Tonight’s Trim

I’ve been trying to watch at least one brisket trim vid a night for the past few weeks as my packer cooks have been on the uptick lately with football tailgates and by-request at kids’ functions. (Tomorrow is the girl’s Friendsgiving.) I’ll watch any video — short and long from pro pitmaster to backyard influencer-in-training, I don’t care. Never know where you’ll pick up a money tip. I’ve gotten to the point where trimming is one of my favorite parts of the process. I’m still too long at ~30 minutes, but I now trim exclusively with my slicing knife, which is cool. One of the best tips I’ve picked up is to drop the brisket in the freezer for an hour or so before trimming.

I’ve probably cooked 25 in the last 5 years and tonight might’ve been the gnarliest. I couldn’t tell if the point had a state-record butcher’s gash or if my cow got hit by a truck. The fat cap was especially thick, hard and “hilly” (got a great pile for tallow, though.) And there was no mohawk.

Tale of the tape: 16.5 lbs, Prime, $5.99/lb. at Costco in the Chicago burbs. I work on a Large BGE and I typically find that a packer in the 16-18 lb. range can be trimmed to fit just about perfectly. I use a wire cooling rack as my “measuring stick.” Looking forward to popping this bad boy on around midnight at 235ish over a cherry/pecan combo.

Egg on, everybody 🔥