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After 20 years of trimming fat cap before smoking, I finally tried leaving a half inch on and it made the brisket noticeably juicier.

I always thought you had to get it down to a quarter inch like my dad taught me in the 90s, but a pitmaster in Kansas City told me to try a thicker cap and wrap in butcher paper, anyone else have an old habit they broke that really paid off?

2 comments

2 Comments

sullivan.abby9d ago

Funny you mention the butcher paper thing, that was the exact habit I broke too. Switched from foil to pink butcher paper about four years back and it let the bark set way better while still keeping things moist. I also stopped trimming every last bit of fat off my pork shoulders, just left a solid layer on and it made a huge difference in how tender the meat turned out. Some of those old rules we learned really are worth questioning after a while.

kim_hart79d ago

Nah man, I went the opposite direction. I got talked into leaving more fat on a packer once and ended up with greasy, flabby bites that never rendered right. @sullivan.abby I hear you on the paper vs foil thing but I've gone back to foil for the last 6 cooks because I got better moisture retention and the bark still came out fine if I let it rest long enough unwrapped. Trimming fat is about consistency across the whole flat, not just leaving a thick blanket on top that melts into a puddle. I'd rather work with a clean trimmed brisket and inject it if I need moisture than gamble on a fatty slab that might turn into a mess.