How to carve a brisket for maximum tenderness

[psoltesz]

Hey y'all,

For those of you smoking briskets, here's a good video showing the proper way to carve a brisket after it's done.  Most people don't know that the brisket is composed of two separate "plates" of meat, the point and the flat.  And most importantly, the grain of the meat runs in different directions for each.  This video walks you through the process of separating the plates before carving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGAP1DG_Vs8

Enjoy!

   - Phil

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[afratki]

Great video for a newbie like me, thanks for sharing.

[psoltesz]

Sure thing!  Also, this method only applies when you buy a whole, untrimmed (packer cut) brisket.  A lot of places sell just the flat cut of the brisket, which obviously only has the grain running one way.

  - Phil

[UWFSAE]

Hmm ... all that beautiful bark (and some of the palatable fat) going to waste?  Admittedly, not everyone likes fatty brisket but I think he went way beyond the pale.  Also, maybe it's a Texas thing but butcher paper is more useful (and less inky) for the actual carving.

That being said, I think that the concept of separation and matching the grain of the plates is entirely sound but I think he's wasting some serious flavor ...

[Spresso]

Seriously.
This is how NOT to carve a brisket.
What`s wrong?
-trimmed it after smoking.....   should have done it before you apply your rub and smoke it.   You are THROWING away the bark!!!
-Newspaper.... really???
-Some of teh fat is the tastiest parts!!!  I was like man don`t throw it away...I`d eat the scraps!!!
-then proceeded to cut tiny pieces of meat, not nice long slices....

wow.

[psoltesz]

Yeah, in retrospect, this may not have been the best video, but it does call out the importance of separating the plates before carving, which is the point I was making when I originally posted it.

And to be fair, he does say that you can remove or leave as much fat as you want.  I usually leave much more fat/bark on the finished product than he did.

I have no excuse for the newspapers.   

  - Phil

[Spresso]

Sorry,  I did not mean to come across so judgmental but the first thing I saw made me cringe when he threw away the nice bark....
Actually my wife would like it to be trimmed this way. The rest of my family likes a little fat on their meat. including my 5 yr old son :-)

[UWFSAE]

Fun story on this subject ... I went up to Dallas for my annual Cowboys game/pilgrimage and we always go play a round at the Dallas Cowboys Golf Course and then hit Randy White's Championship BBQ up in Frisco, TX for some decent chow.  When I ordered the brisket from the guy at the carving station he asked me in broken English what cut I wanted and I replied, "Give me the deckle cut, please."

Of course he replied, "You want brisket ... Fatty?".

I'd have stormed out in mock anger at the laughter of my golf foursome but you don't waste an opportunity for good 'Q.   

[DivotMaker]

Fun story on this subject ... I went up to Dallas for my annual Cowboys game/pilgrimage and we always go play a round at the Dallas Cowboys Golf Course and then hit Randy White's Championship BBQ up in Frisco, TX for some decent chow.  When I ordered the brisket from the guy at the carving station he asked me in broken English what cut I wanted and I replied, "Give me the deckle cut, please."

Of course he replied, "You want brisket ... Fatty?".

I'd have stormed out in mock anger at the laughter of my golf foursome but you don't waste an opportunity for good 'Q.   

Haha!  I can see myself in the same situation!  That's good stuff!  I can think of so many replies to that question!  Bahahahaha!  Wish I'd have been in your foursome!

[DivotMaker]

Seriously.
This is how NOT to carve a brisket.
What`s wrong?
-trimmed it after smoking.....   should have done it before you apply your rub and smoke it.   You are THROWING away the bark!!!
-Newspaper.... really???
-Some of teh fat is the tastiest parts!!!  I was like man don`t throw it away...I`d eat the scraps!!!
-then proceeded to cut tiny pieces of meat, not nice long slices....

wow.

Looks like you've been beat up on this already, Zed, but I have to say that I enjoyed the video because I enjoy the meat flavored by the fat - but not the fat itself.  Pork fat?  OK.  Beef fat?  Yewwww.  I, too, find trimming the fat cap after the cook to be the best option.  The meat is flavored, regardless if the fat is left on or not.  Enjoy the juicy, succulent meat without the fat.  ...to quote Jack Sprat...

[Spresso]

Joe that was a funny story . Seriously funny. I can see myself in that situation.
But I got the number3 for weight reduction remember? 

and Tony.
I won`t eat the whole fat but even cow fat tastes good.  Especially the well done outside parts.  My son always asks , Daddy where is the fat? Can I have some fat?  and he is 5 
The inside I don`t mind trimming at all.
I like to have a slim  1/4 inch fat on the meat. but not the huge fat piece between the cap and the flat. In fact if you trim that prior to cooking, you can place rub in between there too....
That`s just how I do it......

[DivotMaker]

Never tried trimming between the deckle and flat; gonna have to try that!  And, yes, I agree a little fat is okay on brisket - just not the big 1/2" thick hunks.     I'm also going to try scoring the fat cap on my next one.

[Spresso]

It`s a little more work up front but you only have as much fat left as you want. And really do you need that much fat to begin with.  I like to have a thin layer all around if possible.
You can even remove the fat in between all together and replace it with duck fat 

[TexasSMK]

Thanks for that video.  I would have made that rookie mistake if you had not posted

[Pork Belly]

This is not how it's done. Franklin shows the proper way in one of his videos he did for PBS I believe.