Walmart Packers

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wmarkw

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
May 29, 2007
331
10
Evans, GA
How are the quality of these packers? Priced at $1.86/lb it's a tough price to beat. My local Sams has flats anywhere from $3.49 to $2.99 a LB. The Sams butcher said that the Walmart brisket is select vs the choice of Sams? Regardless, brisket prices can be crazy and I wouldn't mind going cheap but don't want to waste the time/effort to cook a crapy piece of beef.

Cooking low and slow it should turn out to be pretty good right? Just curious what you all thought.

Thanks.

Mark
 
My experience with them has been great. I think they're really decent quality, compared to what I had been buying from the local butcher for about twice the cost. I noticed very little quality difference, and they were moist, tender and delicious as they should be after about 13 hours of low and slow.

I think a brisket is a brisket in many cases, though I know there are higher quality ones, angus variety, etc. But for your average feed the friends and family BBQ, I have no problem serving up a Walmart packer.
 
Nothing wrong with the packers they sell at Walmart.
Just make sure you look through them, they tend to sell some with HUGE fat caps and others not so bad.
Only place around here I can get full packers is Walmart and anywhere else has trimmed down flats for $4.99lb

Hopefully heading out to Walmart soon to pick up a brisket since it's been a while.
 
I very seldom buy a brisket from there, but I always look when I find myself in there for something else. Occassionally, I will find one I like, but it isn't often enough for me to really turn to them when I need to pick up several or even really consider them as a good source for brisket.

Anyhow, what I was leading up to is, don't rule them out, but don't just buy one becuase they are there and cheap. Check it out like any other meat you are considering purchasing. I won't buy a brisket that doesn't come close to folding in half when I grab it in the middle..........

Just my rambling 2 cents. Try a few and see......if nothing else, you aren't out a lot of money if you don't like them. Most of time choice is going to be better than select........but you can find that select graded gem if you look.
 
I just paid $2.99 a pound for a full 12lb packer. Yeah I know it's expensive but it's from a butcher I trust and it's fresh. This will be my first brisket and I wanted to start out with a known piece of meat.
This way if things go wrong I will have eliminated the thought of " I wonder if it was the Wal Mart meat" This way I know if there are any issues it won't be quality issues.

I used to merchandise on weekends for the Frito Lay company for some extra cash. This gave me alot of exposure to the backrooms of grocery stores and the local Wal Mart. Most people never get to see what goes on behind the walls and most would be pretty surprised.

I used to have a motto "If it goes in my mouth it won't come from Wal Mart" I have softened from that over time. Of course canned goods etc. no problem and their meat is all prepackaged and not cut fresh there but I still have a hard time buying anything more than a package of hot dogs from Wally.
 
In general I hate going to walmart and doing any shopping there, but thats a thing i have against certain kind of ppl that work and shop there. That being said, my last brisket came from Wally World, it was a 17 pound monster, and it was very good after 18 hours of smoking. I will definetly go back again for thier cheap full packers.
 
Our local Walmart does not carry packers, only flats, and our Sams only carries Packers, no flats. I cannot say for sure about select vs choice from either store as we are somewhat limited to where I can get packers from so I get what Sams has to offer. They usually carry two different brands, Excell and National. When we had our restaurant, we have gone with National beef and it has always been good. The Excell brand always seemed to be tougher and not as flavorful. That was based on customer feedback and I personally agree, between the two, National was far better.
Persoanlly, if it we me, I would get the packer, pay the cheaper price and cut it up yourself if you just want a flat, then use the point for those oh so tasty burnt ends
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I may be wrong, but I would think that doing it the low and slow way, one could get away with a "lesser" grade of meat, vs. cooking it over the grill.
 
What I like to do is buy one there and another at say Sam's and cook them together, have not done this for brisket but have for other stuff. It never goes to waste around here.

But anyhow that way I can really tell if there is a difference in taste or quality or I changed something from smoke to smoke.

Just an idea if your going to spend 12-14 hrs smoking $20 extra seems pretty small to me.
 
I have bought enough bad meat from Wal-Mart, don't ever get it there. Would rather pay more than go to that place. Maybe it's just the Wal-Mart around here. Funny how you can see a pack of ground meat somewhere laying and it will end up back in the meat section..
 
After the meat is cooked to your liking,it's all good. I'd rather pay $1.69/lb. than the Sam's price!
I had a friend bring over a Wagu Brisket and I did a Wally Brisket.Same taste,same consistency,same everything.
Unless you want to spend(or have),the money,it all turns out good. The only difference is if you want the prestige. I struggle to get the meat I cook; if you want to spend that much on a piece of Cow,get the cheaper one and send me the difference.ROFLMAO!
Then when you over cook that expensive cut,I can laugh at you for being silly!
PDT_Armataz_01_04.gif

The reason for(in my thinking)slow cooking is for flavor,and it takes time for that to happen.
Get a Wally Brisket,and a Wally Butt,and a Wally Chicken(heck -get some Cornish Hens),and get some little snacks together to "WOW" them.
Then tell them it's your normal Smoke LOL!
Tend your fire diligently,drink a few refeshments and laugh a lot.That's the whole idea of a BBQ!Friendship and fun.
Keep the smoke Thin N blue,but most of all:
SMOKE HAPPY
Stan aka Old School
 
Thanks for the responses everyone. I had a feeling you all would be split on opinions.
 
As much as I hate Waterhead World, when I am forced to go there, I usually check them out. I'll probably break down and try one at some point. Appreciate the conversation on this.
 
If you look closely they are bagged by Excel ... if they are bagged by say national be leary .

a link to read about excel packing http://www.mindfully.org/Food/Meatpa...hirk-Rules.htm

Just open the thing and smell it .. if it smells ok it is ok if it has odor take it back and get a fresh one or your money back .

just shop ALBERTSON'S FOR all of your meat .
 
I totally agree. If you pick the right one with a "normal" fat cap, and you might only find 1 or 2 in the whole pile that fits that criteria where I live, then they smoke up just fine and you don't lose half or more to fat.
 
One thing I noticed was that cooking time seems to decrease as meat quality increased.

By this I mean I was going back and forth between Albertson's packers and full briskets from a local store that has organic beef etc. Price was almost double, but for almost the same result, my cook times were several hours shorter on the organic.

This was pretty much consistant each time, organic beef was several hours short, enough to make noticable difference in finishing time. End product taste being almost the same, it came down to who had the meat I wanted, and whether or not I was trying to finish in time for an event.

I had the same resutls with regular vs organic Pork Butts.
 
If I were catering or cooking competitions, I might go organic, that sounds like a great trade-off. Mostly I cook for the family and friends, so the extra time isn't a big issue for me. I tend to buy the cheaper meats anyways (feeding a family of 6 is costly enough), and Wally's World has been a lifesaver on my Brisket needs. Not so much with the other meats though.
 
Yeah I only go organic now if I have to try and have it done in time for a party. Otherwise I'm just BBQing for me, and the brisket is frozen or for lunches, so finish time doesn't matter much.
 
I've had select fromn Wally and choice from Sams and Costco.
Cant tell the difference. It's really about being able to pick out a good piece of meat as others have stated.

By the way Albertsons has choice grade packers for $1.99 this week.
 
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