Brisket Prices in Canada

Charcoal_Addict

I been shopping some the local butcher shops here in Edmonton, Alberta trying to find a decent price on Brisket cuts and packers. So far the prices are around 8 bucks Canadian a pound. That seems a little steep for a brisket cut most of our Amercian cousins are only paying 2-3 bucks per a pound. The local Costco's don't order Briskets. I can't find any savings there. Does anyone know where to score some Briskets for a decent price in Alberta? These prices are pretty sad considering we are the equivillant of Texas when it comes to being the cattle capital of Canada. It's not like we're having to ship these cuts from somewhere far away.

friscoag

Dang, I just bought a prime brisket for $5.99/lb. and thats expensive but its top of the line.

MikeP624

A trimmed flat is $8.50 per pound at my butcher (in Chicago) and an untrimmed packer is $5.50.  That is for choice, my butcher does not carry prime brisket.  Not sure where everyone gets there meat, but there prices are typically much lower than i pay.  But i have never got a bad cut of meat from my butcher, so it is worth paying the extra money.

bigguy136

$3.19/ lb for choice, never frozen. http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1142913/bigguys-second-brisket-packer#latest

travisstrick

I pay $2.00 per pound of choice packer here in Texas. 

Little Steven

I generally pay about 3.50 in the Toronto area. Alberta is kinda cattle rich to be charging those rates

Charcoal_Addict

Trying to even find a brisket in Edmonton is a challenge in it's own right. It's a special order item in this town. Too many corn beef fans in town maybe?

Little Steven

That's true all over the country. It's that accursed Montreal Smoked Meat. Seriously, it just gets ground in most cases I think.

Charcoal_Addict

Corn beef seems like such a waste when those lovely cuts could get the royal treatment inside a Ceramic outdoor oven.

thetrim

travisstrick said:

I pay $2.00 per pound of choice packer here in Texas. 

Texas is the best!  Kroger routinely has $0.99/lb sales.  I always freeze a brisket and carry it on w/ me when I return from a trip there.  Raises eyebrows w the TSA, but it is well worth it.

brycos

I just paid $3.50/# in NC for choice

gerhardk

Are you sure that wasn't the per kg price? Gerhard

Charcoal_Addict

I wish I could get prices like you guys get in the US. The best I found so far on a brisket in Edmonton is $5.39 CAD a pound. That a AAA butcher cut. It might be hard to compare that to a retail store cut.

Sgt93

Everything is expensive in Canada. Auto parts.... brisket. I feel for you all. Some gorgeous land though, gorgeous!

Charcoal_Addict

Sgt93 said:

Everything is expensive in Canada. Auto parts.... brisket. I feel for you all. Some gorgeous land though, gorgeous!

We gotta pay for our Government corruption somehow. One brisket at a time.

Skiddymarker

Charcoal_Addict said:

I wish I could get prices like you guys get in the US. The best I found so far on a brisket in Edmonton is $5.39 CAD a pound. That a AAA butcher cut. It might be hard to compare that to a retail store cut.

Not sure that is too expensive. AAA is equivalent to US Prime, last week saw a Prime trimmed brisket for $5.99 a pound in Washington State. Choice was considerably cheaper at <$4 per pound. 

You are right, everything is way too expensive, my family refers to BC as meaning bring cash. And there does not seem to be any reason for some weird prices. Saw shrimp rings from Thailand at Costco that were $2 less in Kingston On, then they were in Vancouver BC. This product is shipped to Kingston via Vancouver, go figure....

Little Steven

Skiddymarker said:

Charcoal_Addict said:

I wish I could get prices like you guys get in the US. The best I found so far on a brisket in Edmonton is $5.39 CAD a pound. That a AAA butcher cut. It might be hard to compare that to a retail store cut.

Not sure that is too expensive. AAA is equivalent to US Prime, last week saw a Prime trimmed brisket for $5.99 a pound in Washington State. Choice was considerably cheaper at <$4 per pound. 

You are right, everything is way too expensive, my family refers to BC as meaning bring cash. And there does not seem to be any reason for some weird prices. Saw shrimp rings from Thailand at Costco that were $2 less in Kingston On, then they were in Vancouver BC. This product is shipped to Kingston via Vancouver, go figure....

AAA is equivilent to choice. Prime is prime in both countries. Two countries divided by a common language

Sgt93

Charcoal_Addict said:

Everything is expensive in Canada. Auto parts.... brisket. I feel for you all. Some gorgeous land though, gorgeous!

We gotta pay for our Government corruption somehow. One brisket at a time.

Haha, living in Illinois..... our politicians are the cream of the crop at corruption. 

Charcoal_Addict

Little Steven said:

Skiddymarker said:

Charcoal_Addict said:

I wish I could get prices like you guys get in the US. The best I found so far on a brisket in Edmonton is $5.39 CAD a pound. That a AAA butcher cut. It might be hard to compare that to a retail store cut.

Not sure that is too expensive. AAA is equivalent to US Prime, last week saw a Prime trimmed brisket for $5.99 a pound in Washington State. Choice was considerably cheaper at <$4 per pound. 

You are right, everything is way too expensive, my family refers to BC as meaning bring cash. And there does not seem to be any reason for some weird prices. Saw shrimp rings from Thailand at Costco that were $2 less in Kingston On, then they were in Vancouver BC. This product is shipped to Kingston via Vancouver, go figure....

AAA is equivilent to choice. Prime is prime in both countries. Two countries divided by a common language


There actually is a Step up called Canada Prime and Angus. Both the US and Canada are pretty much on the same page. The same companies process beef in Canada and the US and follow the same labeling standards for the most part.

I can't imagine any Brisket cut being certified higher than an Angus cut. It''s one of those meats you fix by going low and slow. I can't see why they would certify it as a choice cut except as an excuse to charge more for it.

The sad part is I live in Alberta, the cattle equivalent to Texas I the US. Threre's not much for transport cost involved. It's just purely the Alberta Beef board gouging it's customers.

I bet you there all arriving to their morning meeting right now in rolling up in their fully loaded Bentley's.

Little Steven

Can you get a lightly loaded Bentley?

Hoppy & Hoppette

Last weekend I paid $ 3.99 a lb at BJ,s and $ 2.49 a lb at Walmart here in Georgia.

Go figure!

gerhardk

You have to remember that Canada has higher minimum wage, better workers comp, universal health care, smaller population over a larger territory etc. it all adds up to costing more and our governments don't run as big a deficit as they do south of the border.  You can't get anything for nothing.

Gerhard

Skiddymarker

@ Little Steven - Thanks for the update on meat grading, it happens when you get older, you rely on your memory. I did some internet research and found that prior to 1996, Canada did not have Prime, we only had AAA. 

I also think this Angus grade is not a grade but a marketing gimmick, based on the Aberdeen Angus breed. Brisket, by its nature is a cut that needs lots of low and slow cooking. I don't think it really matters how or what the carcass is graded.

Skiddymarker

gerhardk said:

You have to remember that Canada has higher minimum wage, better workers comp, universal health care, smaller population over a larger territory etc. it all adds up to costing more and our governments don't run as big a deficit as they do south of the border.  You can't get anything for nothing.

Gerhard

Yeah, I agree you get what you pay for, but the real difference is we have one high paid MP/Senator for every 80,000 Canadians, the US has one congressman/Senator for every 600,000 citizens - that's how they try to keep taxes down. God forbid we ever have a population like theirs, we will need to have a 3000 parliament.

 

Little Steven

Skiddymarker said:

@ Little Steven - Thanks for the update on meat grading, it happens when you get older, you rely on your memory. I did some internet research and found that prior to 1996, Canada did not have Prime, we only had AAA. 

I also think this Angus grade is not a grade but a marketing gimmick, based on the Aberdeen Angus breed. Brisket, by its nature is a cut that needs lots of low and slow cooking. I don't think it really matters how or what the carcass is graded.

My butcher told me that angus is at least AAA but it has to do with the Aberdeen lineage.

Brownie

Charcoal_Addict said:

Corn beef seems like such a waste when those lovely cuts could get the royal treatment inside a Ceramic outdoor oven.

You should brine a brisket yourself (I'm assuming you haven't). A properly brined brisket makes some wonderfully smoke pastrami in your ceramic outdoor oven. But not everyone likes corned beef, to each is own.  >-

SamFerrise

The Walmart here in Southport, NC carries packer briskets for $2.67 per pound.  I did one for Labor Day and it was excellent.  This is a small coastal town and there is no local butcher shop.  The two food chain stores, Food Lion and Lowes Foods have a sad selection of meats.  I have friends in Charlotte that will call when they come our way and they pick up some of the good cuts for me.  I can drive to Costco 35 miles away and I plan my buys around needed trips to Wilmington.  Last year while I was still living in Michigan I would go to the Detroit Eastern Market area.  The shops there get the whole carcasses from the slaughter houses.  I could pick my own from the hanging coolers $1.99 per pound.  Chicken is always good if good pork or beef is not available all the time.

Little Steven

Brisket and pork shoulder are just starting to become known cuts up here. Our beefis leaner than yours so brisket is a tough cut to get right.

bertscampers

Hey @Little_Steven where do you buy your brisket.  I am also in the GTA and want to try my first brisket.  Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

gerhardk

If you ever go to the Waterloo farmers market lots of pork shoulder available.  We live within an easy drive of Hensall Ontario were a butcher shop called Metzgers is located and they sell brisket.  I usually call ahead to ensure they have the size I am interested in, they also carry pork shoulder.  I have talked to a few of people in Southern Ontario and they all get their brisket from Norpac, Norpac's website shows the retailers they deal with so if one is near you it should be possible for them to order a brisket for you.

http://www.norpacbeef.com/index.php/customers

http://www.metzgermeats.com/site/

Gerhard

bertscampers

Thanks for the info.  That is really helpful.

Cheers