Angus Brisket?

[cigar smoker]

I went out looking for my first brisket Sunday. Walmart had packers. The smallest was 14lbs. It's twice the size of what would fit on a rack in my MES. They were select grade and looked nasty but I've never seen a brisket before. $1.86 a pound. I decide to go to a meat shop across town. They hand me a beautiful 7lb. choice grade angus beef flat. Just the right size and it didn't need any trimming. Has a 1/2 fat cap covering the top. $3.99 a pound. I bought it. Did I screw up?

 

[eman]

Did you screw up? No.
Would i have done the same ? No
A packer brisket is not a good looking slab o meat. I will only buy packers as to me it's a waste of time to smoke a brisket and not have burnt ends.
A packer means ALOT more work and smoke time for you. But IMHO it's well worth it.
Good smokes!

 

[raceyb]

Not necessarily. With the select cut, you would of had to brine or inject a lot of liquid into the meat and cooked with a water pan to ensure enough moisture was retained by meat.

The choice cut on the other hand should contain enough marbeling that adding moisture should not be necessary.

Most brisket recipes and techniques call for injections and adding moisture to the meat. I suspect that had you asked a butcher at walmart, they would have cut down a brisket for you.

I think you paid too much for the brisket. That is only my opinion, but $4 a lb is high for the toughest part of beef on the steer, whether it is choice or select. Both cuts are going to be tough.

Next time try the Select cut and inject it, marinate and mop it and you'll end up with just as good of a finished product for less then half of the cost.

Please provide us with Qview when you cook it.

 

[beer-b-q]

I think you did okay... Anything less than choice is not real good in my opinion...

Here is a link to the USDA grading chart...
http://meat.tamu.edu/beefgrading.html

 

[evo 9 guy]

No you didn't screw up. The price is on the higher side of the spectrum but if its cooked right you will be very happy with smoked brisket.

 

[eman]

(I suspect that had you asked a butcher at walmart, they would have cut down a brisket for you.)
Over here in La. Wal mart doesn't have butchers any more . all the meat comes in pre packaged and pre wraped. who knows how long it's been sitting ? That's the reason i don't buy meat at wally world any more

 

[raceyb]

Yeah, I couldn't do that either then.

 

[smokingohiobutcher]

Exactly!! Thats why the prices ars so cheap they don't pay for those overpriced butchers no more!

The reason you paid 3.99 is because you got a flat.Its a packer with the point and all the fat trimmings cut off the top side. The butcher has to charge more for the loss of wieght. Some of the point he can use in his ground beef, but not much. Oh and becuase he probably has a wife and kids to feed too.

 

[meat hunter]

No you did not screw up. I have done flats before, but I definitely prefer a nice big nasty looking packer LOL. Enough fat on them to trim the way YOU like, not what a butcher thinks is good. And the point, ahh the point. You are missing out on some of the best stuff, burnt ends. Now that 14#'r you said was twice the size of the rack on your smoker? Thats justification right there to buy a bigger smoker LOL.

 

[mballi3011]

Lets see you got a brisket that will fit in your smoker and when you smoke it you will enjoy the food and have fun smoking the meat too. So you are asking if you screwed up if this doesn't answer it for you then I suggest that you read it again and if needs be a third time.

 

[crockadale]

I prefer the packer, all that great sliced meat and you can have burnt ends or pulled beef from the point. Like others said $4.00 is a litle high.

 

[mike91mr]

You did exactly what I would have done, and paid about what I usually pay. I've always missed out on burnt ends, but I would rather buy a good chunk of trimmed meat. I also don't like buying my meats from Walmart for reasons already mentioned in this thread.

Cost is all relative. $4 for brisket may be on the high side, but $4 for beef is cheap. I get excited about the fact that I can eat tasty, juicy, tender beef for only $4 a pound!

 

[oldschoolbbq]

I don't buy the expensive cuts,Angus , Prime ,whatnot. I'm going to cook the Poo out of it and will tender it up anyhow, so why spend that hard earned 'Scratch' on the high end? Sorry, SOB, I buy my Brisket at Wally World , it's a Budget thingy.Man , the Flank was GREAT!THANKS!

As for dryness and marinating; I know some people inject and brine and do all kinds of things with Brisket,but being the 'Purist' I am,I keep it simple(KISS) method. S/CBP no injection,no brining and fat side up.It's just my way and it works. I have good moist meat and all the flavor I'm looking for- so why fix it if it isn't broke?
JMHO,have fun and,

 

[smokester]

hey, cigar
The suspense is killing us... SHOW US THE QVIEW...
We want to know DID YOU SCREW-UP????

you know you didn't

 

[psychobrew]

Brisket is about the only cut of beef I will buy from Walmart (I stay away from anything injected with anything, unless I inject it myself). I used to buy higher quality flats from the grocery store or the meat market, but I found there was no difference between the two in taste or tenderness (except for the exceptional flats from one local meat market, but I'm not paying $5 a pound for brisket very often and they don't have convenient hours). I just don't think there's much difference between grades of beef after you cook the snot out of it. The extra size helps keep the meat more juicy when you cook it too, but it does make it harder for the smoke to fully penetrate.