Took me 3 shifts to fix my wrap around technique for briskets

I started working at a shop in Portland last month and kept getting ragged on for my briskets. The flat was fine but the point always came out shredded and dry. My boss finally watched me one day and pointed out I was slicing against the grain on the second half, which I had no idea about. Every brisket I'd done for like two years had this problem, and I never caught it because I was rushing through the trim. Took me three full shifts of practicing the same cut over and over to get the angle right without thinking. Now I mark the grain with a small score line before I cook so I don't lose track after the rest. Has anyone else had a basic technique take forever to unlearn, or was it just me being stubborn?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarah_mason22d ago

Watched a buddy spend a whole summer fighting his knife angle on pork butts before he realized he was twisting his wrist on the pull stroke, same kind of muscle memory trap. Scoring the grain before the cook is the smartest fix I've seen, wish I'd thought of that years ago.

david56222d ago

Scoring it before the cook is a solid trick, though the score line can disappear if you wrap too tight.