Untrimmed brisket. How do you prep?

Ozzie_Isaac

So today is a day of firsts.  I bought an untrimmed Prime brisket from Costco and then accidentally bought a Flame Boss.

I have never done a brisket.  I have done tons of shoulders and ribs.  I always trim the hard fat off my shoulders and most the cap.

My plan is to do a simple rub and use the pit controller with temp running around 225.  For that type of cook how should I trim it?  I am assuming there is a reason they charge another $7 for a trimmed brisket.

DoubleEgger

I you tubed some competition brisket trimming videos for my first brisket. I bet I trimmed 3 lbs off. The next time, It looked pretty good so I let it roll untrimmed. It was far better than the first so I go untrimmed now unless I see something excessive that needs trimming off. 

lousubcap

Just give the Aaron Franklin you tube video series a look.  While he doesn't give away the family jewels his trimming and follow-on how to slice a brisket turorial is "on the money".  Like I would refute:) 

pgprescott

Looking forward to the results. I always trom mine down. Not as much the cap as the hard fat as you described. But I inject with butchers injection, so the extra fat content is not an issue for me. It'll be great. 

Durangler

~perks~
Flame Boss?  
Nice.....

Terrebandit

I try to trim mine down to about 1/4" of fat remaining. Plus I hack off the hard fat. There is no reason to keep that on there. 

SmokeyPitt

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VmTzdMHu5KU

Don't be shy with the knife. You will end up with like 2 lbs of trimmins

theyolksonyou

I can offer no real wisdom on the brisket, however, I'd hire an armed guard at Costco to keep those retail ninjas from sneaking stuff into your cart. 

Ozzie_Isaac

Thanks guys.  I just finished two spatched chickens on the XL and a full load of ABTs on the medium.  Now on to the brisket.

Time to start watching videos.  From the posts I think I'm planning on hard fat gone and I'll figure out the rest once I have the knife.

Ozzie_Isaac

Here are ABT pics.  Chicken looked like, well chicken.  Plus the wife said food pics when kids are starving and have friends over is rude.

Ozzie_Isaac

Wow, so BBQPitBoys hack everything off.  Franklin has a lot more finesse.  I'm going to try finesse.

Wish me luck.

DMW

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Wow, so BBQPitBoys hack everything off.  Franklin has a lot more finesse.  I'm going to try finesse.

Wish me luck.

Go Franklin style.

Ozzie_Isaac

Here is my attempt at Franklin style.  Actually it is more a mockery of his style.

4Runner

SmokeyPitt said:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VmTzdMHu5KU

Don't be shy with the knife. You will end up with like 2 lbs of trimmins

Trim like a boss.....boss Franklin that is.  Watched this video at least 5 times.  

Ladeback69

I getting ready to trim a 11 pounder here soon for cooking tomorrow.   There is hard fat near the point that needs to get trim it won't render down.  I usually trim somextra more around the top and take the bottom down to about to a 1/4" if needed.  I like to place fat side down and a drip pan under it.  I like to tenderize mine too while putting the rub on.  I am smoking it around 250 - 275 with cherry wood.

Ozzie_Isaac

@Ladeback69
I put a few chunks of cherry in too.  I have the pit controller up and running.  I am tracking with my Maverick.  Figure what the hey.  Best time to use the new toy is 11 at night on something I have never cooked before.  You can never have to many firsts.

anton

Well I first off want to congratulate you for doing some due dilligence, then approaching it the way you are. Wish you the best of luck, not that you need it, I'm pretty sure you got this, I will be back to see your$$$ shots.

Ozzie_Isaac

1:00 A.M.  just put the brisket on.  I way overshoot my planned 235.  Finally got it to level off at 300.  I've been working to cool it down for 2hrs.  Decided to throw the brisket on at 260.  I'll stay up and make sure temp settles then hit the hay.

lousubcap

Great eats at the end of this story.  Just slice against the grain (give the Franklin "payoff" video a look on the slice technique) when ready to enjoy.

Ozzie_Isaac

Will do.  Walking outside and smelling that brisket cooking this morning was its own reward.

DoubleEgger

You are going to hooked on brisket like crack.....

pgprescott

Hey @Ozzie_Isaac what did you do for rub? SP and cayenne? Plowboys? Looking forward to the slices. Im a " fatty" brisket guy. What about you? Fat or lean?

Ozzie_Isaac

@pgprescott ;

I used Oakridge competition beef and pork rub.

Only brisket I have ever had was lean.  So not sure what I like best.  I better try both!

DoubleEgger

Love that Oakridge rub. Used it on some bison burgers last night...

lousubcap

@Ozzie_Isaac -Opinion here-don't go down the burnt ends road-the point is the best "fatty" part of the brisket.  Once you go over to the dark side (slice and eat the point) you will never go back:) .  Banquet awaits!

MelSharples

Are they selling the Flame Boss at Costco? 

Ozzie_Isaac

@MelSharples nope.  I made the mistake of stopping by my dealer and chatting.  I mentioned I was looking at a DigiQ and he pulled out the Flame Boss.  I said I had never heard of it so I needed to think about it.  Well long story short based on the few reviews and a quick talk with a super nice guy at Flame Boss I ran back and picked it up.

@lousubcap I plan to slice and serve it all.  This is my first brisket rodeo so I have no idea what to expect.

Ozzie_Isaac

I did tell my dealer I need to stop going to his store.  Two weeks ago my medium followed me home.

Jeepster47

MelSharples said:

Are they selling the Flame Boss at Costco? 

@MelSharples ... drop a PM to @stlcharcoal ... he doesn't advertise it, but seems to carry all of the controllers. 

SGH

Ozzie_Isaac said:

  I am assuming there is a reason they charge another $7 for a trimmed brisket.

I want to add my opinion on the quoted question above. It's a money making tactic. Short of a real butcher, most supermarkets do a piss poor job of finess trimming. They gouge and hack like a wild man. The end results are usually sub par and look like Jason Voorhees was the one wielding the knife. I always pass on paying for trimming and just do it myself. I find that it is more economical in the long run to invest in a good boning knife and breaking knife and do the trimming myself. Also the end results are much better. Skip paying for the trimming my friend unless you have seen their work and know that it is acceptable. However it usually is not. 

SGH

Now let me offer my thoughts on trimming brisket. There are several end goals that one can be shooting for. I will only touch on a few due to time constraints. However I will be glad to delve in farther later if you would like. First the competition trim. This is usually a very aggressive trim that removes the majority of fat be it hard or soft. Also quite a bit of meat is usually removed to "square up" the meat. This is more for presentation than anything else. It does nothing for quality. This is just one mans opinion but the competition trim is a waste for home cooking. If you want a extreme example of a very aggressive competition trim, check out my friend brother Reeds comp trim video. For the record, he only trims like this for comps, not for home cooking or when cooking for general bbq gatherings. Next in the line up and the best way for home cooking is the General trim. I'm sure you have watched the Franklin video. This is a general trim. Toward the end he starts cutting danglers and hangers just because he is still talking and trying to fulfill a established time slot. For home trimming, his shown method is near perfect. There probably isn't many people on here cooking "select grade" brisket. But if you are, they usually require a little extra trimming due to the amount of excessive hard fat. All that said, for home and general brisket cooking, Franklins video is near ideal.