Watched a pro trim a brisket at a Franklin stop in Austin and noticed something odd

I was down in Austin last month and stopped by Franklin Barbecue (obviously). The pitmaster there was trimming a brisket and he barely took off any fat - maybe a quarter inch at most. I always thought you needed to trim more aggressively, like down to the meat in spots. Has anyone else seen that approach and had it work out better?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_felix1d ago

@xena_hernandez98 that "super thin" trim got me scratching my head too until I tried it myself. I figured I'd give it a shot last week and ended up with a brisket that was basically a giant pork rind on the outside and sawdust on the inside. So yeah, lean trim works great if you're into dry meat and a thick crust you can hear from the next room.

webb.hannah1d ago

Yeah I had the same exact thing happen when I tried that super thin trim last month on a pork shoulder. I thought I was being smart saving all that fat but the bark was basically a concrete shell and the meat was like chewing on a shoe. What finally worked for me was leaving a solid quarter inch of fat on there and trimming the hard spots but keeping the soft stuff. I also started spritzing every hour with apple juice and that alone made a huge difference in keeping things from drying out. It takes longer to cook that way but you actually get something worth eating at the end.

xena_hernandez981d ago

Yeah I noticed that too when I watched that same video, it looked super thin compared to what I usually see. My buddy tried that method last summer on his first brisket and it turned out way drier than when he goes heavier on the trim. Did it still come out juicy enough for you when you actually ate there?