choosing a brisket


 
C

Chris Hosston

TVWBB Member
How do you guys do it? I can go to Costco and get prime briskets for $2.98 per pound. I also have access to choice and select. What do you guy's buy? I've smoked prime brisket before and have had mixed results. They seem to cook a lot faster than choice. My favorite bbq restaurant here in town uses select and somehow they are the bomb. I don't get it. What would you guy's choose if you had access to all of the above?
 
I get choice packers from gfs. Usually i get the last one so i cant choose. If i can choose i get a 12-16 lber. I in no way consider myself a great brisket cook but there is never leftovers, so my guests must like it. I keep it simple, temp between 230-275, wherever she settles in and cook til probe tender.
 
Prime all day if you can get it that cheap. It really depends on what you like though. If you just really like lean brisket select is fine, but the perfectly rendered fat of a prime point is something to behold, and more importantly to taste! Selects seem like that fat gets rendered too much. Still good. Choice is a good compromise.
 
Now that my Costco has the prime briskets, that is all I will buy. More consistency and the flavor is better.
 
Prime has more internal fat; fat = flavor. The extra fat is also why they cook faster.
Waygu has even more fat, which is why the big boys in competitions choose them to cook. But they aren't $2.98/lb.
 
I have been buying prime for a couple of years. Much better results. I have also been going smaller -- in the 10-12lb range. While choosing one at the store, I usually go for the most flexible one.

Jeff
 
I have done a couple Prime Costco briskets this year -- for my money, I'll be very hard pressed to go back to something else. We separated the point from the flat and cut the flat in half. Came out fantastic. Everyone fought for the scraps and I even thought someone was going to eat the serving dish before the night was over.
 
Wow! That's a great price for prime. Seems like a no-brainer. Around here you can't get choice for that price.

Chris Hosston said:
My favorite bbq restaurant here in town uses select and somehow they are the bomb. I don't get it.
Click to expand...

Brisket is a bit harder to get right than most other BBQ. The optimal time window for taking it out of the cooker is narrow.
 
Carl H. said:
Brisket is a bit harder to get right than most other BBQ.
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True, but recently, brisket has been a piece of cake.
The toughest part of cooking my last four or five briskets was.....

waking early to get it on the WSM.
My next will go on by 6am (my normal wide awake time).
 
Jim Lampe said:
True, but recently, brisket has been a piece of cake.
The toughest part of cooking my last four or five briskets was.....

waking early to get it on the WSM.
My next will go on by 6am (my normal wide awake time).
Click to expand...

Jim, what temp and size do you plan on starting at 6:00 am and how long do you estimate the cook to be before pulling from the smoker?
 
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