Prime vs choice brisket

[scamper]

Hi Jeff and gang of smokers,

I bought a prime brisket from Costco. I was amazed at the thick layer of fat the butchers left on it. I trimmed as much as I could and then smoked it for 14-hours.

It turned out to be delicious and tender but again, the amount of fat rendered out in the cooking was huge. In the end I doubt the amount of edible meat was half the weight of the brisket.

My question is should I just stick to choice grade and avoid the fat battle?

Scamper

 

[dr k]

Hi Jeff and gang of smokers,

I bought a prime brisket from Costco. I was amazed at the thick layer of fat the butchers left on it. I trimmed as much as I could and then smoked it for 14-hours.

It turned out to be delicious and tender but again, the amount of fat rendered out in the cooking was huge. In the end I doubt the amount of edible meat was half the weight of the brisket.

My question is should I just stick to choice grade and avoid the fat battle?

Scamper

No, I would stick with the prime. I saw trimmed prime briskets at Costco @ $10.00/lb. and you can see the flecks and streaks of marbling in the meat much more than USDA Choice. The untrimmed was @ $3.00/b. That intramuscular fat in the flat keeps it juicy and flavorful. That's the key.....fat in the meat. Not many places offer USDA Prime and if I can get it at that price I'll make a special trip. The whole prime packer didn't appear to have a larger external amount of fat other than the deckle on all packers. Check them over next time to see if it was a fluke.
-Kurt

 

[paulr44]

If you cook an un-trimmed brisket, just be aware of temps when inserting your thermometer. Brisket has a really big fat area that will read easily 30 degrees less than the meat area when sampled. I made that mistake once, and it was a learning experience, as it was overdone. I found no reason to have a huge mound of fat in my brisket, so I trim it. This is one of the best examples I've found for trimming...