Brisket Question


 
L

Lance G

New member
So I was planning on breaking in my new WSM with a high heat smoked brisket this weekend. My wife took a trip to costco yesterday and I asked her to pick up a brisket for me. When I got home last night I saw a 4.5 lb flat with VERY little fat left on it. I'm not sure I've ever seen a brisket trimmed down this much. I've smoked plenty of briskets in the past but never one that was trimmed like this.

Now to my question...what can I do with this brisket? I'm tempted to try to find another brisket (in manhattan - good luck) that's only been trimmed to an acceptable level, and throw this costco piece of meat on too and give it a shot. Is there anything I can do for it at this point? I'm assuming, because it was trimmed this way, it's what people are requesting. So what are these people doing with these flats? Doesn't seem like near enough fat for BBQ. But maybe I'm wrong?
 
It's perfect for curing into pastrami when it's that trimmed.

If you're really worried about it you can wrap it in bacon, then do your normal HH cook. Even if you just put the bacon on the bottom, it would be OK.

I've done brisket flats from Costco with v. little fat before, and they came out fine. Not as juicy as a full packer or an untrimmed flat, but passable, especially with some homemade sauce!
 
In my area, Costco only carries Choice and above, so if you got a choice that's a good thing.

I would cook it with fat on bottom side and foil with a little liquid (broth, red wine, etc.) when it gets to about 160 or so.

John
 
Yes, it's a choice brisket. So my options are a) cook it as-is - probably less juicy, b) put some bacon on it , or c) foil with some liquid of some type.

Anyone have a decent recipe for some type of liquid to add when I foil? Should it be some type of oil based sauce/liquid?

Didn't think about the pastrami - that makes a lot of sense.
 
You could put bacon on it AND foil. The liquid you add shouldn't be oil-based, there's plenty of fat in the brisket (and the bacon if you add it).

Beer/Wine/apple juice/Beef Broth etc
 
I think the reason that Costco trims so much fat off the the brisket flats, is so customers can use the brisket, for pot roast. Brisket, when done in a Crock-pot, with a couple cans of stewed tomatoes, along with a can of tomato sauce, chopped onions, makes for a very good, pot roast. Good luck on your Brisket smoke, and let us know how it turns out (and take some pics for us too )
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Lance G:
So I was planning on breaking in my new WSM with a high heat smoked brisket this weekend. My wife took a trip to costco yesterday and I asked her to pick up a brisket for me. When I got home last night I saw a 4.5 lb flat with VERY little fat left on it. I'm not sure I've ever seen a brisket trimmed down this much. I've smoked plenty of briskets in the past but never one that was trimmed like this.

Now to my question...what can I do with this brisket? I'm tempted to try to find another brisket (in manhattan - good luck) that's only been trimmed to an acceptable level, and throw this costco piece of meat on too and give it a shot. Is there anything I can do for it at this point? I'm assuming, because it was trimmed this way, it's what people are requesting. So what are these people doing with these flats? Doesn't seem like near enough fat for BBQ. But maybe I'm wrong? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I was at Cost Co today and took a look at the briskets and they had the same type 3-4lb completely Trimmed @ $4.99lb so I went to Smart and Final and picked up a 10lb at $2.09lb!
 
Wrapping your brisket in bacon will do nothing for it but waste perfectly good bacon, and you'll get no bark.
I cook over-trimmed flats often, and they come out just fine. Here's what you do. What little fat cap is left, put that side down on the grate, fat side towards the heat coming up from below. High heat it, till you reach an internal of 150º-155º no higher, then wrap it up tight in foil. Cook till tender and let it rest for an hr. On these high heat cooks, it's a good idea to grab your grill brush and get any bark, fat, or meat off the grate before setting the foiled meat back on the grate. The gunk that's left has a tendency to stick fast to the foil, and when you go to lift up the foiled meat, it tears open the foil and all the juice runs out into the water pan.
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Flats I get at BJ's and a local grocery store, both @ $2.99lb. Packers I get at Super Wal Mart for $1.78lb.
 
The secret to Costco is that you have to ask the guys at the meat counter for the untrimmed cuts still in cryovac. They carry whole briskets, whole chuck rolls, and 2 pack pork butts, but they don't put them out in the case. They only put out the stuff they cut or trim.

Just ask, and you will receive. I'm currently cooking 21 lbs of chuck roll I bought on Wednesday.
 
Despite the lack of exterior fate, the brisket actually turned out fine from a juiciness standpoint. But I never could get the heat where I wanted it so it didn't turn out to be especially tender. It was edible.

I don't think I used enough charcoal in my first smoke in the WSM. Probably needed double to get the heat to where it needs to be. Oh well...we were having people over for dinner (not the brisket) and my wife wasn't happy that I was tinkering with the new smoker so I rushed things a bit. But I have a better feel for how these things work now. I'll probably fire it up again next weekend, if not sooner.
 
Bryan, arent the packers at Super Wal-Mart usually USDA Select?? what kind of results have you been achieving from them?

I've been tempted because of the price on them. May have to look at Sams and see what they have since I've switched over to mostly using Costco but like Sams for the bone in shoulders and packer briskets.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom Raveret:
Bryan, arent the packers at Super Wal-Mart usually USDA Select?? what kind of results have you been achieving from them?

I've been tempted because of the price on them. May have to look at Sams and see what they have since I've switched over to mostly using Costco but like Sams for the bone in shoulders and packer briskets. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
To be honest, I find very little difference, most times none at all from the Wally packers to choice flats when I get them at BJ's or Stauffer's when they have them on sale for $2.99lb. It's just hard to pay $2.99lb. when I can get a packer at Wally World for $1.78 Been using the Wally packers for 7 years now, and never had a bad one yet, so I keep using them.
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I High Heat them, haven't done a low and slow brisket in a few years. I'm with Craig, they are fine in my book.
 
Thanks for the USDA choice vs select comments. I picked up a Select for my first (HH) brisket cook last weekend. I was surprised at how well it turned out, tender to point of pulling/falling apart -- actually rested it in the foil longer than intended. (Have since read how to handle this situation -- rest foiled, then cool off and warm up later.) The texture was much like prime rib.

The one thing I would expect with Choice is finer marbling. So, maybe a juicer/fattier bite, rather than the tender, but lean bite? Would that be true?
 
So I assume from this conversation that I shouldn't waste any time looking for a better deal on packers than $1.99/lb for USDA Choice at my local supermarket?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave from Denver:
So I assume from this conversation that I shouldn't waste any time looking for a better deal on packers than $1.99/lb for USDA Choice at my local supermarket? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

pretty much. the quality of a brisket doesnt make much difference. price and how good you are at cooking it are pretty much all that matters in briskets.
 
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