Overpriced Brisket Sound Off


 
A

Alan Fink

TVWBB Member
OK, so in preparation of a weekend brisket cook, I made my call to the butcher down the road. I have ordered from him before. I have always known he charges more. But he is a little shop with great cuts of meat. They are always very busy there, and make much of their money from meats seasoned and prepped for easy cooking as opposed to guys like me getting the stuff bulky and unprocessed.
But today I called, asked if he could get untrimmed packers. No problem was the reply. Then I asked the cost. I almost dropped the phone when he said $6.95/lb! Paying for service is one thing. Paying three times what it should cost is just flat out wrong. Went over to costco, talked to one of the butchers, and he had packers, pork butts, tenderloins, and a ton of other meats available. They looked great. I feel bad ditching the local butcher, but I will leave him to the yuppies buying spinach stuffed chicken breasts for 5 bucks a pop and go save $50 on ONE BRISKET.
Sorry..not so much of a question here...just sounding off.
Alan
 
In a desperate world there always seems to be a buyer. But at $7 a pound, even that old saying takes a wash.

I'd bring him some samples of your cooked brisket, or anything else that you may smoke in the future, as a token of your appreciation in past dealings.

He probably has a lot more margin in the yuppie stuff though. I'll stick with Sams.
 
Yeah...it will be hard to go back there after fleece pricing like that. I don't mind paying for quality, but when someone tries to soak me for $70 for an untrimmed brisket, it makes it hard to do business there.
 
Alan,

I hear you bro. Finding a supply of packers this year has been causing me SOOO much angst. I've got 6 months to figure it out before next years competitions start. I've 'butted' heads a couple times with local butchers over the brisket thing. For a town known for its meat, Chicago isn't exactaly the place to get briskets, at least at retail outlets. I don't have access to some of the wholesale outlets available. Keep sounding off. Might not make any difference, but someone might hear you and have a great solution.
 
Your Costco has packer briskets? Ours does not, and when I asked (on the phone to the butcher department) he stated no Costco carries untrimmed packers.
 
Joe,

Nice to know I am not alone. I am going to stop by Costco tomorrow and try for a packer. I will post the outcome on this thread, as well as the cost. It is near my work here in Bloomingdale...not too terribly far from Naperville. I didn't really look at the packers there today, as the butcher said he had several (In the back...not on display), and I was on a lunch break and didn't think 10+ pounds of meat sitting in my car all day was such a hot idea
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Paul: The butcher I spoke to said they had them. I confirmed with him that they were untrimmed, point still attached? He assured me they were. Guess I will know for sure come purchase time. I will post the outcome here.
 
Paul:

You were absolutely right. When I went back to Costco after work, I was told all they carry are the flats. So the quest goes on....
 
Alan, were you talking to someone at the shop that actually knew what they were talking about? The reason I ask is every time I go to my local guy and I don't talk to him directly (I might get his wife or his nephew that works there, etc...), I get quoted the wrong price. The first time I went to get a whole packer, they charged me 1.89/lb. The second time they wanted 3.99/lb. I asked the kid that was helping me to double check and I'm glad I did. I wound up paying 2.29/lb. The third time they were closer but this time it was 2.99/lb. I asked again if it was right and again I wound up paying 2.29. The butcher told me that they were getting confused between the prices for trimmed, untrimmed and flats. 6.95 a lb is totally out of the ballpark unless they're selling you kosher flats, which go for 10.00/lb around here!
 
Went to a butcher shop where they do there own slaughtering. Wanted $5 a lb for brisket and had there corn beef in the display case for $3.50 a lb. go figure.
 
So I now have contacted Meijer, Super Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco, Dominick's, and Jewel...ALL of them only carry flats in this area!

FINALLY I found a fair butcher near me. At $2.49/lb for a packer, it is more expensive than others pay in parts of the country where a packer isn't such a foreign beast. But it is still MUCH better than the $7 I was first looking at. The person I spoke to almost dropped the phone when I told her the price the competition tried to charge. Looks like I might have a new butcher...we will see.
 
it took me months (literally) to find someone who would sell me a full packer. And it is $2.99/lb on a good day. I'm pretty happy with the price, frankly. $2.50 ain't bad, in my opinion.

- Adam
 
Good to know. It is hard to get a good grip on pricing when some folks here pay just over a dollar a pound and places near me try to charge seven bucks. $2.50 seemed fair to me as well, given the market here.
 
Is a 'full packer' a full brisket? I've seen 10-12 pound briskets in cryovac in both WI and MI.

Pricewise, something is not right in IL. I purchased a 12 lb. brisket at the Sam's Club in Waukesha for $1.39 a week ago. This week I'm in South Haven, MI and saw it for about the same price at a Walmart Super Center.
 
Virgil: It is in Crystal Lake. A place called Kalck's Butcher Shop. Not sure if it is ok to post phone numbers on this forum, but if you look them up at bigyellow.com, it will come right up. If you call them, mention that I referred you and that we are both members of this group..maybe we can start getting some sort of group discount or something..ya never know! And I was off by ten cents. It is actually $2.59/lb..my bad.

JRPfeff: yes..as far as I know. They confirmed these briskets were whole untrimmed, point on packers in the 10-12 lb range. I called both Sam's and a Wal Mart supercenter in Batavia and both said only flats were available.
 
Hey if anyone is in the Morris IL area My butcher George from Sages Meat Market will sell Full untrimmed packer brisket for 1.79/lb

Give him 2 days notice and it will be cut fresh that morning.

(815) 942-2700
 
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