Wet age brisket


 
R

Richard Diaz

TVWBB Pro
I purchased a flat and a cab full packer at restaurant depot 4 weeks ago. From all the research I have done I think I should be OK. I decided to cook the flat today, took it out of the cryovac. The meat side smells fine when I smell the fat side it does not smell pleasant and there are certain parts of the fat the have a bluish/grayish color. Is the smell and the color on he fat side normal for wet aging brisket? Should I just trim it off? Should i just throw it out? This is the first time I have wet aged. I have a dedicated fridge in the garage that sits at 38 degrees.
 
Do what your instincts tell you... I wish I could help but I never had an issue like that before. Hopefully a more expirenced member can help.
 
Wonder how long that brisket was actually aged, since aging starts on the kill date ! As far as the smell, I take it you washed off the brisket before smelling ?
Have never intentionally aged a brisket, although have trashed a couple that didn't 'age' well ;)

Let us know what you ended up doing.
 
There should have been a date on the cryovac that would either be the kill date or best before. I know cryovac packaging can hold meat for 60+ days. Not exactly sure of the number...66 or something like that. I find beef does smell a bit off when coming out of cryovac compared to fresh. I would wash it, trim it and see what you have after that. Not going to tell you what to do beyond that.
 
Rinse it well and pat dry and give it another sniff. You can wet age in cryovac for a long time. Kevin Kruger wet aged his for 3 months and I've gone as long as 6 weeks. I've taken just thawed briskest out of cryovac and had a wonky smell.
 
If it is just a real strong odor, it probably is ok. Our 50 day briskets are so strong my wife has to leave the room. If it makes you want to puke, it is bad.

Ours will have discoloration also.

You really need the pack date before wet aging as it is the kill date to start from. You can actually go 60-66 days, although I never have.
 
The packaging did not have a date. I asked the butcher at RD and he could not give me the kill date that is why i gave it a 4 week limit.

Can you describe discoloration?

I just took a wiff of it. The smell is strong but, nothing like i have smelled before. It does not want to make me throw up. I just gave a good wash with water and some the smell went away, it is faint. I just put it on a baking sheet fat side down in some apple cider vinegar to see if that does anything. I think I might cook it just for the hell of it for practice. I hate not knowing whether the smell is the brisket going bad or just the odor of an aged brisket. The meat is a nice bright red color. It is not slimmy. I wish i knew what i was doing.
 
Cut off a little hunk of the meat and cook it thoroughly in the microwave (I know, I know) If it has a bad taste - other than that of microwaved meat - throw it out.
 
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?12983-Spoiled-Meat

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?27269-Aging-Beef-Tenderloin

Meat can be unfit for consumption without smelling bad. Meat can be perfectly safe even if it has an off odor. I am not even close to an expert on the matter, but if you want to be sure you are eating safe meat, what is the point of cooking a piece and eating it? If it's bad, you've just made yourself sick, no? By bad, I don't mean it just smells bad. I mean sickness causing bacteria have had the right conditions and enough time to lay down their toxins
 
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Richard Diaz said:
The packaging did not have a date. I asked the butcher at RD and he could not give me the kill date that is why i gave it a 4 week limit.

Most of the time, and this is a generalization, stores will not have a brisket more than 30-45 days. My experience is that if they sell many, they will be less than 28 days on the shelf, but you really don't know.

Can you describe discoloration?

Ours will show grey to greyish green in patches, but not the entire brisket.

I just took a wiff of it. The smell is strong but, nothing like i have smelled before. It does not want to make me throw up. I just gave a good wash with water and some the smell went away, it is faint. I just put it on a baking sheet fat side down in some apple cider vinegar to see if that does anything. I think I might cook it just for the hell of it for practice. I hate not knowing whether the smell is the brisket going bad or just the odor of an aged brisket. The meat is a nice bright red color. It is not slimmy. I wish i knew what i was doing.
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Best way to describe the smell is a very strong beef odor. If you have ever been in an old time butcher shop, that is it. The odor should dissipate after opening and rinsing, but will not go away completely.
 
Dave/G said:
...but if you want to be sure you are eating safe meat, what is the point of cooking a piece and eating it? If it's bad, you've just made yourself sick, no?
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I'm suggesting tasting - not eating - to try to find out if the off-smell is all the way through the meat versus something that can be trimmed or rinsed off. Pathogenic bacteria growth is a completely different issue that's not detectable by smell.
 
I say go for it. I've aged beef with the exact same issues (greenish coloring on the fat side only). I trimmed of the discolored parts and cooked it. Still here. Didn't even rourke up my spleen. : )


On second thought, my wife says I could eat the butt of a billy goat and not get sick. Proceed with caution. : )
 
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One thing you should check on is what temp is the fridge you are using holding. you should really get a fridge gauge and keep it in there. I tossed meat two weeks ago cause when I opened it it had an off smell. Not an old time butcher shop smell just off, like nothing I smelled before. I turned my fridge down and am going to put a separate gauge in there from now on.
 
Hi guys, I started prepping the brisket and decided against cooking it. I'm sure it would have been ok but i didnt want to risk it. The fridge in my garage runs at 38 degrees. I have a 14 lb. cab packer that is in the fridge. I inspected it today amd it looks great. I will be doing that this weekend. The cryovac is air tight. After I open it up if it smells like the one I just threw out then I know that the smell is right. I will let you know how it turns out.
 
Richard Diaz said:
Hi guys, I started prepping the brisket and decided against cooking it. I'm sure it would have been ok but i didnt want to risk it. The fridge in my garage runs at 38 degrees. I have a 14 lb. cab packer that is in the fridge. I inspected it today amd it looks great. I will be doing that this weekend. The cryovac is air tight. After I open it up if it smells like the one I just threw out then I know that the smell is right. I will let you know how it turns out.
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You were probably wise. I hate to waste food too but you only get to die once.
 
Please let us know how the CAB turns out. Because brisket is so hard to find up here, I was thinking of buying a couple at a time. One to cook within the week and one to age. It would at least save a trip to Restaurant Depot.
 
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