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10 replies

My briskets are too fatty

FM Former Member
Got this question via email and thought it would be a great topic, not one we see often.

What are your thoughts? I'll add mine a little later.

quote:
Thank you for being willing to field questions from the inquiring ones.

I continue to have issues with my briskets finishing too fatty. The
smoke and spice flavors are just to our liking and the tenderness is
also good. The briskets are simply too fatty within the meat. This
is almost like smoking a well-marbled steak.

As per your suggestions, I am using "choice" grade briskets,
untrimmed. My last brisket was purchased at Target, cryopacked,
Choice grade, 11.5 lbs. I smoked for about 19 hours (greater than
the prescribed time of 1.5hrs/lb. as I prefer a little longer cook
time to achieve greater tenderness... but am willing/ open to find
more tenderness by other routes.) The fat cap was up with small
amount of the flat tucked in to fit the brisket into the top shelf of
the Smokette to smoke over pecan chunks at 225 degrees. I did not
flip. The brisket was was finished to 190 degrees, monitored by a
digital thermostat.

When finished, this brisket had the fat cap scraped off and the meat
cut against the grain. Upon slicing the brisket after letting it
settle for about 45 minutes, the meat revealed "marbling" and much
grease (not just juice.) It did not acheive the appearance of the
pictures of Brisket 101 on the cookshack forum.

I believe that fat gives it much flavor and also keeps the meat moist
during the smoking. I am not looking for brisket that is dry and
COMPLETELY devoid of fat. I simply do not want fat marbled within my
brisket. I have also attempted to decrease the fat by separating the
flat and point and trimming the fat cap. This seems to just leave me
with dry meat again reflecting the fact that fat is a "good thing."

I really to various restaurants, including my favorite - Bad Brads in
Stillwater. Their briskets are served exactly how I would like mine
to turn out. Good smoky flavor, tender, with very little fat within
the meat and not greasy. I have inquired to the cook there about how
he gets his meat to finish like they do. He states that they do not
trim them and simply slow-smoke them with the fat cap up. That's all.

Am I messing up by buying my meat at a big box store? Should I buy a
lesser quality meat that has less fat on it/ in it?

Any tips would be very well appreciated!

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

T taktezTo err is human, to smoke is divine.
Usually the point end of a brisket can be fatty but the flat will be lean. Are you saying that the flat was fatty as well as the point? I've never had the flat come out too fatty, in fact I try to pick briskets that have a well marbled flat. I've even done prime briskets and never found the flat to be fatty. My personal feeling would be to never sacrifice quality of meat grade to accomplish a goal. The answer has to be somewhere in your technique.

Now the point is a different story and most of the guys here like to measure the internal temperature in the flat then when it reaches their target temperature remove the brisket from the smoker, separate the point from the flat and put the point back in the smoker to make burnt ends. This will remove a lot of the fat from the point.

The really good cooks can gage doneness by instinct as well as temperature. They'll poke with a finger, stick the thermometer probe in the meat in several places to make sure it slips in freely and that the internal temperature is at target in all places. They'll also visually inspect the condition of the meat.

Has this been a problem in every one of your briskets? If only one or two maybe your probe has been in fat rather than meat thereby throwing off your temperature reading. Have you checked the accuracy of your thermometer by using the boiling water test? Sometimes that can be a problem.

Other than the above, I don't have any other observations but I'm sure some of the really good brisket cooks like Smokin' and Tom will chime in soon and give you further enlightenment.
T tomMember
I'm no expert,but like the good cooks above said.

Unless you are cooking Kobe/Waygu, it probably isn't done at 190º.

Cook one to about 205º- 210º in the flat,take it out and separate the point,and put point back in for another 2-3 hrs,until about 210º-215º.

If you don't wish to bracket it,you can go up in small increments.

If it is overdone,cook it 5º less next time.

Pay close attention to how it feels when you run the probe thru it,or try to pick it up with a meat fork.

Cook three ,or five more this way,and you should be close.
FM Former Member
I as well as you generally by the Choice brand excel packers from Target as they are .60 cents cheaper than Sam's select. I usually look for one that bends with ease and has a thick flat. I have never had one that has had fat in the actual flat. There is usually a good layer of fat in between the flat and point that I usually just scrape away upon seperation. I cook my flat to an average of 190 but have removed some at 185 and let some go to 195 depending on how easy my probe slides in.

I will then cut as much good meat as I can from the point and I save the rest of the point for beans and flavoring for other dishes where the fat will render on down and melt away.

I have always got good sliced brisket from my flats like this. Although some have been better than others the results have been fairly consistent.
FM Former Member
I got a 14lb packer from a butcher a few months ago that was mostly point. Had a little flat in it. It was before I knew what do do with a point and at the time I considered it a very fatty brisket. I only used that butcher once and was not happy with the other meat I got there either.
FM Former Member
Guess my question is similar to what's been said, some great points so far (that's why I posted it, we have some great members here who can assist; that's why i like to answer via the forum so everyone can help).

Can you tell if we're talking about the flat or the point. There basically are two sections to the brisket and I've never seen a flat with fat like you describe, but it DOES sound like the point.

Brisket 101 has some photos if that helps.

Let us know
FM Former Member
I am wondering if I have had bad luck with the briskets I have been buying lately. Maybe too thin of a flat or too much fat over the flat.

TaktEZ - Good question about the probe being in the fat rather than the muscle. I doubt that this has happened every time but it likely has happened at least once as I have never concerned myself with probe position. I'll be much more careful. Otherwise, I believe that my probe is okay as I have done a boiling water test and it was within a couple of degrees.

Wheelz/ Tom, will follow advise about being willing to allow meat to finish another 5-10 degrees higher than I have before. I also like the idea of getting to know how the brisket feels with probe insertion or picking it up with a meat fork. This will be something that I will need to learn the feel of but sounds like it will be a good tool. Thanks for the idea.

mjlepak- Thank you for the tips on selecting a brisket. The flex idea is great.

Smokin'- I know that there is a flat and a point and that the flat is our "slicin' brisket" with the meat portion of the point kept for other uses. I think that this is where I have been failing. I have not been doing this but instead have been attempting to scrape as much of the fat away from the whole brisket, then slicing it. I need to separate the two muscles. After studying the "Brisket 101" I realized that I was not separating the brisket after reaching temp because towards the top of the text, it had mentioned not to typically separate the muscles until after reaching temp. Towards the bottom, it does have photos of how the brisket looks separated but it doesn't mention how to separate the meat. I am not terribly smart and so I have repeatedly failed to complete this step. Mind you, this is my fault for not really paying attention and not the fault of the author.

Although I believe that this entire thread has boiled down to a very basic error on my part that should have been realized earlier, I have learned a lot about selection of the meat as well as smoking technique. This thread has been very helpful. Sorry to make ya'll work so hard, but I really appreciate your time.

-MM
FM Former Member
No worries MM, that's the reason I posted, there is a LOT of help here and the basics are hard to teach over the internet, but teach we can.

Keep practicing. I think you're buying the right stuff.

For the brisket, use the 101 photos to learn the "anatomy" of the brisket, then when it comes time to slice after cooking, you'll know what you'll looking at. And you don't HAVE to separate them, that's just one method. Since you mentioned "fatty" you probably should go with that method.

Around here, all my friends prefer that Fatty section (point) over the flat, probably just cooked a little longer
T tomMember
In KCBS comps,the brisket is the final of the four different products that must be presented.

Often, said to separate the real cooks from the wannabees.

As mentioned above,try a few more,take good notes.

It can't be explained,like the process of boiling water.

Folks feel it is expensive,but try cutting and risk mistakes.

You can always make hash,stew,chili,etc.

Most cooks get to where thay can turn most packers into acceptable dining.

The quality of the meat may control your finished product,more than anything you can cook.

Here is another good presentation,that works well with Smokin's 101,that I haven't posted lately.

Brisket Selection and Prep

[Here is another fun "virtual brisket" presentation that allows you to manipulate all the different views of the action,while it is being discussed.

After you have done a good job on Smokin's Brisket 101,this may also clear up a few points.

Actual Virtual Brisket Presentation

Don't get hung up in approaches to a different cooker.

Look at and profit from the presentation.
Last edited by tom

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