What have I bought.....CAB Brisket.....

corey24

Having a few people over for the 4th and planned to do a brisket flat and some spare ribs. The store didn't have any flats and had just whole briskets. I know packers are best but it would be way too much meat for this small crowd. Was forced to go with a 5lb trimmed CAB. Not exactly sure what I have. Looks to he mostly flat. Looks well marbled. Trimmed off most of outer fat, hope not too much. Help.....can I make this work??

Brisket_Fanatic

You can make it work for sure. Can you post a picture of it. If its a packard it came from a calf and not a cow, so guessing it is mostly a flat. Flat only can be very tempermental and dry eaisly so you may want to foil when it hits 160 until done to try and keep it from drying out. The hard fat is what you want to trim most of and leave about 1/4 inch of the rest of the fat on the outside.

Shiff

A packer cut brisket would still be the best even though it seems like too much meat for your crowd.  Leftovers can be frozen very easily and come out great.  A 5 lb brisket is very difficult to cook since it dries out so easily. 

Two great sources of brisket cooking information are:

http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/brisket.html

and

http://bubbatim.com/Bubba_s_Brisket.php

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Brisket_Fanatic said:

You can make it work for sure. Can you post a picture of it. If its a packard it came from a calf and not a cow, so guessing it is mostly a flat. Flat only can be very tempermental and dry eaisly so you may want to foil when it hits 160 until done to try and keep it from drying out. The hard fat is what you want to trim most of and leave about 1/4 inch of the rest of the fat on the outside.

Sorry- are you saying packers only come from calves?

tjv

that's a small chunk of brisket love.......couple ideas.....

- inject with a beef broth to add moisture, can buy the broth jars that come with a cheapo injector.

- hit with a bunch of smoke then wrap with some broth in the foil, as mentioned wrap around 160

- smoke it, see how it looks, if not tender/moist, chop and mix with bbq sauce for chop brisket sammies.

- freeze it for later date and buy a small packer,  plan for left overs.....brisket nachos are fantastic way to use up brisket.....try it with home style potato chips instead of nacho chips......this is what I'd do.....

t

pescadorzih

corey24 said:

Having a few people over for the 4th and planned to do a brisket flat and some spare ribs. The store didn't have any flats and had just whole briskets. I know packers are best but it would be way too much meat for this small crowd. Was forced to go with a 5lb trimmed CAB. Not exactly sure what I have. Looks to he mostly flat. Looks well marbled. Trimmed off most of outer fat, hope not too much. Help.....can I make this work??

I'm in the same boat as you as far as people attending. But, all the store had was a 18# packer.
I'm just going to freeze the leftovers. It definitely won't go to waste.

corey24

Here are a couple pics.

corey24

I plan to foil around 160-165. Could also inject......

The Cen-Tex Smoker

There is definitely a chunk of point on there. I really hope there might be a small fat cap on the other side but by the looks of it, I think the fat cap side is showing in this pic. Just listen to Tom above- all good advice and he will definitely steer (pun) you right.

It's a great piece of meat- A fat cap would be nice but you can navigate that with his advice above.  Just take it slow and I would probably wrap once the bark sets. Or gasp....even the Travis method and then pull it out of the pan and let the bark set the last 2-3 hours. A CAB brisket is a treat- trimmed or not.

I would hoard that point piece and feed the flat to the uniformed.....some host I am huh?

corey24

I haven't taken it out of package but there does look like a fat cap on bottom side.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

corey24 said:

I haven't taken it out of package but there does look like a fat cap on bottom side.

post a pic when you have a minute. I think I know what that is but could be wrong.It looks like they shaved off the cap that would have been on the flat if I'm looking at the pic right. That's the fat you want. The other fat on the "bottom" is either hard fat or this kind of slimy/silver skin type deal and both would need to be trimmed off. Hopefully they did that for you since it looks like they took all the good stuff already.

corey24

So, another question. Does CAB just stand for Certified Angus Beef? If so where does that fall on grading scale? Isn't it typically Prime, Choice, or Select?

nolaegghead

@corey24 http://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/brand/specs.php

corey24

nolaegghead said:

@corey24 http://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/brand/specs.php

So it's a good piece of meat. But is that a 'grade' all on its on.

nolaegghead

Just a different system - there's actually a lot of different beef grading systems.  I kind of equate it to choice. Maybe choice plus.

corey24

Sweet. Hopefully it will turn out well. Thanks @nolaegghead

nolaegghead

CAB is pretty good stuff.  Consistant.  Yeah, good luck, I think you'll do fine.

SmokeyPitt

The CAB thing confuses me as well.  The way I understand it, Angus is a type of cattle.  Certified Angus just means the American Angus Association puts their seal of approval on it.  This is independent of the USDA grading system (choice or prime), but Certified Angus is supposed to be the upper range of choice or prime. 

cazzy

Brisket_Fanatic said:

You can make it work for sure. Can you post a picture of it. If its a packard it came from a calf and not a cow, so guessing it is mostly a flat. Flat only can be very tempermental and dry eaisly so you may want to foil when it hits 160 until done to try and keep it from drying out. The hard fat is what you want to trim most of and leave about 1/4 inch of the rest of the fat on the outside.

Are you really trying to tell me that I've been eating baby cows? )

SmokeyPitt

cazzy said:

You can make it work for sure. Can you post a picture of it. If its a packard it came from a calf and not a cow, so guessing it is mostly a flat. Flat only can be very tempermental and dry eaisly so you may want to foil when it hits 160 until done to try and keep it from drying out. The hard fat is what you want to trim most of and leave about 1/4 inch of the rest of the fat on the outside.

Are you really trying to tell me that I've been eating baby cows? )

I could be mistaken but I think what he was saying is that if it was a packer and only 5 lbs it would have to be from a baby cow.  

cazzy

SmokeyPitt said:

cazzy said:

Brisket_Fanatic said:

You can make it work for sure. Can you post a picture of it. If its a packard it came from a calf and not a cow, so guessing it is mostly a flat. Flat only can be very tempermental and dry eaisly so you may want to foil when it hits 160 until done to try and keep it from drying out. The hard fat is what you want to trim most of and leave about 1/4 inch of the rest of the fat on the outside.

Are you really trying to tell me that I've been eating baby cows? )

I could be mistaken but I think what he was saying is that if it was a packer and only 5 lbs it would have to be from a baby cow.  

Hmm...that makes a lil more sense.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

CAB is a brand, not a grade. They select their beef from the upper 2/3 of choice and above. They also choose a specific % of angus DNA and I believe they slaughter steers 30 months and younger if I remember my CAB training class from 8 yrs ago.

I can also say it varies wildly from source to source but it's a good place to start. My local Randall's (Safeway) sells CAB steaks and they are not great. I have gotten some killer brisket flats from them though.