Brisket trimming clicked for me after a year of messing it up

I watched this old timer at a shop in Austin trim a packer in like 4 minutes flat. He left a perfect quarter inch fat cap and shaped the whole thing into a football. I tried copying him the next day and ruined a $90 brisket at home. Three months later it finally started making sense after I slowed way down and stopped trying to shave off every little silver skin spot. Anyone else have a trimming style that took forever to get right?

2 comments

2 Comments

amymason3d agoTop Commenter

Did you ever go back and watch that old timer again after you figured out your own method, or did you just write him off as a lost cause?

brookep273d ago

The first time I watched a video of Franklin doing it I tried to copy his exact knife angles and ended up with a mangled hunk of meat with a hole right through the fat cap. What finally clicked for me was realizing I needed a sharper knife. Like a new one every brisket sharp. I use a 12 inch victorinox and run it on a steel every single slice I take off. Also I stopped fighting the shape and just let the brisket tell me where to cut instead of forcing it into a perfect football. Those little patches of silver skin are fine to leave alone if they're not real thick.