Is this Brisket? Perhaps Brisket from a small cow?


 
D

DavidT.

TVWBB Member
Hi everyone!

I have been reading and experimenting with briskets and ribs for some time now... during my 2 visits to the USA, I was fortunate enough to try some great barbecue (admittedly it was in California, but for someone who had never had barbecue before, it was terrific!). As soon as I arrived home, I ordered myself a WSM and have since been smoking my fair share of foods and absolutely love the results!

Anyways, enough babbling :). My issue is this.. it seems that both the beef here and pork here (I will post the pork ribs issue at a later date) in Australia is both smaller in size and named differently. For starters, when you ask for Brisket, you get this nasty thin piece of meat which is half leathery fat (you know the type of fat I mean... the dry leathery stuff) and half diaphram meat (see pics below). I believe they are not giving me the meat from the forequarter, but from further down the steer (e.g. the diaphram or underside meat).

To see the different classifications of beef brisket here in AU, look at the following links:
http://www.mla.com.au/NR/rdonlyres/B4C5217F-4AF6-45A7-B...huckbladebrisket.pdf
http://www.ausmeat.com.au/custom-content/preview/ham/pdf/Beef.pdf (look at cut 2320 on page 2)
http://www.samex.com.au/beef.php

In addition to this, all of the briskets I have bought and trimmed to vaguely resemble USA briskets have weighed at MOST 2.5kg (~5lb). The closest I have come is one from a kosher butcher and that weighed in at 3kg (~6lb), however, most of the kosher briskets I have found consist of the flat only, and they weigh in at only about 1.3kg(~3lb) !!

My question is this, looking at the photos of the 3 briskets I bought below, do you agree that I am indeed buying briskets as they are known in the USA, but they are both smaller in size/weight, and also include the underside of the steer attached to the brisket?

Thanks!









By the way, when I ordered from 3 different butchers, here is exactly what I said to them:


Hi there,



I was hoping you could help me... I have recently moved back to Sydney after having visited the USA and whilst I was there, I had the opportunity to enjoy slow smoked barbecue beef brisket.



However, upon arriving back in Sydney and trying to source a whole beef brisket, I have been met with many strange looks and butchers unwilling to try to help me. When I have found brisket, it has been either a totally different cut (in Asian butcheries, it is a very thin skirt/flank-steak like piece with an equal layer of fat), or a MUCH smaller (or "incomplete") cut than those which I purchased it in the US.



The cut I am looking for is described in extreme detail on this page: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/brisketselect.html and in the US is referred to as a "beef brisket, deckle-off, boneless".



It is a whole, untrimmed beef brisket with deckle off (where the deckle is the fat and muscle that attach the brisket flat to the rib cage). It consists of the Point end and the Flat end (the superficial pectoral muscle/supraspinatus AND the deep pectoral muscle) and usually weighs about 5.5kg. All briskets I have found here in Sydney have weighed less than 1.5kg and usually consist of just the flat portion.



In addition, I believe the brisket should come from a steer as opposed to a yearling to get the size/weight and flavour I am used to.



Would you be able to help me obtain this cut? I have attached more pictures of the cut I am after to help you identify it.



You can also interactively view and rotate the cut I am looking for on these pages:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/virtualbrisket.html

http://bovine.unl.edu/bovine3D/eng/ShowSubPrimal.jsp?pr...77958&subprimal_id=3

http://bovine.unl.edu/bovine3D/eng/ShowSubPrimal.jsp?pr...primal_id=1056398623
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">My question is this, looking at the photos of the 3 briskets I bought below, do you agree that I am indeed buying briskets as they are known in the USA, but they are both smaller in size/weight, and also include the underside of the steer attached to the brisket?
th_CIMG0632_resize.jpg
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Several pics, especially the one remaining above, look like what I would call brisket the has been butchered with an eye towards making ground meat from it, rather than creating an actual brisket roast. To answer your question, "sort of".
 
David,sorry man,that doesn't look like the brisket I cooked yesterday. Better luck next time. Maybe you could get your butcher to use the internet to cut you a good texas style briket. HTH
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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 Doug D:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">My question is this, looking at the photos of the 3 briskets I bought below, do you agree that I am indeed buying briskets as they are known in the USA, but they are both smaller in size/weight, and also include the underside of the steer attached to the brisket?
th_CIMG0632_resize.jpg
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Several pics, especially the one remaining above, look like what I would call brisket the has been butchered with an eye towards making ground meat from it, rather than creating an actual brisket roast. To answer your question, "sort of". </div></BLOCKQUOTE>



This looks like Tri-Tip
 
I know this is a dumb question but I have to ask.
They do make corned beef and pastrami in AU? I would try and follow that trail to the full packer.

Another rambling thought are there any butcher shops that break down their own meat? If you could find one of those and use a chart of US cuts on what you want to cook that should help.

Skinney ribs for baby backs buy the loin with the bone in and cut them yourself.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tim Harris Sr.:
This looks like Tri-Tip </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm seeing a small flat, with grain running SW-NE, with a ragged piece of point still hanging on by a vein of connective tissue at left.
 
just a guess, but I think aussie beef is mostly grass fed (where here it is grain fed/finished). In my limited dealings with strictly grass fed beef, I noticed a big size difference in the cuts. They could be small briskets, but they certainly don't look like any I've seen.

The good news is briskets aren't the only part of a cow that likes to be smoked. Find a new part (if there are any that haven't been tried yet) and I'll be the first to name the recipe after you.
 
Tim: Definitely not Tri-Tip, this cut is not tender and is from the side/under/front of the beast, not the rear.

Paul: Yes we have corned beef, but it is made from silverside/topside.

j biesinger: Most of our beef is grain fed/finished, grass fed is the minority.

The other thing I cant get my head around is the size... you guys often speak of 12lb briskets being an average size, whereas my briskets which are even longer (contain even more of the cow, going further back) weigh much less... my research doesn't indicate that we slaughter steers at any different weight/age than you guys in the US, so perhaps I am getting too much of the wrong end of the brisket - the meat moving back down the cow instead of the bulky end at the front.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">so perhaps I am getting too much of the wrong end of the brisket - the meat moving back down the cow instead of the bulky end at the front. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

that would make sense, could it be a subprimal plate and or flank. look for cuts in there that resemble skirt, flank and or hanger. the plate is supposed to have some ribs, which you don't have, but there seems to be some evidence that there might have been some in a pic or two. I can't give you much help on this because the only cut from this area that I find and use are flank steaks. They tend to be flat and rectangular shaped (maybe 20 cm x 10 cm x 1 cm) and are fairly lean with lose grain running long ways.
 
Could be the boneless portion of the plate?

For the meat in the brisket at the top/front most end, looking at the meat cut charts, should I be aiming for the meat above the foreshank or next to it?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Could be the boneless portion of the plate? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

the top row of pics and the second from the bottom sort of resemble rib meat, that's why I suggested the idea that they came off the rib bones.

I can't believe you can't find somebody there that knows about this part of a cow. Does every brisket in Australia get turned into hamburger before it makes it to a butcher?

I'm thinking your best bet is to explore the kosher angle. at least you can hone you brisket skills on those little flats so you'll be ready when you encounter an actual packer.

good luck, enjoy the summer, I'm looking forward to ours, its only about 5 months away.
 
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/virtualbrisket.html

i would print out several of these pics and go to your friendliest butcher and talk to him with these. australian beef cutting is probably different than in the the US. he at least will probably help you trim out and cut the aussie version to a do-able size for your grill.

the way the meat is cut is not going to affect the results much as long as the thickness is not too extreme.
 
j biesinger: I wish I could continue with the kosher briskets, but they are outrageously priced... $15/lb !!
 
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