Trimming a brisket point for competition BBQ

Burnt ends come from the brisket point, the heavily marbled section that, when trimmed correctly, turns into rich, tender beef cubes for competition turn-ins.

Point meat is forgiving in flavor but unforgiving in texture. If the fat and connective tissue aren’t rendered fully, the cubes will be tight or gummy.

In competition BBQ, the point is trimmed to create uniform burnt ends that render evenly, have consistent height and present cleanly in the turn-in box. Every cut you make here is about improving texture, appearance, and bite.

I usually turn in burnt ends during competitions, but many pitmasters don’t, because they’re easy to mess up if you don’t render the fat and connective tissue properly.

Here is the untrimmed brisket point that we removed from the flat.

If you still need to separate your brisket muscles, start with this tutorial: How to Separate the Point and Flat. It walks you through the cleanest way to follow the fat seam.

If you take a look at the point from the side, you’ll see that the meat in the middle is surrounded by two layers of fat.

The top layer is the thick intramuscular fat seam that sat between the flat and the point. This entire layer must be removed for clean burnt ends.

The bottom layer is the external fat cap, which you’ll trim down to about 1/4 inch.

For the bottom layer of fat that remains, flip the muscle over and trim it so it’s only about 1/4-inch thick.

For competition barbecue, appearance is important. Part of appearance includes uniformity and the point muscle is not uniform.

Lay the meat flat and look at its thickness. One side will have a hump. Take your knife and remove that hump so the full piece of meat is fairly even.

Judges expect each burnt end to be the same height. If the point has uneven thickness, some cubes over-render while others stay tight or chewy.

Then, just like we did with the flat muscle, square up the edges and trim away any excess fat or silver skin from the top.

The final brisket trim results

Once your competition brisket is fully trimmed, you should have a beautifully shaped flat and point muscle along with lots of trimmings that can be used to make beef tallow and ground brisket.

Cube those trimmings up and freeze them until you’re ready to use them at a later date.

Quick Summary: How to Trim a Brisket Point for Competition

• Remove the thick internal fat seam completely.
• Trim the bottom fat cap down to ~1/4 inch.
• Level the hump to create even thickness across the surface.
• Square up all sides for uniform burnt end cubes.
• Chill the trimmed point until ready to smoke.

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