Prime Brisket


 
C

ChuckG

New member
I was at Costco today and they had Prime Packers for $3.29/lb. There was a 16 pounder that kept telling me it was homeless so I brought him home. I have two questions:
1. I have never smoked a prime anything and am wondering if I should inject it or will the marbling keep it moist?
2. I bought the shortest one there and its still a good 4" too long to fit. I don't think propping up the middle with a brick or my rib rack will work so would cutting it in half and using both racks on my WSM be a viable option?

Thanks,
Chuck
 
Actually I have the 18. Its still in the cryovac and it did not seem to want to bend enough. I just put a tape on it and its 21.5" corner to corner.
 
Chuck, an 18.5 WSM is about 17" between the grate handles. Once you cut it out of the cryovac and trim it, you will get an idea of how much it will flex. I just lop off a few inches of the thin flat end, cube it up and freeze it until I'm ready to grind burgers. Unless you are feeding a large crowd, a 16-pounder will trim down to 14 or so and if you lop a couple of pounds off, you're still at 12-ish. After cooking, you'll be at something like 8 pounds -- still quite a lot of smoky goodness. I wouldn't cut it apart before cooking, but that's just me.

You will find that a prime gets probe tender at a slightly less temp than choice or select. Start checking when it's in the high 180s. I wouldn't inject either -- there is plenty of fatty deliciousness already in there. The only other advice I'll give is to rest that baby in a cooler for about 3-4 hours before slicing. Your patience will be rewarded.

Jeff
 
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Thank you gentlemen for intelligent reply's. I have been on many boards that when a noob asks what some may seem to think is a silly question what they get is 19 folks telling them how stupid they are. Its refreshing to get real answers for a real question. Bob, I watched the videos, good info. Jeff, I will trim it and go from there. Also its hard to disagree with your tagline, "There's more than one way to skin a cat, but either way the cat's not gonna like it much."

Thanks,
Chuck
 
Hi Chuck.

I have the 18.5 as well. I normally do the same thing that Jeff does--cut the flat end down a few inches so that it will fit. You can bend it slightly so that each end is propped up over the grate handles. The meat will shrink as it cooks, so if you can find a way to jam it in there, it will fit nicely by the time you go to wrap it.
 
A friend recently gave me a kind of V-rack that's a sheet of bent metal with holes drilled in it. More of a 'U' than a 'V' really. I don't have much use for it as a V-rack, but it did look like I could turn it over and drape ribs over it, allowing me to get three racks on the top grate without rolling them. I would think the same idea would work for a brisket, though I suppose it depends on how much bend is in it.
 
I did one a couple weekends ago. Separated the point from the flat and cut the flat into two pieces. On to the smoker. Needless to say -- my group devoured the brisket faster than anything else.

There are no rules that you have to leave the brisket whole. This method worked for me and it was a big hit!

Experiment. A new beginning in BBQ experiences.
 
Ok, now since the kindness aspect of this forum has been acknowledged I have what will be likely viewed as an under informed question but, hey, seeking some enlightenment here.
The term "Prime" gets bandied about here pretty freely. There are two ways to interpret the term though.
1-"Prime" as refers to marbling and USDA grading.
2-"Prime" which also means the "Primal" cutting, less trimmed, more basic musculature divisions.
So, when you talk about prime briskets from Costco, is that making reference to both or which?
I'm not going out to buy one today but, this has been making me wonder for some time. Thanks in advance.
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
Ok, now since the kindness aspect of this forum has been acknowledged I have what will be likely viewed as an under informed question but, hey, seeking some enlightenment here.
The term "Prime" gets bandied about here pretty freely. There are two ways to interpret the term though.
1-"Prime" as refers to marbling and USDA grading.
2-"Prime" which also means the "Primal" cutting, less trimmed, more basic musculature divisions.
So, when you talk about prime briskets from Costco, is that making reference to both or which?
I'm not going out to buy one today but, this has been making me wonder for some time. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
USDA prime.
 
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