I finally figured out why my brisket always stalled at 165

I was down at the Franklin Barbecue pit in Austin last month and watched Aaron Franklin himself trim a packer brisket. He took off way more fat than I ever did, like a full 2 pounds, and I thought he was being wasteful. The guy next to me, a pitmaster from Lockhart, said that extra fat just melts into steam and creates a mess that stalls the cook. So I tried it on my Smokey Mountain cooker after that, trimming it down to a quarter inch cap. My brisket hit 205 in 10 hours flat with barely any stall, and the bark was way better. Has anyone else tried trimming more aggressively and seen faster cooks?

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nancy_green3mo ago

I read an article once from Meathead at AmazingRibs where he said trimming too much fat off a brisket actually helps the bark form better, not just the cook speed. That Franklin guy seems to really know what he's doing with the way he trims down to that quarter inch. I'm gonna have to try this on my next cook, I usually leave way too much fat on there.

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leo6033mo ago

Man it's so easy to fall into the habit of leaving a big fat cap on there, thinking it's protecting the meat. That quarter inch trim from Franklin really does make a difference, I learned that the hard way after a couple of greasy cooks. Makes total sense that less fat equals better bark, I'm definitely trimming more on my next brisket too.

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