Yesterday's Brisket


 
Rich G

Rich G

TVWBB Honor Circle
So, my turn to host Steak Club rolled around yesterday (our 51st club meeting since June of 2017.) My original plan was to do a "chef's" steak tasting menu with a hanger, flat iron, picanha, and cowboy ribeye from Wild Fork Foods. Unfortunately, after UPS' stellar version of "the Keystone cops deliver (or don't) packages", my order from WFF arrived four days late and with all items temping at 60F internal...... :( So, rather last minute, I picked up a Prime packer from CostCo, which I put on the pellet grill at 11:30p Wednesday night (dusted with Dizzy Pig Red Eye Express.) After going overnight @ 200F, the brisket was looking good, and I bumped the temp to 225F.

1650037884456.jpeg

I took almost 4lbs of fat off this brisket (wow!), and since I don't have any sausage making plans in my head, I popped the trimmings in a dutch oven on the grill to render for tallow.....

1650037938377.jpeg 1650037944723.jpeg 1650037951314.jpeg

At about 1:30p, my brisket was feeling a bit jiggly, and temping between 200-204 in various spots, so I pulled it from the grill (I had wrapped it in pink paper somewhere along the way), and popped it into the oven set at 165F to hold for a 7pm service. The oven worked out really well to hold the brisket, which cruised down to about 165F, and held there nicely, still wrapped in pink paper. When we were ready for dinner, I pulled it out, and sliced it up.

1650038119678.jpeg

1650038130789.jpeg

As you can see, it was super juicy, very tender, had a nice bark and smoke ring......HOWEVER, it was incredibly underwhelming in the beefy flavor department. I have been noticing that the quality of the meat that CostCo is getting from it's suppliers (primarily SWIFT at my CostCo for pork and beef) has gone down steadily over the last year or so. I think with the result of this brisket, I am going to take a break from buying any pork or beef from CostCo for a while, and I'll redirect my money to WFF as my experience with them has been very good from a price and quality standpoint (and, customer service, by the way, they refunded me instantly for the failed shipment.......)

We enjoyed dinner, of course, but were just really disappointed in the lack of cow flavor.

Thanks for riding along!

Rich
 
Sure looks good Rich. I had the exact same experience on the last brisket I got from Costco late last summer. Looked good but no beef flavor at all.
We decided that we would forgo the brisket thing as there is just the two of us so we really don't need that much meat. Haven't done one since but after reading your experience I'm glad I haven't bought another one.
 
Rich,
Brisket passes the eyeball test, but I have to admit the chef's tasting sounds even better. I don't have a CostCo locally so I can not speak to that, but I can speak to how impressed with the quality of meat at great cost I am getting from Wild Fork. My family is telling me I may have problem... with meat being delivered kinda often... I know that I am getting ABF, no water aid, air chilled meats, quality meats for equal or less then I pay at the store. Add to that I don't know if I what I am looking for at the store will be in stock, I am becoming a bigger and bigger believer in Wild Fork. I also had one negative experience with delivery, the box come pretty beat up and multiple of the meat inside had multiple tears in their packages. I took pictures send an email and the next morning full refund. Besides that one time, I have had perfect delivery experiences. The tri-tip and ham and chicken should be here today, and then I am not buying another package for at least a.....



day
 
Michael Richards said:
Rich,
Brisket passes the eyeball test, but I have to admit the chef's tasting sounds even better. I don't have a CostCo locally so I can not speak to that, but I can speak to how impressed with the quality of meat at great cost I am getting from Wild Fork. My family is telling me I may have problem... with meat being delivered kinda often... I know that I am getting ABF, no water aid, air chilled meats, quality meats for equal or less then I pay at the store. Add to that I don't know if I what I am looking for at the store will be in stock, I am becoming a bigger and bigger believer in Wild Fork. I also had one negative experience with delivery, the box come pretty beat up and multiple of the meat inside had multiple tears in their packages. I took pictures send an email and the next morning full refund. Besides that one time, I have had perfect delivery experiences. The tri-tip and ham and chicken should be here today, and then I am not buying another package for at least a.....



day
Click to expand...
I’m glad to hear that Wild Fork has quality meats. One opened by me recently, I’m heading there this morning for the first time.
 
Rich Dahl said:
Sure looks good Rich. I had the exact same experience on the last brisket I got from Costco late last summer. Looked good but no beef flavor at all.
We decided that we would forgo the brisket thing as there is just the two of us so we really don't need that much meat. Haven't done one since but after reading your experience I'm glad I haven't bought another one.
Click to expand...
Hmmm… same issue here. Only two of us. I usually buy the smallest brisket I can get. Save fat trimmings for sausages and ground meat. Break brisket down to have some for chili, a good chunk (3 or so lbs) For smoking. I try to keep several small packs (1 to 1 1/2 lbs) for general use such as tacos, pulled beef sandwiches etc.
 
Michael Richards said:
I would bet what I am getting delivered is coming from your local location.
Click to expand...
I went to the one in Horsham, they said if I were to order online, it would come from the Willow Grove location which is just 15 minutes from Horsham. I can’t believe they built two that close to one another. Just got home, I was like a kid in a candy store! Got a whole bunch of goodies!
F41934A8-04CD-4CDD-B928-0ACBC3E669A4.jpeg
69752A16-6EA4-4469-9BB7-1FF2FF42593D.jpeg
5B8FDCC4-63A5-4BAC-9664-5A8FAEDD74C0.jpeg
 
Rich G said:
So, my turn to host Steak Club rolled around yesterday (our 51st club meeting since June of 2017.) My original plan was to do a "chef's" steak tasting menu with a hanger, flat iron, picanha, and cowboy ribeye from Wild Fork Foods. Unfortunately, after UPS' stellar version of "the Keystone cops deliver (or don't) packages", my order from WFF arrived four days late and with all items temping at 60F internal...... :( So, rather last minute, I picked up a Prime packer from CostCo, which I put on the pellet grill at 11:30p Wednesday night (dusted with Dizzy Pig Red Eye Express.) After going overnight @ 200F, the brisket was looking good, and I bumped the temp to 225F.

View attachment 49071

I took almost 4lbs of fat off this brisket (wow!), and since I don't have any sausage making plans in my head, I popped the trimmings in a dutch oven on the grill to render for tallow.....

View attachment 49072 View attachment 49073 View attachment 49074

At about 1:30p, my brisket was feeling a bit jiggly, and temping between 200-204 in various spots, so I pulled it from the grill (I had wrapped it in pink paper somewhere along the way), and popped it into the oven set at 165F to hold for a 7pm service. The oven worked out really well to hold the brisket, which cruised down to about 165F, and held there nicely, still wrapped in pink paper. When we were ready for dinner, I pulled it out, and sliced it up.

View attachment 49075

View attachment 49076

As you can see, it was super juicy, very tender, had a nice bark and smoke ring......HOWEVER, it was incredibly underwhelming in the beefy flavor department. I have been noticing that the quality of the meat that CostCo is getting from it's suppliers (primarily SWIFT at my CostCo for pork and beef) has gone down steadily over the last year or so. I think with the result of this brisket, I am going to take a break from buying any pork or beef from CostCo for a while, and I'll redirect my money to WFF as my experience with them has been very good from a price and quality standpoint (and, customer service, by the way, they refunded me instantly for the failed shipment.......)

We enjoyed dinner, of course, but were just really disappointed in the lack of cow flavor.

Thanks for riding along!

Rich
Click to expand...
Awesome looking but sad to here it lacked in flavor - just goes to show the meat matters. Looks like nearest wild fork to St. Louis is in Chicago so not sure I'll be trying that or not but you never know. I haven't had any issues with Brisket from Sam's club but I usually only do 3 or 4 of them a year.

Smoking chuck roasts isn't a bad option for those who need a smokey beef fix but don't have a small army to feed. I haven't gotten it to slice like a brisket does yet, but it still tastes really good, and doesn't take as long to cook.
 
Rich G said:
So, my turn to host Steak Club rolled around yesterday (our 51st club meeting since June of 2017.) My original plan was to do a "chef's" steak tasting menu with a hanger, flat iron, picanha, and cowboy ribeye from Wild Fork Foods. Unfortunately, after UPS' stellar version of "the Keystone cops deliver (or don't) packages", my order from WFF arrived four days late and with all items temping at 60F internal...... :( So, rather last minute, I picked up a Prime packer from CostCo, which I put on the pellet grill at 11:30p Wednesday night (dusted with Dizzy Pig Red Eye Express.) After going overnight @ 200F, the brisket was looking good, and I bumped the temp to 225F.

View attachment 49071

I took almost 4lbs of fat off this brisket (wow!), and since I don't have any sausage making plans in my head, I popped the trimmings in a dutch oven on the grill to render for tallow.....

View attachment 49072 View attachment 49073 View attachment 49074

At about 1:30p, my brisket was feeling a bit jiggly, and temping between 200-204 in various spots, so I pulled it from the grill (I had wrapped it in pink paper somewhere along the way), and popped it into the oven set at 165F to hold for a 7pm service. The oven worked out really well to hold the brisket, which cruised down to about 165F, and held there nicely, still wrapped in pink paper. When we were ready for dinner, I pulled it out, and sliced it up.

View attachment 49075

View attachment 49076

As you can see, it was super juicy, very tender, had a nice bark and smoke ring......HOWEVER, it was incredibly underwhelming in the beefy flavor department. I have been noticing that the quality of the meat that CostCo is getting from it's suppliers (primarily SWIFT at my CostCo for pork and beef) has gone down steadily over the last year or so. I think with the result of this brisket, I am going to take a break from buying any pork or beef from CostCo for a while, and I'll redirect my money to WFF as my experience with them has been very good from a price and quality standpoint (and, customer service, by the way, they refunded me instantly for the failed shipment.......)

We enjoyed dinner, of course, but were just really disappointed in the lack of cow flavor.

Thanks for riding along!

Rich
Click to expand...
Looking good Rich. The last couple of briskets I've had were Swift. Can't say much about the flavor though. One was transformed into corned beef and the other was mixed and ground with top sirloin. Thanks for the heads up!
 
Bob Bailey said:
Looking good Rich. The last couple of briskets I've had were Swift. Can't say much about the flavor though. One was transformed into corned beef and the other was mixed and ground with top sirloin. Thanks for the heads up!
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If looks were everything, Bob, this would have been a great brisket! It'll make fine chili, but just a "where's the beef" dining experience.

This was a Swift brisket, as well. I vaguely remember CostCo having some IBP beef a few years back, but I think it's been all Swift for quite some time. The lack of quality/flavor seems to be a recent (last 12-18 months) development to me.

R
 
I just checked out the Wild Fork website. Their prices are VERY competitive, and delivery fees seem pretty reasonable.

I see an order in my near future.
 
KE Quist said:
I just checked out the Wild Fork website. Their prices are VERY competitive, and delivery fees seem pretty reasonable.

I see an order in my near future.
Click to expand...
Yep, and the quality has been quite good! Also, if you think you are going to use them regularly, you can pay $29 for free shipping for a year. I got my one year membership for free by spending over $150 in December (pretty easy with the Xmas standing rib....) :)
 
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