I was trimming brisket wrong for like 8 years before a guy at a shop in Austin set me straight

Been doing briskets since I started at my first shop in 2017 and always trimmed the fat cap down to a quarter inch flat across the whole thing. Then last month some old timer at Lockhart Smokehouse watched me working and said 'you're leaving all the good stuff on the table.' He showed me how the fat cap is thicker on one end and you gotta follow the muscle shape instead of making it look like a brick. Now my burnt ends actually come out right instead of drying out on one side. Any of yall learned a basic trick way later than you should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_carter5122d ago

Man I gotta admit I was the same way for years. I used to trim my packers like I was carving a perfect rectangle and wondered why the flat always came out like shoe leather. Finally had a guy in Kansas City show me how to leave a little more fat on the point and taper it down naturally and it changed everything. Now my burnt ends actually have that buttery texture instead of being dry little cubes. Still feel dumb about all those wasted briskets though.

jennifersmith22d ago

Oh great, so you're telling me my perfectly square brisket trims and shoe leather flats could've been avoided this whole time? Fantastic. At least your wasted briskets went to a good cause - teaching you a lesson the hard way.