Tried to save a brisket by trimming it cold and it was a disaster

I was in my shop last Saturday morning, around 7 AM, pulling a packer out of the cooler. I thought I could save time by trimming it while it was still firm, but I ended up gouging the fat cap in three spots and missing a whole patch of silverskin. My coworker Mike came in an hour later and pointed out that cold fat just tears instead of cutting clean, and the meat won't lay flat on the board. He made me watch him do one on a room temp brisket, and I swear his cuts were smooth as butter. Has anyone else had better luck trimming straight from the cooler, or am I just being impatient?

2 comments

2 Comments

mason_jackson14d agoMost Upvoted

Yo dude absolutely the same thing happened to me last month. I was rushing to get a brisket on before guests showed up and thought cold trimming would save time but I just ended up hacking the fat cap to pieces. Room temp is the way to go, the knife just glides through the fat instead of catching and tearing.

tylerr2914d ago

Yeah man cold trimming is the worst, I feel your pain there. Nothing worse than fighting a cold slab of meat when you're already in a rush to get the smoker going.