Franklin's brisket class changed my whole approach to trimming fat

I went to the Franklin BBQ class in Austin back in March and everyone there was raving about leaving a quarter inch fat cap. But I watched Aaron trim his brisket down to almost nothing on the fat side and thought it was crazy. I tried it his way on my last cook and the bark came out WAY better than before, no chewy fat spots at all. Has anyone else gone against the common advice and trimmed way more fat off than people say to do?

2 comments

2 Comments

janac591mo ago

That fat trimming thing is wild once you actually see someone do it in person. My buddy Rick from work always bragged about his "perfect quarter inch" and I followed that for years until I messed up one time and sliced too deep. That brisket ended up being the best one I ever made. Now I pretty much do the Franklin thing where I trim it so thin you can almost see the meat through the fat. The bark gets this almost crackly texture that reminds me of the crunchy bits on a pork belly. It's weird how going against what everyone says actually works better.

eva_ward881mo ago

Oh man, same thing happened to me after I watched a video of him doing it. I used to be super careful about leaving that quarter inch but the fat just never rendered right for me. Tried going almost completely bare on the fat side and it was a total game changer. The bark on mine got this deep crusty texture I could never get before.