/2″ or so.
Antique_Way685
If it’s hard fat, yes trim it. If it’s soft leave at least a 1/4 inch layer. Tbh that just looks like a bad brisket (it happens, all cows are different). Looks like it’s going to cook unevenly no matter what you do. Might be a better candidate for a stew or to get ground up than to smoke.
theuautumnwind
If it’s a real thin flat I’ll leave a little extra otherwise about 1/4.
cyclejones
Your butcher did you dirty…
FitSeeker1982
Ugh. I hope you got this cheap, because that’s the most fat-meat ratio I’ve ever seen on a brisket.
volcanohands
This isnt a good cut of a brisket for a first time. To be honest id turn the fat into tallow and turn the rest into chilli or burgers, maybe instapot it in chunks to make chicago beef.
Separate-Abrocoma-31
Not all bro. I like to leave enough for it to render a bath when I wrap it in foil (no more than 1/2 inch)
LankeeClipper
Sorry, but that’s a terrible brisket for a BBQ. You don’t need a fat cap that’s thicker than the flat.
The_Legend_of_Xeno
That is the weirdest brisket I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t even look like a brisket. If I paid brisket prices and got that, I’m fighting someone.
Wagner-C137
I dice all of my fat trimmings into big cubes, season them separately and smoke them in a small foil pan. Probably gonna kill me some day but man is it tasty. You can also use the rendered fat to baste before you wrap!
The_Chef_Dude
I don’t think people in the comments are realizing that that is the bottom of the brisket. Typically when you buy a packer brisket in the US, they’ve already taken off 99.9% of the fat off of the bottom of the flat. You can see the deckle is still fully intact
22 Comments
im no expert but i think you did fine. That is more fat than I normally see
I like to leave 1/4 to 1/2 an inch of fat to protect the meat and keep it from drying out. Plus the bark everyone raves about is created due to the fat rendering and crisping up with the pepper.
No matter what, take notes about what works and how it tastes. Cooking us a journey where we try to improve the next time always getting better in the process.
Have fun, enjoy the fruits (and meats) of your labor, and if all else fails… cook again!
No that is too much IMO. I leave about a 1/4 to 3/8 of the cap on. I try the best that I can to remove as I can to the 1/4 amount on the hard waxy fat on the point. It’s really hard to do that one because often times the waxy fat will run in between the meat so if you try and go to town on it you will likely over do it.
The fat cap trim is a balance. Too much it won’t baste the meat through the cook and will have a drier result. Trim not enough and the fat will not render out completely resulting in fat that won’t melt in your mouth.
Good luck in your adventure.
It could go for a bit more but for a backyard cook you’re fine
Some will tell you you can do more, some will tell you less, hence fine to me. Check youtube as well for a more visual approach
Each brisket is different, but I often end up taking a lot off. But it’s not waste. Put it into an aluminum pan in the smoker, alongside the brisket, and let it render down into tallow, which you can use when you wrap the brisket, and any that you don’t use can be saved to cook with. (It’s incredible stuff. There’s a reason they call it “liquid gold.”)
The difference on muscle thickness is what I’d focus on. That’s a thin looking piece, shown in the pic, and with all that fat, it’ll never render completely before it’s a oversized hockey puck. You may want to consider two separate cooks, dividing the muscle where it’s thickest. They’ll vary wildly in cook time.
Appreciate the knife flex! Do tell…..burl handle damascus?
The point is really fatty on the inside already, so I’d take more off without worrying about it drying out
That doesn’t look like the typical brisket one would buy for BBQ.
The fat cap looks thicker and the meat looks leaner and smaller. I would guess this is from a different breed or it’s a cull cow or similar.
It would probably be better utilized for a homemade ground beef, or maybe braised.
That’s a bad cut.
It’s tight and 30% deckle.
The answer to your question is yes though. Remove all the hard fat and trim the soft stuff down to 1/2″ or so.
If it’s hard fat, yes trim it. If it’s soft leave at least a 1/4 inch layer. Tbh that just looks like a bad brisket (it happens, all cows are different). Looks like it’s going to cook unevenly no matter what you do. Might be a better candidate for a stew or to get ground up than to smoke.
If it’s a real thin flat I’ll leave a little extra otherwise about 1/4.
Your butcher did you dirty…
Ugh. I hope you got this cheap, because that’s the most fat-meat ratio I’ve ever seen on a brisket.
This isnt a good cut of a brisket for a first time. To be honest id turn the fat into tallow and turn the rest into chilli or burgers, maybe instapot it in chunks to make chicago beef.
Not all bro. I like to leave enough for it to render a bath when I wrap it in foil (no more than 1/2 inch)
Sorry, but that’s a terrible brisket for a BBQ. You don’t need a fat cap that’s thicker than the flat.
That is the weirdest brisket I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t even look like a brisket. If I paid brisket prices and got that, I’m fighting someone.
I dice all of my fat trimmings into big cubes, season them separately and smoke them in a small foil pan. Probably gonna kill me some day but man is it tasty. You can also use the rendered fat to baste before you wrap!
I don’t think people in the comments are realizing that that is the bottom of the brisket. Typically when you buy a packer brisket in the US, they’ve already taken off 99.9% of the fat off of the bottom of the flat. You can see the deckle is still fully intact
Trim fat use to make beef tallow.