• Pre-Step: Refrigerate the brisket

  The brisket needs to be refrigerated and ice-cold when we begin for best results.
  

Square The Long Edges

• Start with an ice-cold brisket, fresh from the refrigerator. On your cutting board, start with the fat cap side down and the bottom of the brisket up. You will find placing a damp kitchen towel underneath the cutting board prevents it from moving.

  Remove a strip of the gnarly looking meat on both long sides of the brisket. This is made up of irregular ragged edges, silver skin, and fat deposits. Trimming the sides flat creates even airflow and better smoke penetration.

  When you're done you will see that the two longest sides are straight lines, giving it a more uniform shape. Save these brisket trimmings.
  

Remove The Hard Fat and Fat Seams

• With the bottom side of the brisket facing up, you will see a protrusion of hard fat that rises above the rest of the brisket meat. Use your sharp boning knife to carefully carve this fat away as it is too thick to render down. 

  Next, remove any fatty membrane deposits or silver skin because it will prevent good bark formation. You’ll often see a thin, shiny layer of connective tissue (silver skin). Slide your sharp knife just under the thin layer and peel it away. This step ensures rub adheres directly to the red meat.
  

Trim the Fat Cap

• Flip the brisket to the fat facing up. On the fat cap side, you’ll see a thick layer of fat that we can trim slightly. (This step is superficial for pellet grill users as we smoke our briskets fat side down to protect the meat from radiant heat), but you can still trim to give yourself good practice.

  Shave it down until you have about ¼ inch of fat remaining across the meat surface. This is enough fat to baste the meat as it renders, but not so much fat that bites are greasy. Avoid leaving sharp edges of fat—round them off so the brisket cooks evenly without curling.
  

Round The Edges

• Trim off sharp edges from the long sides and ends of the brisket. This improves airflow during the cooking process and prevents burnt tips. At this stage, your brisket should look smooth and uniform, with a consistent fat layer and clean meat surface.