📺 Original Video: I deep fried a BRISKET in BONE MARROW and this happened! by Guga Foods
📅 Duration: 12:38
TL;DR
- Guga smoked a 14 lb choice brisket for 4.5 hours, then deep fried it in 4+ liters of rendered bone marrow at 300°F for an hour
- The result was absurdly juicy and creamy with a deep savory flavor that everyone at the table loved
- The fatty point was the clear winner, with the lean coming out slightly overcooked but still moist
- Verdict: incredible brisket, but the bone marrow rendering process is so labor-intensive Guga says he’ll probably never do it again
- Side dish of chicken flautas with avocado cilantro sauce helped cut through the richness
The Setup
▶00:00 Bone marrow is the “butter of the Gods,” and Guga has been building up to this moment. He’s used it in sandwiches, burgers, and steak injections before, but today’s the big one: deep frying an entire packer brisket in rendered bone marrow. The goal is simple. Make the best brisket of his life.
▶00:32 The brisket is a 14 lb choice-grade packer with both the flat and the point. Guga’s trimming strategy is smart: he left a quarter inch of fat on the lean flat for protection, but stripped all external fat from the already-marbled point. Seasoning is classic Texas-style, just salt and freshly ground black pepper.
The Process
▶01:18 Phase one: smoke. The brisket goes into the smoker at 250°F for four and a half hours. It comes out with a nice golden bark forming, but it’s intentionally not fully cooked. This is just building the foundation.
▶01:33 Phase two: the bone marrow prep. This is where the real work lives. Guga’s been hoarding rendered bone marrow from previous cooks for weeks. The raw marrow bones get an overnight salt brine to draw out blood, then roasted to render the fat. Even after all that saving, four liters wasn’t enough to fully submerge the brisket. He had to render even more.
▶02:36 Phase three: the deep fry. The brisket goes into a deep container, gets covered with all the bone marrow he has (still not fully submerged), and into the oven at 300°F for one hour. And yes, it actually deep fries. You can see bubbles forming, unlike a confit where there’s no activity. Internal temp hit 185°F, and the meat already felt like butter, which Guga found unusual.
▶03:08 Phase four: the rest. Wrapped tight in parchment paper, the brisket rests in a food warmer at 150°F for a full 12 hours. If you’re keeping score, that’s about 18 hours from start to table.
🧾 Chicken Flautas (Taquitos) — Ingredients
• Chicken thighs
• Salt and Guga’s rub
• White onions
• Lemon juice
• White wine
• Garlic paste
• Jalapenos
• Fresh mozzarella cheese (grated)
• Flour tortillas
• Reserved chicken frying oil (for basting)
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For the avocado cilantro sauce:
• Parsley
• Sour cream
• Avocado
• Mexican crema
• Salt and black pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
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Toppings: Tomatoes, white onions, cilantro
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[See full steps at ▶03:23]
The Tasting / Results
▶07:54 The fatty point goes first, and the reactions are immediate. The meat is so tender it practically falls apart in their hands. Angel nails the description: “It has this oily beefy flavor on top that’s just so good. Kind of feels like the butter of the Gods was on this.” Leo breaks down the flavor profile more technically, calling it “more creamy and more savory” than a standard brisket, with a “deep savoryness” that complements rather than overwhelms. He calls it a “freaking perfect brisket.”
▶09:32 The surprise: it’s not overpowering. Everyone expected the bone marrow to be too rich, but it harmonizes with the beef instead of burying it. Guga points out there’s leftover bone marrow that they’re absolutely not throwing away. That stuff took way too much work.
▶10:20 The flautas get a detour tasting and earn strong praise. The cilantro avocado sauce cuts through the richness of the brisket perfectly, and the crunchy tortilla with soft gooey filling is, as they put it, “knocked it out of the park.”
▶11:23 The lean flat tells a different story. It came out a bit overcooked and more tender than it should be, which is actually a flaw for brisket flat. But here’s the thing: it’s still not dry. The bone marrow bath kept moisture locked in where a normal overcooked flat would have been a disaster. The bark on the lean is more pronounced and flavorful. Everyone still prefers the fatty point, but the lean holds its own.
The Verdict
▶11:54 Guga’s final call is honest: “Will I recommend giving this a try? Yes and no.” Yes because it produced a genuinely extraordinary brisket that he says will stay in his memory for the rest of his life. No because the amount of bone marrow required is absurd, the rendering process is tedious and repetitive, and the cost is through the roof. This is a “once in a lifetime” cook, and Guga flat out says he probably can’t ever make it again. For the rest of us, this is one to appreciate from afar. Unless you happen to be sitting on a ridiculous bone marrow stockpile, maybe just enjoy the regular smoked version and save yourself about 20 hours of work.
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