Overheard a retiree at the counter explain why he trims his own briskets at home

He said he learned from a guy in Kansas City that leaving the fat cap at a quarter inch instead of a half inch made his barbecue taste better, so I tried it this weekend and wondered, has anyone else found that smaller fat cap changes the flavor that much?

2 comments

2 Comments

park.aaron6h ago

Half inch traps grease, quarter inch lets the smoke hit the meat.

nathan_kim2h ago

Wait, is THAT what I've been missing this whole time? I switched to a quarter inch cap about a year back after watching some competition pitmaster video, and honestly the difference was night and day. The bark gets way crispier and the smoke flavor actually comes through instead of just tasting like greasy beef, if that makes sense. I used to trim at half inch because I thought more fat meant more juice, but turns out it just meant I was steaming the meat instead of smoking it. Now I even trim a little extra off the point side too, and my family fights over the burnt ends first.