What Is a Marbling Score for Beef

When choosing a brisket for smoking, it's important to know how to identify quality meat. Knowing what to look for in a brisket will give you the best chance of having a delicious, juicy and flavorful brisket. Marbling is an important quality to look out for when selecting a brisket, so I did some research and found out everything I could about marbling.

Marbling in brisket is one of the most important features to identify when selecting a brisket for smoking. Marbling is the fatty striation in meat that looks similar to a marble counter. If a brisket contains good marbling, then it's more likely to be juicy and full of flavor. When choosing a brisket, select a brisket point rather than the flat because the point contains more marbling.

What is Marbled Brisket?

Marbled brisket is the fat striations in the meat. If the meat has good marbling, the flesh will have lots of fatty lines throughout. In simple terms, meat flesh is muscle, and the marbling is the fat mixed in and between the muscle. When a piece of meat has zero marbling, only the red flesh is visible. If your brisket nice marbling, it will be juicier and have more flavor.

Brisket Marbling: Does It Really Matter?

When cooking a brisket over a long period, the fatty marbling in the meat flesh will melt and render into the flesh, making the meat more flavorful and juicy. If you choose a lean brisket with no marbling, then there's a good chance it may dry out over the long cook, even if you do everything else right. In order to smoke the perfect brisket, you need to get all the elements right. You need to control your smoker and maintaining the right temperature; you need to mop the meat periodically; you need to wrap the brisket in foil; and you need to give the brisket enough time to rest. However, most people don't pay enough attention to brisket selection. If you choose the wrong brisket, you have lost the battle before it has even begun.

Is Marbling Good or Bad?

Marbling is good if you don't have an issue with some fat in your diet, however, if you're on a low-fat diet, marbling is probably not a good thing for you. If you're on a lean diet, you should select meat without marbling. Lean meat will have hardly any white, fatty lines in the flesh. However, if fat isn't an issue, then marbling is a good thing. Fat is where the flavor is, so when thin lines of fat are mixed into the flesh, it will make your meat taste delicious.

A lean brisket won't have as much flavor without the marbling, and it may dry out. But that doesn't meat, it can't be good. If you get all the other elements right; the rub, the wood, the smoke, the basting, the wrapping, the temperature, and the resting, your brisket should still be delicious. Just don't expect to win any competitions.

What are USDA Beef Grades?

Independent meat inspectors are responsible for grading meat. When grading meat, inspectors consider the age of the animal and the intramuscular fat content. The lowest quality of meat is USDA Standard and USDA Select. When choosing meat for smoking, buy USDA Choice, or USDA Prime. Upwards from there are Wagyu and Kobe grade beef.

USDA Prime will have marbling that is clearly visible. This grade of beef is described as being from young, well-fed cattle and is usually served at restaurants. USDA Choice has less marbling than Prime, however, this grade of beef is still high quality. USDA Select is lean and tender, but has a low marbling score, therefore will have less flavor.

What is Marbling Score?

A marbling score is a way to measure the amount or fatty striations within the meat. A marbling score of 13 is the highest and 3 is the lowest. The lowest grade of beef is USDA Select, which has a low marbling grade. A higher quality beef such as USDA Prime will have a much higher marbling score and a large amount of fatty lines within the flesh. Quality Wagyu will have a marbling score close to 13 in most cases.

What to Look For When Selecting Brisket

• Lots of marbling (fatty striation)
• Buy the highest grade you can afford. USDA Choice, USDA Prime or Wagyu.
• If buying a half brisket, choose the point (the thicker, pointy end).
• Make sure the top fat layer (fat cap) isn't too thick. Most of the fat will need to be trimmed and end up in the bin.

How to Choose a Brisket for Smoking

When choosing a brisket for smoking, look for a piece of meat with lots of marbling. Learning how to identify meat with a high level of marbling is an important skill.

The other thing to consider is the fat cap. When preparing a brisket for smoking, most of the fat on top of the brisket will be removed. The fat cap doesn't have much influence on the tenderness or juiciness of the meat, however, you don't want to be paying for something that's just going to end up in the bin.

Buy the highest quality meat you can afford. If you can afford Prime, Choice or Wagyu, then you will increase your chances of smoking a tender, juicy and flavorful brisket. If you buy USDA Select or unlabeled beef, then there's a good chance that it's going to turn out tough, no matter how well you control the other elements in the smoking process.

The brisket has two parts; the point and the flat. The point is the thicker, narrow part and the flat is the wider, thinner section of the brisket. The butcher will either sell the brisket as a whole piece, or cut it in half and sell the point or flat separately. If you have the choice, buy the point because it's a much better cut of meat.

Wagyu Brisket

Wagyu is a Japanese breed of cattle and produces meat with the highest marbling score, more than any other grade of beef. Wagyu beef has a high percentage of intermuscular fat, so a brisket in this breed will melt in your mouth and be full of flavor. Wagyu is also the most expensive, so a whole Wagyu brisket will cost you an arm and a leg.

Angus Brisket

Angus beef is full of flavor and is one of the highest quality breeds of cattle. If you can find an Angus brisket, you won't be disappointed. Certified Angus Beef (CBA) is a common brand of Angus that is available in the US. CBA is USDA Prime or USDA Choice.

Extra Tips: How to Smoke a Tender Juicy Brisket

Marbling and the quality of the meat is often overlooked when people are choosing brisket. You can do everything else right, but if you have low quality meat without marbling, then there's a good chance it will turn out chewy or dry.

1. Choose the highest quality meat you can afford.
2. Select a brisket with a high marbling score.
3. Keep the temperature of your smoker under 220°F.
4. Baste the brisket every hour prior to wrapping.
5. Wrap the brisket in foil or butcher paper at 150°F.
6. Cook the brisket to an internal temperature of 203°F.
7. Rest the brisket for 2-4 hours after cooking.

My Favorite Brisket Tools

Thanks for checking out this article. I hope you learned a few things. Here are some of my favorite tools I use when smoking brisket that may be useful to you. These are affiliate links, so if you decide to purchase any of these products, I'll earn a commission. But in all honesty, these are the tools I recommend to my family and friends who are just starting out.

Meat Injector: Injecting meat is a great way to take your barbecue to the next level and help you make competition-style brisket. An injector is the only way you will be able to get flavor and moisture into the middle of the meat. The Beast Injector is a stainless steel injector that is sturdy and affordable. Check the latest price on Amazon here.

Brisket Marinade: The best injection solution on the market is the Butcher BBQ Brisket Injection. This marinade is used in competitions and is made by World Barbecue Champion pitmaster, Dave Bouska. You can find the marinade on Amazon here.

Butcher Paper: Wrapping brisket in butcher paper has become a huge trend in barbeque thanks to Aaron Franklin. Wrapping your brisket in paper will give you a nice brisket bark. However, you can't just use any old paper, it has to be unwaxed, food grade paper. You can find it on Amazon here.

Brisket Rub: These days I make my own rub when possible, but I always have a few pre-made rubs for when I'm running low. Barbecue guru Malcom Reed produces Killer Hogs, one of the best brisket rubs I've found over the years. Another great rub is Slap Yo Daddy, made by brisket master and multiple World Barbecue Champion, Harry Soo.

Meat Thermometer: There are dozens of fancy thermometers on the market, but I still use my trusty TP20. For around $50, I have a high-quality meat thermometer with two probes, and can track the temperature of my smoker with one probe, and my meat with the other probe. The ThermoPro TP20 is an Amazon Best Seller because it's the easiest thermometer to operate, is durable, highly accurate, and comes with pre-programmed meat settings.

Instant Read Thermometer: Arguably, the second most important tool you need is a fast and accurate instant-read thermometer. These tools play an important role in the latter stages of the cook when the meat needs regular checking in multiple areas. I use the ThermoPro TP19 because it can do everything a ThermaPen can do, but for a fraction of the cost. You can check out the TP19 on Amazon here.

Advanced Thermometer and Automatic Temperature Controller: Once you're ready to take things seriously, the FireBoard 2 Drive is a six-channel Bluetooth/Wi-Fi thermometer that can monitor up to 6 pieces of meat, control and graph your cook sessions on your smartphone, and attaches to an an automatic blower that will convert your charcoal smoker to a set-and-forget. This is one of the most advanced meat thermometers on the market. You can check it out on the FireBooard website here.

Related:

More Brisket Articles:

Can You Finish Brisket In The Oven? (The Secret To Overnight Cooks)

The Brisket Rub Guide: Recipes From The Experts (Plus The Top 5 Best Pre-Made Rubs To Buy)

How to Get Bark on a Brisket

Should I Brine a Brisket?

Basting Brisket While Smoking

How To Spritz Brisket – The 10 Best Liquids For Smoking Meat

How To Get Tender Smoked Brisket Every Time

Tough Chewy Brisket? Here's Why

Smoking Brisket The Day Before – Can You Serve The Next Day?

Dry Smoked Brisket? Here's Why

How To Smoke A Brisket Flat

Should I Smoke Brisket Fat Side Up or Down?

What's A Brisket Point? The Ultimate Flat vs Point Comparison

How Long Should I Rest Brisket?

Brisket Leftovers: The Best Way To Reheat Brisket

solleydrestle1980.blogspot.com

Source: https://meatsmokinghq.com/marbling-on-brisket/