A Connecticut Costco Question


 
I get sad trimming fat off my Costco briskets but you don’t want any of that thick nasty fat anyway.
I heard they have trimmed briskets in Texas I’d love to see what that’s all about.
 
Jeff Boudman said:
Some plants are still closed, supply chains are bottle necked, and restaurants are fully open. Pretty much the perfect storm.
The price of cf chicken wings has exploded.
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...as well as the price of corn has increased, the trucking industry has a shortage of drivers, diesel costs are higher, and drought conditions all have contributed to the higher costs for meat.
 
Just got back from my local Costco - for those in the San Diego area - mine was the Poway location.

There were about 12 prime whole packers out ranging in weight from 10lbs to over 20lbs. All had a lot of fat cap. Flats were tapered in thickness - all were kinda thin at the smallest part.

The one I picked was 13.42lbs - good striations of fat on the top side and some nice marbling was visible from the side. But - a lot of fat to trim; maybe 4-5 lbs. :(

At 5.99/lb mine was $80.39 before tax

But - at least I've got one for the 4th! I'll start a different thread about my cook - a bit nervous as my last couple of briskets were not to my liking.

Good luck to all of you doing brisket for the Holiday weekend!!
 
Costco has been a good source. But.... no more 3.49 prime packers, nor 4-5 dollar flats.
And yes, the pickings have been slipping lately. Large packers, untrimmed. Huge fat layer..... the flats are no better. And now 599 and 899... nope.
 
Interesting. I am in MD and I will check the quality of briskets on my next Costco visit. I have found that my local Harris Teeter's choice cuts of beef approach the prime quality at a reduced cost. This weeks special is boneless ribeye at $10.99 a pound. HT does not carry too many briskets, TriTip, or tomahawk beef ribs but the quality of the choice cuts is better than decent.
 
Tom_Sykes said:
Interesting. I am in MD and I will check the quality of briskets on my next Costco visit. I have found that my local Harris Teeter's choice cuts of beef approach the prime quality at a reduced cost. This weeks special is boneless ribeye at $10.99 a pound. HT does not carry too many briskets, TriTip, or tomahawk beef ribs but the quality of the choice cuts is better than decent.
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My local HT has a large selection of quality meats. They carry dry aged beef, too.
Boston butts are currently $1.29 a pound.
 
I've pretty much sworn off any beef but ground until this madness calms down. It has gotten insane. I noticed the same overly fat capped briskets at my Costco and they are $5.99 now. At Wegman's, Angus Tri Tip is $16.99/lb, Angus filet $38.99. They can shove those where the sun doesn't shine, I'm not buying. I need to eat more chicken and fish anyway. :D
 
JimK said:
I've pretty much sworn off any beef but ground until this madness calms down. It has gotten insane. I noticed the same overly fat capped briskets at my Costco and they are $5.99 now. At Wegman's, Angus Tri Tip is $16.99/lb, Angus filet $38.99. They can shove those where the sun doesn't shine, I'm not buying. I need to eat more chicken and fish anyway. :D
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Sure makes the sales at Creekstone Farms look good. Bought three Prime Tri-tips from them for $74 two weeks ago.
 
Got a nice prime packer from the Brookfield Costco the week before for fathers day @ 4.99/lb. Got it early for fear of not finding one when I wanted it. Next week, right before FD, the pickings were slimmer and they were $5.49 a pound. It was a little over 13#s and I trimmed it to a little over 10#s so about three pounds of fat.
 
Same packer situation in Central NJ. My go-to is the Costco in North Plainfield, which normally has prime brisket for $3.49/lb. I’ve gotten various sizes over the last year or so (including a 20 lb monster that turned out great), but all have required a ton of trimming. Week before Father’s Day, I picked up a 12 lb. packer for $5.99/lb. Last one they had. Stuck it in the freezer for another day. Hoping prices normalize somewhat!
 
Bruno said:
I get sad trimming fat off my Costco briskets but you don’t want any of that thick nasty fat anyway.
I heard they have trimmed briskets in Texas I’d love to see what that’s all about.
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Bruno, check out the YouTube vids of making tallow. If you trim off 3-4lbs of fat at almost $5/lb that is $15-$20. I put it in my Instant Pot for 1.5 hours and had great Tallow. I froze some and kept the rest out and used it for frying, mixing with leaner chop meat, lubing my grills, any where you use oil or fats. I use it on all the cast iron grates and pots. I just finished my last batch and am bummed out. I looked at the Costco Briskets and at 18lbs and about $5 /lb I decided not to buy and wait. I talked to the butcher and they either have choice flats or prime packers and I think they were close in price. Throwing out the fat is a real waste of $$
 
I would HIGHLY recommend getting connected with a local farmer/rancher and buying a 1/2 beef or whole beef at a time. (2-400lbs of take home beef off a 1300-1500lb animal) They will give you a price on the hoof which you will pay and will deliver it to a butcher shop. I've done this twice now and around here it averages about $4 lb after processing. The farmer/rancher makes more $, the processor makes $, and you save a TON on beef. The processor will butcher the cow to your specifications and any good one will dry age the meat at least 14 days before processing :) You'll have all the meat you could want :) Great processors will also be able to take some of the ground beef and make bratwurst or hotdogs out of it for you.
 
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