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What's with the price of brisket???

What's with the price of brisket???
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  • Post #91 - October 3rd, 2016, 2:49 pm
    Post #91 - October 3rd, 2016, 2:49 pm Post #91 - October 3rd, 2016, 2:49 pm
    JoelF wrote:The only real downside to these prime briskets is that so much fat drips off them, that disposing of the Emil that is the water pan is a real peril.


    Maybe a little trimming before smoking would be in order.
    Steve Z.

    “Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
    ― Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Post #92 - October 18th, 2016, 11:36 am
    Post #92 - October 18th, 2016, 11:36 am Post #92 - October 18th, 2016, 11:36 am
    WillG wrote:Someone who knows a butcher at costco just told me that their beef supplier, i believe IBP, sells them some of their excess prime inventory at a very cheap price but with the caveat that they can only be sold as the whole cut in cryovac and cannot be broken down at all.

    -Will


    In our slow relocation from Chicago to Tennessee, my wife just picked up several prime Costco briskets from the Clybourn location to bring back. They were mixed in with a number of choice ones. She said they have Swift markings on them. I can't find where others have noted this. I wonder if this is a change?

    FYI, they are not available at either Nashville area location. I tried an Excel branded one from a Walmart. The point turned out very nice but the flat was a bit dry. It was only my first try so it could be me not the meat but the flat seemed to have no intramuscular fat at all after smoking. I failed to look for it before.
    Coming to you from Leiper's Fork, TN where we prefer forking to spooning.
  • Post #93 - October 30th, 2016, 4:11 pm
    Post #93 - October 30th, 2016, 4:11 pm Post #93 - October 30th, 2016, 4:11 pm
    Smoked (real wood) the Costco Prime Brisket Friday for 4 hours and finished in the oven.
    14 #'s, smallest I could find.
    Let chill, sliced and then into a slow cooker for service.
    Guys at my Club loved it served with our version of Walter Jetton's BBQ sauce.
    LOTS of both external and intramuscular fat, in fact more fat than even Wagyu briskets I have smoked.
    I plan on corning one for St Pat's Day.-Richard
  • Post #94 - March 27th, 2017, 9:06 am
    Post #94 - March 27th, 2017, 9:06 am Post #94 - March 27th, 2017, 9:06 am
    Time to plan for Passover again. I like the flavor and tenderness of a braised brisket, but think I'm missing something with texture. I wonder if there might be a way to get a crispier crust. Although I often sear first, not sure it makes much difference other than burning up the pan and adding color, since it softens again over the next several hours. With apologies for moving away from the specific title of this thread, here's my question: Has anyone tried searing brisket post-braise? Don't really have time or stomach space for a pre-holiday test run. Thanks.
  • Post #95 - March 27th, 2017, 9:40 am
    Post #95 - March 27th, 2017, 9:40 am Post #95 - March 27th, 2017, 9:40 am
    You might try cooking it uncovered for the last 20 min or so.

    Searing before cooking helps develop flavor.

    Smassey wrote:Time to plan for Passover again. I like the flavor and tenderness of a braised brisket, but think I'm missing something with texture. I wonder if there might be a way to get a crispier crust. Although I often sear first, not sure it makes much difference other than burning up the pan and adding color, since it softens again over the next several hours. With apologies for moving away from the specific title of this thread, here's my question: Has anyone tried searing brisket post-braise? Don't really have time or stomach space for a pre-holiday test run. Thanks.
  • Post #96 - April 3rd, 2017, 11:33 am
    Post #96 - April 3rd, 2017, 11:33 am Post #96 - April 3rd, 2017, 11:33 am
    HI,

    At the Costco in Kenosha, a few miles east of Woodmans on Rt 50, I saw full packer brisket for $2.99 a pound, prime.

    There is no tax on food in Wisconsin.

    Regards,
    Cathy2
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #97 - April 3rd, 2017, 2:46 pm
    Post #97 - April 3rd, 2017, 2:46 pm Post #97 - April 3rd, 2017, 2:46 pm
    Got my regular 6.5# flat brisket at the Costco in Glenview for $4.39/lb in cryovac
    looks pretty good
    should be enough for Seder of 9 with only 7 meat-eaters
    :D
    "If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home."
    ~James Michener
  • Post #98 - September 6th, 2017, 11:59 am
    Post #98 - September 6th, 2017, 11:59 am Post #98 - September 6th, 2017, 11:59 am
    Prime Packers are up to $3.49/lb at the Niles Costco. As recently as 8/10 (last time I saw them there) they were $2.79/lb with a $10 off per package discount so they could be had for as little as ~$2/lb if you got ones on the smaller side.

    So pissed I rode my bike to work that day and couldn't stock up on them...they were gone the next day.
  • Post #99 - September 6th, 2017, 12:20 pm
    Post #99 - September 6th, 2017, 12:20 pm Post #99 - September 6th, 2017, 12:20 pm
    ziggy wrote:Prime Packers are up to $3.49/lb at the Niles Costco. As recently as 8/10 (last time I saw them there) they were $2.79/lb with a $10 off per package discount so they could be had for as little as ~$2/lb if you got ones on the smaller side.

    So pissed I rode my bike to work that day and couldn't stock up on them...they were gone the next day.


    Good to hear they are back in stock. They'd been out for months due to supply issues. Will have to head back and pick some up for the smoker.
  • Post #100 - December 29th, 2017, 11:52 pm
    Post #100 - December 29th, 2017, 11:52 pm Post #100 - December 29th, 2017, 11:52 pm
    Hi,

    This evening at Costco-Mettawa, I was looking at the price of brisket:
    - Flat, choice: $5.99 per pound
    - Full packer, prime: $2.99 per pound

    Astonishing, isn't it?

    Regards,
    Cathy2
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #101 - December 30th, 2017, 8:12 am
    Post #101 - December 30th, 2017, 8:12 am Post #101 - December 30th, 2017, 8:12 am
    I've seen them down to 2.69, and thought I had gone crazy. Now that I've upped my smoker game, if I see them under 3 bucks again, i'll pounce. Thanks for the heads up.
    We cannot be friends if you do not know the difference between Mayo and Miracle Whip.
    Pronoun: That fool over there
    Identifies as: A human that doesn't need to "identify as" something to try to somehow be interesting.
  • Post #102 - December 31st, 2017, 8:28 am
    Post #102 - December 31st, 2017, 8:28 am Post #102 - December 31st, 2017, 8:28 am
    Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

    This evening at Costco-Mettawa, I was looking at the price of brisket:
    - Flat, choice: $5.99 per pound
    - Full packer, prime: $2.99 per pound

    Astonishing, isn't it?

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    Yeah, but I tried braising one of those primes and got a grease pit. Fantastic on the smoker, probably outstanding sliced razor thin for shabu or bulgogi, but was waaaaay too much fat too let it cook in its own juice.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #103 - June 17th, 2019, 7:29 pm
    Post #103 - June 17th, 2019, 7:29 pm Post #103 - June 17th, 2019, 7:29 pm
    Why brisket is more expensive than ever from Bloomberg via Crain's Chicago Business web site.

    Demand for brisket is on fire, sending prices soaring as innovations in grilling make the tricky meat easier to master.

    The beef cut has busted out of Texas and is showing up on restaurant menus all over the country. Meanwhile, advances in barbecue technology allow amateurs to whip up competition-worthy platters in the backyard, creating a surge for demand on both fronts that has pushed U.S. prices to records and defies a broader slump in livestock markets.

    It used to be that home cooks were intimidated by the challenge of turning the huge slabs of meat into smoky goodness. (A full cut can weigh in at 18 pounds or more.) With an electric-powered wood-pellet smoker, you can set the grill to a desired temperature, walk away, and come back some eight to 12 hours later to tender perfection.

    Normally with brisket, “99% of people are going to screw it up,” says Shane Miller, senior vice president of beef enterprise at Tyson Foods Inc. “But if you get a pellet smoker, you’re a hero.” The company recently reintroduced the cut to its customers and found willing takers in some retailers.

    There was a similar surge about five years ago, with one key difference. “This price level is occurring when production is 10% higher than 2014 and 2015,’’ says Bob Brown, an independent market consultant in Edmond, Oklahoma. “It shows that underlying demand for brisket is significantly higher than five years ago.”
  • Post #104 - June 18th, 2019, 6:43 am
    Post #104 - June 18th, 2019, 6:43 am Post #104 - June 18th, 2019, 6:43 am
    Not that it adds to the discussion, but by happenstance over the course of three nights last week I was able to A/B the brisket at Smoque (3800 N. Pulaski) and at Old Crow BBQ (3506 N. Clark). Both dine-in.

    Smoque was fantastic, just about perfect. Old Crow was fair, I've had worse. But the chasm between the two was yawning.
  • Post #105 - June 18th, 2019, 8:07 pm
    Post #105 - June 18th, 2019, 8:07 pm Post #105 - June 18th, 2019, 8:07 pm
    I thought that earlier news reports had also tagged Arby's for contributing to driving up the price of beef by buying up a lot of it for one of their sandwiches. Personally I think that is a better explanation for much of the rise in demand and price than a certain, probably still tiny, percentage of Americans getting pellet smokers and getting better at smoking brisket.
    "Your swimming suit matches your eyes, you hold your nose before diving, loving you has made me bananas!"
  • Post #106 - April 1st, 2020, 7:21 pm
    Post #106 - April 1st, 2020, 7:21 pm Post #106 - April 1st, 2020, 7:21 pm
    With all the chaos in the world, are there any brisket bargains out there?
    Never order barbecue in a place that also serves quiche - Lewis Grizzard
  • Post #107 - April 2nd, 2020, 2:11 pm
    Post #107 - April 2nd, 2020, 2:11 pm Post #107 - April 2nd, 2020, 2:11 pm
    Dave148 wrote:With all the chaos in the world, are there any brisket bargains out there?

    Costco in Merrillville,In had prime packers. I can't remember the exact price but I do recall one selling for 36.00 so they must be fairly reasonable.
  • Post #108 - April 7th, 2020, 9:56 pm
    Post #108 - April 7th, 2020, 9:56 pm Post #108 - April 7th, 2020, 9:56 pm
    Dave148 wrote:With all the chaos in the world, are there any brisket bargains out there?

    I paid $3.79/lb for a prime packer at the Costco in Lincoln Park. Didn't catch the price of the choice flats. Now to figure out how two people will make our way through 16+ pounds of meat :?
  • Post #109 - April 8th, 2020, 10:38 am
    Post #109 - April 8th, 2020, 10:38 am Post #109 - April 8th, 2020, 10:38 am
    I know this question may sound sacrilegious to some of the BBQ veterans around these parts, but here it goes...I have a 23 lb. prime whole packer brisket from Costco (I would have preferred one that was more like 16 lbs., but it was all they had). It is a long wedge shape, so I'm wondering if anyone has any experience cutting a brisket to a more uniform shape - essentially by removing the narrow, likely to be overcooked, end of the flat (using it for another purpose). I'm thinking this would make for a more even cook considering the length of time I'll be smoking this giant hunk of meat on my WSM.
  • Post #110 - April 8th, 2020, 10:45 am
    Post #110 - April 8th, 2020, 10:45 am Post #110 - April 8th, 2020, 10:45 am
    rober wrote:I know this question may sound sacrilegious to some of the BBQ veterans around these parts, but here it goes...I have a 23 lb. prime whole packer brisket from Costco (I would have preferred one that was more like 16 lbs., but it was all they had). It is a long wedge shape, so I'm wondering if anyone has any experience cutting a brisket to a more uniform shape - essentially by removing the narrow, likely to be overcooked, end of the flat (using it for another purpose). I'm thinking this would make for a more even cook considering the length of time I'll be smoking this giant hunk of meat on my WSM.

    Smart idea, imo. Somewhere out there is a very instructional video by Aaron Franklin in which he obsessively trims a brisket. He's not doing exactly what you're talking about but the video might provide some guidance.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #111 - April 8th, 2020, 11:06 am
    Post #111 - April 8th, 2020, 11:06 am Post #111 - April 8th, 2020, 11:06 am
    Thanks very much for the quick reply. How funny -I think seeing Aaron Franklin trimming brisket on the Chef Show with Jon Favreau and Roy Choi may have been what sparked the idea for me!
  • Post #112 - April 8th, 2020, 11:50 am
    Post #112 - April 8th, 2020, 11:50 am Post #112 - April 8th, 2020, 11:50 am
    ronnie_suburban wrote:
    Smart idea, imo. Somewhere out there is a very instructional video by Aaron Franklin in which he obsessively trims a brisket. He's not doing exactly what you're talking about but the video might provide some guidance.

    =R=


    Ask and ye shall receive: https://youtu.be/yaMgt1Altys
  • Post #113 - April 8th, 2020, 12:31 pm
    Post #113 - April 8th, 2020, 12:31 pm Post #113 - April 8th, 2020, 12:31 pm
    BadgerDave wrote:
    ronnie_suburban wrote:
    Smart idea, imo. Somewhere out there is a very instructional video by Aaron Franklin in which he obsessively trims a brisket. He's not doing exactly what you're talking about but the video might provide some guidance.

    =R=


    Ask and ye shall receive: https://youtu.be/yaMgt1Altys

    Thank you, Dave! :)

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #114 - April 8th, 2020, 1:06 pm
    Post #114 - April 8th, 2020, 1:06 pm Post #114 - April 8th, 2020, 1:06 pm
    rober wrote:I know this question may sound sacrilegious to some of the BBQ veterans around these parts, but here it goes...I have a 23 lb. prime whole packer brisket from Costco (I would have preferred one that was more like 16 lbs., but it was all they had). It is a long wedge shape, so I'm wondering if anyone has any experience cutting a brisket to a more uniform shape - essentially by removing the narrow, likely to be overcooked, end of the flat (using it for another purpose). I'm thinking this would make for a more even cook considering the length of time I'll be smoking this giant hunk of meat on my WSM.

    I've never done that, but there are two mitigating factors:
    1) There's so much fat in the Prime whole packers (I've never seen the full brisket in Choice), I've never had them dry out on the flat
    2) I usually pull them off when my second set of coals dies down, whether or not they've reached full tenderness. Chill, slice, put in a pan with a little of what you'd use for wash (e.g. rub plus a tart juice like pomegranate or a little cider vinegar with a sweet juice), cover tightly and drop in the oven for a couple hours. You lose burnt-end crispiness, but it's buttery tender.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #115 - May 31st, 2020, 9:23 pm
    Post #115 - May 31st, 2020, 9:23 pm Post #115 - May 31st, 2020, 9:23 pm
    My beloved Costco prime full packer brisket yesterday was $5.69/lb, up from recent prices of $2.99 to $3.29. They had one trimmed one at $11.99 iirc, and trimmed choice flats at $8.99.
    Ouch.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #116 - December 16th, 2020, 11:53 am
    Post #116 - December 16th, 2020, 11:53 am Post #116 - December 16th, 2020, 11:53 am
    I am getting to smoke my first brisket on a WSM. I am comfortable with the mechanics of smoking - controlling and monitoring smoker and product temp. Basic science with the application of the art of flavor. Gary's books, a youth spent working in the back of restaurants, and the internet provided a solid foundation for growth in the smoking arts.

    I am overwhelmed by the what and where of getting the brisket - full packer, flat, and point. I am comfortable with breaking down meet, but this would be the first time breaking down a full packer. Time and a small work are a constraint. BTW, thanks for the Aaron Franklin video in this thread. https://youtu.be/yaMgt1Altys

    Should I order from a butcher shop? I am enticed by burnt ends. I am going to Reams (noticeably absent on the forum) in the next few days. Should I order a packer and have them, or someone else cut it down?

    Any guidance is appreciated. Once again thanks to Gary, Titus, rubbbqco and everyone else for the inspiration of the decades.
  • Post #117 - December 16th, 2020, 12:25 pm
    Post #117 - December 16th, 2020, 12:25 pm Post #117 - December 16th, 2020, 12:25 pm
    I would recommending snagging one at Costco (if you have one nearby and have a membership). Saw whole prime briskets yesterday at the Glenview location for 2.99lb. They ran around $50 each.
  • Post #118 - December 16th, 2020, 2:25 pm
    Post #118 - December 16th, 2020, 2:25 pm Post #118 - December 16th, 2020, 2:25 pm
    funkyfrank wrote:Should I order from a butcher shop? I am enticed by burnt ends. I am going to Reams (noticeably absent on the forum) in the next few days. Should I order a packer and have them, or someone else cut it down?


    Shhhh... Ream's is a secret. BTW, if you like the pork pinwheels, we prefer to call ahead and have them make them with cheddar instead of American. Good chit.

    And I agree to check with Costco, and I also have a GFS Marketplace by me with reasonable brisket. I probably wouldn't get from Ream's (which is a twice a year trek) or Tischler's which is local to me, as that's just crazy prices in my wallet space.
    Bill-Plainfield
  • Post #119 - December 16th, 2020, 3:29 pm
    Post #119 - December 16th, 2020, 3:29 pm Post #119 - December 16th, 2020, 3:29 pm
    Willkat98 wrote:Shhhh... Ream's is a secret.


    148 post Ream's Thread
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #120 - December 16th, 2020, 3:31 pm
    Post #120 - December 16th, 2020, 3:31 pm Post #120 - December 16th, 2020, 3:31 pm
    I'll add another vote for the Costco prime packer.
    For your first run, don't trim off anything but the biggest, most obvious chunks of fat: It'll take a little longer to finish, but it makes it more foolproof.

    Remember to put foil over the skinny part of the flat most of the way through: you don't want that end to dry out. And I won't criticize you (although GWiv might) if you stop after two 5-hour batches of coals and finish it in the oven -- that's my preference: let it cool down, slice, and give it a couple more hours with some tasty liquid sealed in a roasting pan.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang

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