Point or Flat?

MaC122

I love the fatty part of a point and the burnt ends. Went to Woodpeckers BBQ in st johns county today and she asked me if I wanted fat brisket or not fat. I of course said fat and she gave the bbq approval nod.

I guess my question is what cut of the briskest do you prefer?

cazzy

Point, but a perfectly nailed flat is pretty magical in it's own right.  I've had unreal tasting flat from Aaron Franklin and John Lewis.  I'm still searching to achieve that level of flat nirvana.  

MaC122

cazzy said:

Point, but a perfectly nailed flat is pretty magical in it's own right.  I've had unreal tasting flat from Aaron Franklin and John Lewis.  I'm still searching to achieve that level of flat nirvana.  

What rub should I use? that's a question that you or anyone else cannot answer. Is it salt and pepper? What gives a great brisket its "holy crap!" flavor? Im still working on it. I love this hobby

cazzy

MaC122 said:

cazzy said:

Point, but a perfectly nailed flat is pretty magical in it's own right.  I've had unreal tasting flat from Aaron Franklin and John Lewis.  I'm still searching to achieve that level of flat nirvana.  

What rub should I use? that's a question that you or anyone else cannot answer. Is it salt and pepper? What gives a great brisket its "holy crap!" flavor? Im still working on it. I love this hobby

That is personal preference.  S&P is the foundation for any rub.  Your holy crap and mine may be different.  Keep practicing and experimenting with different rubs.  Once you find one that's great, stick with it or build off of it.

MaC122

@cazzy I found the best briskets I have made come from a butcher, not Publix or Winndixie. Do you inject beef broth like they do on the tv shows?

cazzy

MaC122 said:

@cazzy I found the best briskets I have made come from a butcher, not Publix or Winndixie. Do you inject beef broth like they do on the tv shows?

Nope.  Never have injected, never will.  Pick out good meat!  That's where you win.  Failures usually start at the meat market.  Stick with the butcher.

Foghorn

I prefer the flat.   I just like lean meat.  I prefer tenderloin/filet over ribeye.  With that being said, like @cazzy has noted, getting the flat just right is the ultimate challenge.  I succeed about 20% of the time.  I helped a friend cooked a world class brisket yesterday.  He got a prime brisket from Bolner's meat market in San Antonio and used their brisket rub.  I haven't been to Franklin's but it was probably the best brisket I've ever eaten. 

Most people prefer the point, but I sometimes wonder if that is because they've never had a slice of moist, world class flat.

cazzy

Foghorn said:

I prefer the flat.   I just like lean meat.  I prefer tenderloin/filet over ribeye.  With that being said, like @cazzy has noted, getting the flat just right is the ultimate challenge.  I succeed about 20% of the time.  I helped a friend cooked a world class brisket yesterday.  He got a prime brisket from Bolner's meat market in San Antonio and used their brisket rub.  I haven't been to Franklin's but it was probably the best brisket I've ever eaten. 

Most people prefer the point, but I sometimes wonder if that is because they've never had a slice of moist, world class flat.

At Franklin and La Barbecue, the point was what I expected it to be.  The flat was unreal and blew me away.

MaC122

don't get me wrong, a good flat is awesome! what a challenge though. @cazzy did you wait in line all day at franklins? was it really worth the wait?

cazzy

MaC122 said:

don't get me wrong, a good flat is awesome! what a challenge though. @cazzy did you wait in line all day at franklins? was it really worth the wait?

Sure did!  Been there twice and was first in line both times.  Totally worth the wait! 

SGH

MaC122 said:

What gives a great brisket its "holy crap!" flavor? 

This just my thoughts on the subject, but more often than not, the two most influential factors that give that "holy crap" taste is the quality of the meat that you start with and how well you do your part cooking it. If you start with crap, more often than not you end up with crap. As far as point vs flat. I always preferred point meat. That said, I just cooked a Waygu Gold grade. Believe this or not, the flat was equally as good as the point. Different, but equally good. Now I'm not trying to sell you on Waygu Gold, just stating what I discovered. No matter what you do: inject, marinate, pray to the Gods or whatever else, if you start with poor meat, your results will usually be average at best. That "wow" factor comes from consistency. Good meat, good cooking technique etc...  I'm certainly not a pro, but I do feel that meat quality is the absolute single most important factor.  There is a old wise saying that says, "You can't make chicken salad out of chicken $hit. The same applies to brisket. Or any meat for that matter. Sorry for rambling. 

cazzy

SGH said:

MaC122 said:

What gives a great brisket its "holy crap!" flavor? 

This just my thoughts on the subject, but more often than not, the two most influential factors that give that "holy crap" taste is the quality of the meat that you start with and how well you do your part cooking it. If you start with crap, more often than not you end up with crap. As far as point vs flat. I always preferred point meat. That said, I just cooked a Waygu Gold grade. Believe this or not, the flat was equally as good as the point. Different, but equally good. Now I'm not trying to sell you on Waygu Gold, just stating what I discovered. No matter what you do: inject, marinate, pray to the Gods or whatever else, if you start with poor meat, your results will usually be average at best. That "wow" factor comes from consistency. Good meat, good cooking technique etc...  I'm certainly not a pro, but I do feel that meat quality is the absolute single most important factor.  There is a old wise saying that says, "You can't make chicken salad out of chicken $hit. The same applies to brisket. Or any meat for that matter. Sorry for rambling. 

No sliced pics of the SRF Gold?

fishlessman

points never make it this far north unless they are corned

SGH

cazzy said:

No sliced pics of the SRF Gold?

Yes sir. Going to do a post titled: Waygu Gold versus Akaushi. The Akaushi is going on tonight before I go to bed. Want to do a side by side comparison of the two.