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Trimming your brisket can easily be done. You might even choose to trim your brisket yourself. You will want to have some fat or marbling on your brisket as this will be where you get your juices from.
Too much fat makes it hard for the smoked flavoring to reach the meat though and may cause your brisket to lack the smokey flavor that you desire in your brisket. If your brisket has too little fat this can cause your meat to be dry after smoking.
Will Costco Trim A Brisket ?
Costco briskets are trimmed prior to sealing. Costco offers prime cuts of meat, which means there will be some marbling in the meat, which is a good thing when it comes to smoking a brisket. The marbling will help your brisket to be moist and tender.
Choosing the best brisket can be key to your end results. You will want a brisket that has at least one inch flat so that the flat doesn’t become dry and tough while cooking. Smoke your brisket on a low heat and smoke it slowly. A slow cooked brisket on a low heat will help you create a brisket that is moist, juicy and tender.
How To Get Costco To Trim Your Brisket
Once you’ve selected your brisket, speaking to the butcher on duty can help you get your brisket trimmed. You can tell him how you’d like it and he can trim it up for you. Remember that you don’t want to remove all of the fat from your brisket, so that you’ll have plenty of juices during your cooking time to help keep the brisket moist.
Some of the fat can be trimmed away if you choose as it can keep your brisket from absorbing the smoke into the meat, leaving your brisket with a bland taste. The fat and the marbling are a benefit to cooking a really good brisket that is moist and tender.
Getting A Pretrimmed Brisket
You can purchase brisket trimmed or packer style. You can also purchase it whole or split. With packer style the fat is in contact on the meat. It has not been trimmed prior to packaging.
Briskets can come in a variety of sizes, which range from 4 pounds up to 18 pounds. If you are going for a trimmed brisket, you will want to make sure that you trim the fat the night before you are ready to smoke it. Once it’s trimmed, at your rubs or seasoning, this will allow the brisket to absorb the flavors of the seasonings. A layer of fat about 1/4 inch thick is ideal for creating a moist and tender brisket.
How Much Extra Do You Have To Pay?
When purchasing a trimmed brisket, you may find that you pay anywhere from 3 to 5 dollars per pound difference. That can be a very substantial amount of difference.
Choosing a brisket that you can trim yourself, may save you a good deal of money. Buying a packer brisket and trimming your own fat could be well worth the savings. You don’t want to trim too much fat off because it can help keep your meat juicy during the cooking process.
Benefits Of A Trimmed Brisket
Cooking a trimmed brisket can help your meat to have the smokey flavor that you are looking for in your brisket. A trimmed brisket can offer a more consistent cooking throughout the brisket. Trimming a brisket properly so that you have just enough fat to flavor and protect the meat is going to help the brisket to taste better and to be juicer.
When using a trimmed brisket, you can season your brisket the night before cooking. This will allow your brisket to absorb the flavors of the seasonings into the meat. If your brisket has too much fat on it, it can keep you from getting a good bark on the brisket.
Disadvantages Of A Trimmed Brisket
There are some disadvantages to cooking a trimmed brisket. One thing to consider is that if you have too little fat on your brisket, your meat can become dry during the smoking process. The fat helps to hold moisture in the meat as it is cooking, so that you have a brisket that is moist when it’s done.
Fat can also add flavor to the meat as it cooks and a brisket that has been trimmed too much can dry out during cooking, especially on the flat. You may not get the bark that you are looking for if you choose to cook a brisket that has been trimmed too much. You want to make sure that the brisket you choose has just enough fat and marbling so that you are happy with the way your brisket turns out when you are finished smoking it.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.