I finally stopped trimming my brisket so much after a competition judge called me out

Used to think I needed to carve off every speck of fat on a packer, but last summer at a small cook-off in Kansas City a judge wrote 'over-trimmed, dry ends' on my scorecard. She was right, I was throwing away flavor and moisture for looks. How do you guys decide how much fat cap to leave on?

2 comments

2 Comments

robert24813d ago

You know what, that judge was probably the best thing that ever happened to my brisket game... I used to trim like I was trying to win a beauty contest, shaving everything down until it looked like a museum piece. I remember my first competition I had a whole prime packer from Costco and I cut off almost two pounds of fat, ended up with a dry, sad flat that tasted like cardboard. Now I leave a good quarter inch on top and only take off the silverskin and hard clumps, and my brisket actually stays juicy all the way through the cook. That judge did you a solid, seriously.

hugo_moore13d ago

You been trimming to make it look like a store bought brisket? That's your problem right there. I leave a quarter inch fat cap on top and only trim the hard fat that won't render. The ends drying out is from over trimming the flat and exposing too much lean meat. Keep that fat on and let it do its job while you cook. If your bark needs to set better, bump up the heat instead of taking off more fat.