How much does trimming help (Butts & Briskets)?

[Bamabuzzard]

This maybe a dumb question but what is the benefit in trimming the fat on butts and briskets? Does every butt and brisket need to be trimmed out of the wrapper? Does it help consistency in the cook or something?

[darkoozy]

Never trimmed a butt. You need all the fat to keep moist and if you wrap you will render some goodness you add back into the meat after its been pulled.

Brisket always trim the fat cap to 1/4" and removed tons of "hard" fat that wont render, and helps even out the cook.

[Bludawg]

First & foremost is less gunk in your pit & shorter cook times. On a brisket I trim fairly aggressively because I want it to be as close to the same thickness through out this make it cook even and it eliminates pooling. Butts I remove the fat cap and the false fat cap for more bark. The false fat cap since it has some meat in it I cure in to salt pork. Bear in mind you don't have to trim a thing especially if you get the more expensive Market trim briskets Me I aint paying someone to 4.00 a lb extra I'll trim my own and put the savings in the beer fund.
Before
http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/Bludawg51/Brisket%20tutorial/DSCF0034.jpg
After
http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/Bludawg51/Brisket%20tutorial/DSCF0039.jpg

[Garrett]

There's enough fat inside of a butt to keep it moist with out the fat cap on it. You will many different opinions on this. With that said, I remove the the fat cap on butts so I can increase the amount of bark on the entire exterior and once it's cooked and ready to pull, I don't have to mess with it. There's not a right or wrong way, just what works for you. Briskets I will trim the fat cap to about 1/4 inch thick, again it's less to mess with once it's cooked.

[Burnt at Both Endz]

A butt has so much internal fat, that trimming the cap to add bark isn't a big deal. Keep in mind, that some smokers that has a more direct fire approach, may benifet from having the fat/insulation between it and the fire.

Briskets don't have the internal fat that butts do, so a different approach is sometimes taken.

Do one both ways and see what works for you.:wink:

[DaveAlvarado]

Butts I don't trim.

Briskets I take off the nasty looking end where it went through the band saw (the end you can see in Bludawg's pre-trimmed pic), I cut out some of that big pocket of hard fat between the flat and the point, and I cut off that weird flap of meat on top of the point if it exists. That's about it.

[Brew n Que]

I trim briskets to 1/4" fat cap. This way, there is a thin band of fat that makes the flat slices taste superb. As much as I love well-rendered fat, I can't stand huge gobs of it, and I don't want to scrape it all off and lose all that bark and flavor. So, it makes the most sense to me to trim before cooking.

[aawa]

I trim all the hard fat off my brisket and the big hunks of the deckled off that I can get too. I leave the fat at about 1/4in on the flat to protect it from drying out.

Pork butts I trim very aggressively and remove all the fat that I can get too. Pork butts have plenty of interconnective tissue and marbling that renders out to keep the pork butts nice and juicy even though I have trimmed all the fat off. I do this so that I get more bark and lose less seasoning because I take out the globs of fat from the pork.

[dadsr4]

It takes heat energy to melt that extra fat. Call it extra fuel. Plus, if you are going to dispose of it anyway, removing while it's cold in the kitchen is just easier. Just leave what you are going to eat.

[thirdeye]

I leave enough fat on to act as a heat shield when I'm smoking in my drums, and a little less when I'm smoking in my Eggs since I use a ceramic heat deflector.

When cooking hot-n-fast, like my briskets, I remove the kernal of fat between the point and flat along with any hard fat and any of the shiny membrane on the outside face. I still cook butts at low pit temps, but the ones I have cooked hotter turn out more greasy if I don't trim them close.

[MarleyMan]

There's enough fat inside of a butt to keep it moist with out the fat cap on it. You will many different opinions on this. With that said, I remove the the fat cap on butts so I can increase the amount of bark on the entire exterior and once it's cooked and ready to pull, I don't have to mess with it. There's not a right or wrong way, just what works for you. Briskets I will trim the fat cap to about 1/4 inch thick, again it's less to mess with once it's cooked.


I follow this school of thought as well. More Bark is where it's at...hell look at my team name :becky:

[oldbill]

First & foremost is less gunk in your pit & shorter cook times. On a brisket I trim fairly aggressively because I want it to be as close to the same thickness through out this make it cook even and it eliminates pooling. Butts I remove the fat cap and the false fat cap for more bark. The false fat cap since it has some meat in it I cure in to salt pork. Bear in mind you don't have to trim a thing especially if you get the more expensive Market trim briskets Me I aint paying someone to 4.00 a lb extra I'll trim my own and put the savings in the beer fund.
Before


I trim briskets to 1/4" fat cap. This way, there is a thin band of fat that makes the flat slices taste superb. As much as I love well-rendered fat, I can't stand huge gobs of it, and I don't want to scrape it all off and lose all that bark and flavor. So, it makes the most sense to me to trim before cooking. These pretty much sum it up, I trim my fat caps down to 1/4 or less so that the fat renders and adds to a great bark. The thin layer of fat marries up with the rub and smoke to give an awesome texture and flavor!:-D

[bbqgeekess]

I trim most of the fat cap off my pork butts and they turn out very moist.

[pjayt]

Never trimmed a butt. You need all the fat to keep moist and if you wrap you will render some goodness you add back into the meat after its been pulled.

Brisket always trim the fat cap to 1/4" and removed tons of "hard" fat that wont render, and helps even out the cook.

That's exactly how I do it :-D