How to trim a brisket? Competition tips.
The basics of trimming a brisket
Trimming a brisket can be a really intimidating task. It’s a big imposing piece of meat and it’s usually kind of expensive too so you don’t want to mess it up. That’s why I’ve tried to break the steps to trim a brisket down into a few simple steps.
3 steps to trim a brisket:
- Trimming the fat
- Shaping the cut
- Removing the silverskin
Step 0: Before you begin trimming your brisket
Before you start trimming you want to make sure you have all of your equipment ready. We’re going to want to move fast so we can get a majority of the trimming done before the brisket begins to warm up. Because the fat gets much harder to trim as it gets warm. Make sure you have the following equipment ready:
Equipment you’ll need:
- A cutting board
- A nice sharp knife
- Preferably a filet or kitchen knife
- Cling wrap (optional)
- Nitrile gloves (optional)
- A large area to work
Tips for easier trimming:
So as I was saying, we will need to move quick so our brisket stays cold and firm while we’re trimming. You want to start out with a pretty cold brisket also. Put your brisket in the freezer for about an hour before you trim it. This hardens up the outer layers of the fat and makes it much easier to trim.
If you have a large surface and a lot of cling wrap, another great tip is to wrap the surface in the wrap. This can save you a lot of time in clean up at the end.
Step 1: Trimming the fat
I like to start my trimming process by trimming off excess fat. For me this is the first step for a couple of reasons:
Why to focus on the fat first:
- You want to trim the fat while the brisket is coldest.
- Trimming the fat first gives you the most visibility moving forward.
- If you’re separating the point trimming the fat first will make it easier.
Trim the fat side of a brisket:
Start with the back of the brisket, where the bulk of the fat is. You’re basically going to start hacking away slices from this fat cap until you get down to an even 1/4″ – 1/2″ layer of fat across the back. It takes a little bit to get the gauge but once you do it goes quick. Once you’re done trimming the fat side of the brisket, flip it over.
Trim the meat side of a brisket:
Now, start to trim out the big pockets of fat in between the point and flat. You can dig pretty deep in there with your knife, there’s usually quite a bit of fat. If you’re going to separate the point and flat, this big vein of fat in between the layers is what you’ll follow until they’re apart.
Trimming fat around the point:
Start to trim the fat around the point down to the meat. Once you get down to the meat of the brisket point, you’ll notice just how much fat is marbled into it. The reason we trim the fat layer off of the point is so we don’t have to do it later for burnt ends. Also, we want our rub and bark to stay on the meat for added flavor.
Step 2: Shaping the cut
Shaping the cut is really important for competition, less important for at home grilling. The main purpose of this step is to plan for how your slices are going to fit into your turn in box. But it’s also important for a manicured end appearance of your slices.
Shaping a brisket flat:
For competition, trim the flat parallel to the grain at ~8″ width. This is about the width of slice you need to fill a competition box; measure using an actual turn in box for the closest precision. You can always cut your slices to fit your turn in box after you’ve smoked the brisket. However, you’ll have to cut your bark and smoke ring off in some cases.
Use a knife or a pair of scissors to round the corners of your brisket flat. This gives a more natural end appearance and makes for a more even layer of rub. You can cut the ends of the brisket square if you are short on grill space or want a quicker cook time.
Shaping a brisket point:
After you’ve trimmed the point down to the meat, do your best to square the point up. But don’t go hacking a whole ton of it off, you want enough to turn in and enjoy. By squaring up the point as best as possible you’re going to make it much easier to get uniform burnt end cubes at the end.
If you’re planning on separating your flat and point and haven’t done it by this point. Go ahead and do that now. I’ll cover separating the brisket flat and point in another post.
Step 3: Removing the silverskin
What is silverskin?
Silverskin is the grayish red membrane looking layer over the brisket flat. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but it does not render or soften. In fact, it toughens and can peel off after cooking creating issues with your bark. So you want to remove it when you can.
Use a sharp knife:
Use a really sharp filet or kitchen knife to remove the silverskin. Be careful not to gash the brisket flat or cut off too much of the flat. Starting with a thicker brisket will give you extra wiggle room here. Lay your knife at about 30 degrees to the surface of the flat, gently cut off the silverskin in small pieces. Again, it’s better if your brisket is cold.