I read an interesting article about Camp Brisket 2015 by Kelly Yandell who was lucky enough to attend this event in January. Tickets for Camp Brisket sold-out in less than 5 minutes...I know, because I was unsuccessful in getting one. So I jealously read Kelly's lengthy article about her experience at the event where she got to sample all kinds of brisket and rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in Texas barbecue.
I wanted to bring to your attention an interesting passage from her article. It explains something I have noticed in stores but never questioned...that briskets are getting longer and narrower. No, cattle are not getting longer and narrower. It's just that briskets are being cut from the carcass differently in order to maximize profits for the meat packers.
Here's an excerpt from Kelly's article. Just to set things up, earlier in the article Kelly writes that a brisket consists of two overlapping muscles, the pectoralis profundi (the flat) and the pectoralis superficialis (the point).
Here's a photo of a 13-lb brisket I bought in 2004 (top) and a 12-lb brisket I bought today (bottom). The scale between the two photos may be off a bit, and there's always variation between briskets, but you get the sense that the top brisket is more squared-off on the flat end and somewhat wider than today's brisket.
So if you have noticed that briskets seem longer and skinnier than they used to be, it's not your imagination. "They just don't make them the way they used to."
I wanted to bring to your attention an interesting passage from her article. It explains something I have noticed in stores but never questioned...that briskets are getting longer and narrower. No, cattle are not getting longer and narrower. It's just that briskets are being cut from the carcass differently in order to maximize profits for the meat packers.
Here's an excerpt from Kelly's article. Just to set things up, earlier in the article Kelly writes that a brisket consists of two overlapping muscles, the pectoralis profundi (the flat) and the pectoralis superficialis (the point).
(There has been) a big change in the way the brisket is harvested, too. (On the carcass), the profundi (flat) is a very long muscle. But traditionally, it was cut between the 5th and 6th rib, so that squares off that end a bit. And then (the brisket) goes on up toward the head. At some point somebody figured out they could make a little more by selling the side edge of the brisket as a cut called “pectoral meat” so now the brisket is a narrower cut, but longer to compensate for that loss of mass, up past the 6th rib where it gets very thin. So if you are confused that briskets look very long and have a skinny bit at the end, whereas they used to look more rectangular, you are not alone. It is just beef economics.
Here's a photo of a 13-lb brisket I bought in 2004 (top) and a 12-lb brisket I bought today (bottom). The scale between the two photos may be off a bit, and there's always variation between briskets, but you get the sense that the top brisket is more squared-off on the flat end and somewhat wider than today's brisket.

So if you have noticed that briskets seem longer and skinnier than they used to be, it's not your imagination. "They just don't make them the way they used to."