Brisket Trimming: What Type Are You?

[STEbbq]

Let’s use percentages to keep things comparable.

Basically, what percentage of the weight of the brisket are you trimming off for your usual cook?

Historically, since I always weigh my trimmed fat like fzxdoc , I can say it is pretty consistent in the 20%~30% range.

Feel free to assign funnier names per category. Also, I swear I won’t be a poll a week type of guy but obviously this type of question screams for a poll.

[jerrybell]

I'm guessing average because I've never weighed the trim and I don't always know the brisket weight. I just trim until it looks good, usually on the thin side of 1/4" fat left.

[Steve R.]

Not sure I could put a number on it, but I'm fairly aggressive. Not just the fat, but also any really thin parts of the flat. If I'm not going to eat it, I'm not going to cook it.

[HawkerXP]

I go heavy on the hard fat between the point and flat without separating. I'll trim the flat as best I can but certainly not anything like we see the pros do. I'm thinking at least 3 lbs of fat removed is pretty normal from a Costco packer. Hanging in the PBC doesn't need to be aerodynamic.

[mrteddyprincess]

The way the brisket is trimmed when I buy it is the determining factor for me. Costco prime briskets might need 10% of the total fat trimmed, but I bought a 17 lb brisket from Gordon's Food Service once that trimmed out at 11 lbs after I was done trimming it. I thought I got a good deal and then I realized the "good" price was because they were selling me a bunch of fat.

The last brisket I cooked was a gift from a friend. He spent $135 on an 11 lb brisket, Prime, at a chain butcher shop called Moody's. I basically trimmed nothing off that brisket. It came ready to cook! It was a really good brisket, but I thought my friend was insane for spending that much on an 11 lb brisket!

[Huskee]

I think I'm severe, since I trim most of the fat between the two muscles, stopping short of completely separating them. But I do leave a generous fat cap on, especially on the flat, more like 1/2". I don't know of many folks who trim in between though, but it saves a little time and I prefer the end product that way.

[58limited]

Sometimes I trim, sometimes not - depends on how lazy I feel. Briskets always turn out good though.

I only buy packers. When I trim I probably lose about 15-20% of the weight.

[Red Man]

I used to trim the fat between the point and flat pretty aggressively. Lately I’ve been leaving a bit more in there. I find with more fat between the muscles, it runs down the flat as I slice it and keeps it juicier.

[texastweeter]

I've been telling my wife I'm average for years...she reads too many magazines...

[Jerod Broussard]

I'm below, 2 divorces validated, verified, but didn't leave me stupefied.

[bbqLuv]

Brisket, Costco 20-30%
Brisket, Fred Meyer's (Kroger) has the deckle removed and is almost ready for my Traeger, so 10% maybe.
Also depends on the number of PBR on hand.

[Draznnl]

It depends on the source. I find Costco packers need a lot of trimming while Wild Fork’s only need some cleaning out between the flat and point, for example.

[STEbbq]

Good point. I will say the Porter Road brisket I bought was trimmed nicely so I do remember barely touching it.

[shush]

I'm certainly with the crowd here. I buy the full packer, USDA Prime, from Costco. They run about 15-17 lbs, and sometimes I have take only 1-2lbs of fat off. I try to poke test the hard fat cap to see if I can judge before I buy, which leads me to... One time, I took almost 4.5lbs off because there was _so_ much dense fat. Almost like the point was somehow smaller than average, hiding under all that fat. Anyway, I voted "average" because 3ish lbs seems to be about the average removal for me. I do try to leave some fat on there.

[Angryfish]

The last brisket was also from Costco@ 14lbs.
l Cut out most of the hard fat in between and trimmed some of the thin parts off.
Ended up with 11lbs.
Now if I could only trim some of my own fat that easily …

[rlozinak]

I usually trim all of the fat off until I get to about 1/4 inch of fat. Then it is ready. I have never measured how much I talk off.