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Grade of brisket?

Posted on 12/1/22 at 12:09 pm
Posted by CrawfishElvis
Member since Apr 2021
472 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 12:09 pm
Would I be ok buying a select brisket? Or should I go ahead and buy choice? I only buy choice or better steaks but I also don’t smoke them for hours on end.
Posted by Tigerpaw123
Louisiana
Member since Mar 2007
17261 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 12:21 pm to
Choice or better
Posted by Hou_Lawyer
Houston, TX
Member since Jun 2019
1875 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 1:17 pm to
wagyu
Posted by AlxTgr
Kyre Banorg
Member since Oct 2003
81646 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 1:35 pm to
quote:

Choice or better
Posted by SixthAndBarone
Member since Jan 2019
8214 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 1:46 pm to
Will you be ok? Sure, it won't be terrible, but choice is better. My thoughts on it is if I'm spending the money and more importantly, the time, I want choice or prime.

A prime brisket is excellent, FYI.
Posted by OceanMan
Member since Mar 2010
20024 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 1:54 pm to
The grade isn’t the hugest deal for a slow cooked brisket. May not even matter at all, plenty anecdotal evidence on the net suggests it doesn’t.

Having said that it all comes down to price, at Sam’s the nominal difference in grade is reflected in the price so I usually go with prime if they have it since it is only a few dollars more.

I would be more concerned about the cut itself based on the looks. A nice uniform cut is hard to come across so if I see one I’m getting that regardless of grade.
Posted by bluebarracuda
Member since Oct 2011
18242 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 2:32 pm to
quote:

The grade isn’t the hugest deal for a slow cooked brisket. May not even matter at all, plenty anecdotal evidence on the net suggests it doesn’t.


I would love to see this anecdotal evidence
Posted by Saskwatch
Member since Feb 2016
16571 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 2:35 pm to
quote:

The grade isn’t the hugest deal for a slow cooked brisket. May not even matter at all


There are outliers but I completely disagree with this statement.
Posted by AlxTgr
Kyre Banorg
Member since Oct 2003
81646 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 2:51 pm to
quote:

There are outliers but I completely disagree with this statement.

Posted by bluemoons
the marsh
Member since Oct 2012
5515 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 3:38 pm to
quote:

The grade isn’t the hugest deal for a slow cooked brisket. May not even matter at all, plenty anecdotal evidence on the net suggests it doesn’t.


Prime makes all the difference in the world when it comes to smoking a brisket. Prime is a lot easier to cook/more forgiving, the flavor is better, and it's much juicier and tender.
Posted by LSUballs
RayVegas LA
Member since Feb 2008
37760 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 3:42 pm to
The more fat/marbling in a cut the better it will be in a higher grade. A choice fillet vs prime fillet won't make much difference. Something fatty like a brisket or ribeye will make a ton of difference.
Posted by armsdealer
Member since Feb 2016
11508 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 4:03 pm to
Choice or better Angus, if it isn't angus get prime. Prime brisket is usually a cheap upgrade anyhow.
Posted by SmokedBrisket2018
Member since Jun 2018
1524 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 4:06 pm to
quote:

The grade isn’t the hugest deal for a slow cooked brisket. May not even matter at all,


I respectfully and wholeheartedly disagree.
Posted by HebertFest08
The Coast
Member since Aug 2008
6393 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 4:24 pm to
quote:

The grade isn’t the hugest deal for a slow cooked brisket. May not even matter at all, plenty anecdotal evidence on the net suggests it doesn’t.


Yeh…. I don’t think this is correct.

Buy prime at worst…. Call the Meatatory in Pville to see if he has some wagyu in stock. If so, get that instead.

The wagyu will shrink up more than a prime, but it’s so damn good. I’ve done several wagyu and many prime briskets. It only took one time to try a prime over the other cuts to realize that it was worth the few extra dollars.
Posted by calcotron
Member since Nov 2007
8293 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 4:48 pm to
We did a prime for Thanksgiving, I'm sure that it mattered. It was excellent. From Costco.
Posted by KamaCausey_LSU
Member since Apr 2013
14537 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 5:18 pm to
Albertsons has $1.99/lb choice brisket on sale this week if you use the app.
Posted by List Eater
Htown
Member since Apr 2005
23577 posts
Posted on 12/1/22 at 10:02 pm to
Show us your best smoked select brisket
Posted by RetiredSaintsLsuFan
NW Arkansas
Member since Jun 2020
1581 posts
Posted on 12/2/22 at 5:23 am to
quote:

wagyu


If you are rich!
Posted by Twenty 49
Shreveport
Member since Jun 2014
18771 posts
Posted on 12/2/22 at 5:49 am to
quote:

The grade isn’t the hugest deal for a slow cooked brisket. May not even matter at all, plenty anecdotal evidence on the net suggests it doesn’t.


There's actual evidence on the issue gathered each year at Texas A&M Camp Brisket. They cook briskets as identically as possible and have blind tasting by serious BBQ folks who attend. In 2022:

quote:

Each grade/type of brisket was sliced so that each participant received a lean portion to rate on a ballot. When completed, the ballots were tabulated by the students to determine whether the participants could tell the difference in the grades or types of brisket. The winners? Chairman’s Reserve, Prime, and The Snake River Farms’ American Wagyu were at the top. Each year, this taste comparison usually results in Prime and Wagyu near the top and Select being near the bottom in ratings. There are perceivable differences in eating quality among different grades and types of briskets, and those interested in producing the best cooked briskets possible need to be aware of this.

TAMU Camp Brisket 2022 report

Daniel Vaughan attended in 2014 and had this to say about his year.

quote:

Select and low Choice were pretty easy to spot. The grain of the meat was tighter and the slices were drier. One would expect the Wagyu, which runs for double the price of even Prime grade per pound, to outshine all of the competition. When it came to the blind tasting it was hard to distinguish. CAB, Prime, and Wagyu were all very similar. I actually selected the Prime as being the pricey Wagyu. While there was slight variation between the three (they were three different animals, after all), they were all good eating briskets. The point is that it’s tough to advocate paying the high price for Wagyu for a cut like brisket that’s already so well marbled. The gap in flavor and moisture between Prime and CAB was also minuscule, something to consider when you’re looking at that price difference of about 25 cents per pound.


Texas Monthly: What I Learned at Brisket Camp

They also do blind comparisons for different types of smoke wood. Not much difference in 2022, though oak or hickory usually wins.

quote:

...briskets prepared using the four different smokes — oak, hickory, mesquite, and pecan. Each participant received a small slice of brisket from each smoke and were asked to rate it on 9-point scales. Students tabulated the results, and there were no differences among the four woods for sensory panel ratings. In 2019, participants found no differences in preference for the four different smokes used. Most other years, either oak or hickory wins this competition, but we are amazed that there are really few differences in how the participants rate these briskets cooked with different woods/smokes.


This lady is an expert on meat and probably drives up ticket prices.



Posted by PerplenGold
TX
Member since Nov 2021
1183 posts
Posted on 12/2/22 at 10:33 am to
quote:

This lady is an expert on meat


She can grade mine anytime.

Prime plus a mix of oak & mesquite woods. Have tried bison too. It’s really good but needs to be pulled earlier.
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