Cryovac Brisket with brown patches?

[ScottyB]

I went to the Sam's Club in Freehold, NJ today to see if their meat offerings were different from my nearest Sam's Club. They had a good number of prime briskets that at first glance looked bright red and fresh. Upon closer inspection however I noticed that they all had brown patches mostly along the sides of the meat. The cryovac packaging was intact on all of them. I've never observed this before in meat that had been properly refrigerated or that had not gone bad. I decided to pass on buying any until I got some other people's feedback as I haven't bought that many briskets as yet. Is my hunch correct in that these briskets have started to go bad?

 

[Scott Hollister]

It's from oxidation and totally natural for meat to brown when exposed to air, so my guess is there was an air pocket. Your nose would tell you more, but my guess is that it would be just fine. If you've ever age a rib roast you will see a lot of that... A thin trim will reveal the red color you desire.

 

[timothy]

I've seen gray or brown before, like Scott says its natural.
https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/brisket-selection-preparation/

 

[ScottyB]

Thank you! The link was especially helpful.

Why Is The Edge Of The Brisket Discolored?​

In this photo, you’ll notice that the edge of this brisket is discolored, sort of a brown color, while the rest of the brisket is bright red. According to Jeff Savell, Professor in the Meat Sciences Department at Texas A&M University, this is a common condition that occurs as a result of processing at the slaughterhouse.

“The reason for this discoloration is that this edge of the brisket is exposed when the carcass is split into sides, and these sides have various antimicrobial treatments applied to them such as organic acids (lactic acid is the most common), hot water, and/or steam pasteurization to destroy potential pathogens,” says Savell. “The application of these acids and/or heat will denatured the color pigments in the meat causing this graying or browning appearance to develop.”

Savell says these treatments have been applied to briskets since the early 1990s and that there’s nothing unhealthful about the discoloration. You can leave the edge as-is or you can trim it off—it’s up to you. I didn’t trim it off on this brisket, but in recent years it’s become my habit to trim off the discolored edged.