Questions on SRF brisket

YukonRon · October 2015

Going to purchase a few briskes from SRF.. I have a few questions, and I am hopeful those who have done this can shed some light on what to expect.
How much trimming should I expect to do? I will be getting a couple mid sized packers, and a couple large. Will these need a couple days to thaw in the fridge? Thinking about overnight delivery, worth it, or just let it arrive via their normal logistics?
anything you can share with your experiences would be most helpful and certainly appreciated.

Eggcelsior · October 2015

Just get the standard 10 dollar shipping. It's still essentially overnight, they just get to ship at a later day. Mine arrived with no dry ice left but the brisket was still rock solid. It remains frozen for some other day so I can't comment on trimming. @JohnInCarolina just did one at Brisket Camp and I don't remember the trimming being anymore than a "regular" brisket.

SmokeyPitt · October 2015

I agree on the shipping if your schedule allows. You can actually specify the date you want them delivered (I think maybe it is a 2 day range). I did the cheapest shipping and ordered a whole ham, whole tenderloin, and a 4 bone rib roast and everything was rock solid frozen.

Their web site says 2-3 days to completely defrost. I would probably plan for 3 days. So if you wanted to cook them on a Saturday I would probably schedule delivery for the previous Monday for some wiggle room.

lousubcap · October 2015

@YukonRon- go with the standard shipping and my experience is as above. Will arrive in a substantial Styrofoam cooler rock solid and this time of year, likely will still have dry ice. You will need to give it a good three days to thaw in a fridge for timing purposes.
And for the L'ville area-the standard shipping means you get it in two days. The route will be from Kansas city to L'ville. Then to Lexington then back to L'ville and your house. I have tried to get UPS to short-circuit the road trip to Lex and back but their system is hard-wired, as I would have expected.
And wrt trimming, just trim them like any other brisket.
Enjoy the cook and eats.

Thatgrimguy · October 2015

I have now cooked 3 of their "competition" briskets. These are not the Wagyu ones. They are Whole Brisket NAMP/IMPS 120 Deckle Off.

It's exactly like what I buy when I get whole packers at sam's or RD but I have not seen any weird gashes or mis cuts where the butcher went to deep. Basically they are expert cut. I trim down the fat cap and square it up, I'd say less trimming than normal, but not a lot less.

BYS1981 · October 2015

I did a wagyu gold grade standard shipping and it came frozen solid, so I would anticipate thawing it.

DoubleEgger · October 2015

I've never trimmed a SRF brisket and they all have been awesome. I'm thawing a gold as we speak. Get the regular shipping. It's 2 day to GA. Throw in a pack of their Kobe Hot Dogs while you're at it.

buzd504 · October 2015

DoubleEgger said:

Throw in a pack of their Kobe Hot Dogs while you're at it.

Please elaborate.

DoubleEgger · October 2015

buzd504 said:

DoubleEgger said:

Throw in a pack of their Kobe Hot Dogs while you're at it.

Please elaborate.

http://www.snakeriverfarms.com/american-kobe-beef/burgers-and-dogs/american-kobe-hot-dogs.html?gclid=CLLU8aTQ6MgCFY8dgQodFEkE4g

Captpablo · October 2015

They have very good customer service and can instant message a customer service rep on their webpage. Mine was shipped on Wednesday/Thurs and arrived Friday. It was frozen solid and dry ice was gone. I put it in the fridge for a week. I didn't trim much. I'm 50/50 what I would do when I do this again.

buzd504 · October 2015

DoubleEgger said:

buzd504 said:

DoubleEgger said:

Throw in a pack of their Kobe Hot Dogs while you're at it.

Please elaborate.

http://www.snakeriverfarms.com/american-kobe-beef/burgers-and-dogs/american-kobe-hot-dogs.html?gclid=CLLU8aTQ6MgCFY8dgQodFEkE4g

yes, but what do they taste like? Are they worth it?

I have to admit, I'm tempted.

NibbleMeThis · October 2015

We have bought several from them. Definitely plan on a 2 day slow thaw. We usually just get the standard shipping and haven't had any problems that they caused (although UPS did deliver one of ours to a house several streets away...SRF was great though). We usually get the standard, not the gold, and almost all have been right at 13+ lbs. Trimming is about the same as the choice briskets we get from GFS but the SRF look tons better and yields a great result, IMO.

Now we are buying all of our briskets locally but never had a problem with SRF. Locally it's just not partially frozen and I can get my pick of the litter.

DoubleEgger · October 2015

@buzd504 they are tasty. They are pricey but quality hot dogs aren't cheap. I usually throw in a pack when I place an order. What's an extra $15 when you're buying their briskets?

Thatgrimguy · October 2015

I love those hotdogs. I bought 4 packs on my last order. Great flavor, great snap to the casing. Great hotdog.

SGH · October 2015

@YukonRon
You will probably get many different answers on how trim it. As such, I will offer my two cents as well. With Wagyu Gold Grade, it really doesn't make a huge difference if you trim aggressive or minimal. The out come will be phenominal either way. On the Gold Grade, the fat is much softer and far less dense than on select or choice. As such, a aggressive trim is more for cosmetics and uniform bark than anything else. With that said, for home cooking I simply square them up, block them off and remove any danglers. Blocking them off is not really necessary but I do it out of habit for the most part. The little fat that will remain after cooking can literally be wiped off the Gold Grade. Heck I eat it as its outstanding. If you want to trim the crap out of it just because, go ahead, it won't hurt a thing. Or you can simply square it up and block it off which is much less work and all will be well. It's a win win either way. For clarity, I'm neither a Brisket God nor a Thunder God. As such, take my advice with a grain of salt my friend. If either of the above tells you different, heed their advice instead of mine. Please note that my trim advice above is for Wagyu Gold Grade. Do not apply it to select or choice unless you are going to do a clean up trim after cooking and slicing. I'm not even sure what grade you are ordering, but I thought I would share the above about trimming the Waygu Gold Grade.

buzd504 · October 2015

DoubleEgger said:

@buzd504 they are tasty. They are pricey but quality hot dogs aren't cheap. I usually throw in a pack when I place an order. What's an extra $15 when you're buying their briskets?

Interesting, thanks. I will definitely grab a pack or two on my next order.

nolaegghead · October 2015

Scottie, break that sheet up into paragraphs. Just a little constructive advice. You know I love ya man.

SGH · October 2015

nolaegghead said:

Scottie, break that sheet up into paragraphs. Just a little constructive advice. You know I love ya man.

I will try to do better. Been running on limited time so my grammar and punctuation is certainly a little off. My apologies. And you know the love is returned in kind my friend.

YukonRon · October 2015

Eggcelsior said:

Just get the standard 10 dollar shipping. It's still essentially overnight, they just get to ship at a later day. Mine arrived with no dry ice left but the brisket was still rock solid. It remains frozen for some other day so I can't comment on trimming. @JohnInCarolina just did one at Brisket Camp and I don't remember the trimming being anymore than a "regular" brisket.

Thank you for the heads up in shipping. I am hoping to put one on the egg for my SIL and BIL, coming up from Texas. I will be doing a couple practice briskys just to make sure I got this. They are coming up from Texas, so the bar will be high.
thanks again for the help.

YukonRon · October 2015

SmokeyPitt said:

I agree on the shipping if your schedule allows. You can actually specify the date you want them delivered (I think maybe it is a 2 day range). I did the cheapest shipping and ordered a whole ham, whole tenderloin, and a 4 bone rib roast and everything was rock solid frozen.

Their web site says 2-3 days to completely defrost. I would probably plan for 3 days. So if you wanted to cook them on a Saturday I would probably schedule delivery for the previous Monday for some wiggle room.

Thank you for the heads up on timing. This will be my first order, so your information has been very helpful.
I definitely will try to schedule accordingly. Thank you again for the help.

YukonRon · October 2015

lousubcap said:

@YukonRon- go with the standard shipping and my experience is as above. Will arrive in a substantial Styrofoam cooler rock solid and this time of year, likely will still have dry ice. You will need to give it a good three days to thaw in a fridge for timing purposes.
And for the L'ville area-the standard shipping means you get it in two days. The route will be from Kansas city to L'ville. Then to Lexington then back to L'ville and your house. I have tried to get UPS to short-circuit the road trip to Lex and back but their system is hard-wired, as I would have expected.
And wrt trimming, just trim them like any other brisket.
Enjoy the cook and eats.

Thanks, 2 days should be good. The dude shall abide. I don't want to mess this up, I got some brisket experts rolling in, and I am too stupid to be cautious on meal selection. It may not be the best they ever had, but it won't be without the effort in trying.
Thanks again!

YukonRon · October 2015

Thatgrimguy said:

I have now cooked 3 of their "competition" briskets. These are not the Wagyu ones. They are Whole Brisket NAMP/IMPS 120 Deckle Off.

It's exactly like what I buy when I get whole packers at sam's or RD but I have not seen any weird gashes or mis cuts where the butcher went to deep. Basically they are expert cut. I trim down the fat cap and square it up, I'd say less trimming than normal, but not a lot less.

I saw Franklins video he did at Texas A&M on trimming. He was all over the place. I am going to try something I noticed that he did do on the practice briskes. I am going to give it the sort of aerodynamic trim he spoke of. Thinking with the BGE XL that might be a good decision.
Thank you for the advice. It sound very simple.

lousubcap · October 2015

@YukonRon - regarding brisket cooks give this thread a good look;
Educate me, please. May have some info that will help the cook. And starting with SRF will give you a definite head- start. You've got this.

YukonRon · October 2015

BYS1981 said:

I did a wagyu gold grade standard shipping and it came frozen solid, so I would anticipate thawing it.

Yeah, from what others had mentioned I plan to give it a few days in the fridge. Thank you for the help. As I mentioned it was my first, and I have no idea what the real experiences are with shipping. I think I know how to go about this.
Appreciate your input very much.

YukonRon · October 2015

DoubleEgger said:

I've never trimmed a SRF brisket and they all have been awesome. I'm thawing a gold as we speak. Get the regular shipping. It's 2 day to GA. Throw in a pack of their Kobe Hot Dogs while you're at it.

I promise this dude will abide. I love me some hotdogs, and I am thinking a couple packs might just be enough to piss me off, LOL. Thank you for the idea.

YukonRon · October 2015

NibbleMeThis said:

We have bought several from them. Definitely plan on a 2 day slow thaw. We usually just get the standard shipping and haven't had any problems that they caused (although UPS did deliver one of ours to a house several streets away...SRF was great though). We usually get the standard, not the gold, and almost all have been right at 13+ lbs. Trimming is about the same as the choice briskets we get from GFS but the SRF look tons better and yields a great result, IMO.

Now we are buying all of our briskets locally but never had a problem with SRF. Locally it's just not partially frozen and I can get my pick of the litter.

Thank you for this information. Had it not been for the brisket snobs, and me trying to fix something that will hopefully knock it out of the park, I don't know that I would have tried the SRF path.
We had made plans to host them for the Who concert scheduled for Louisville that got cancelled. So this is an attempt to ease the pain.
Certainly appreciate the help.

YukonRon · October 2015

SGH said:

@YukonRon
You will probably get many different answers on how trim it. As such, I will offer my two cents as well. With Wagyu Gold Grade, it really doesn't make a huge difference if you trim aggressive or minimal. The out come will be phenominal either way. On the Gold Grade, the fat is much softer and far less dense than on select or choice. As such, a aggressive trim is more for cosmetics and uniform bark than anything else. With that said, for home cooking I simply square them up, block them off and remove any danglers. Blocking them off is not really necessary but I do it out of habit for the most part. The little fat that will remain after cooking can literally be wiped off the Gold Grade. Heck I eat it as its outstanding. If you want to trim the crap out of it just because, go ahead, it won't hurt a thing. Or you can simply square it up and block it off which is much less work and all will be well. It's a win win either way. For clarity, I'm neither a Brisket God nor a Thunder God. As such, take my advice with a grain of salt my friend. If either of the above tells you different, heed their advice instead of mine. Please note that my trim advice above is for Wagyu Gold Grade. Do not apply it to select or choice unless you are going to do a clean up trim after cooking and slicing. I'm not even sure what grade you are ordering, but I thought I would share the above about trimming the Waygu Gold Grade.

I value your insight, I will follow the advice. I would like the trimming to add to the result, not diminish, and after watching Franklin's method, I am going for minimalist in the trim, but just enough to enhance the convection of the heat.
Thank you for the information. The Dude abides.

YukonRon · October 2015

SGH said:

nolaegghead said:

Scottie, break that sheet up into paragraphs. Just a little constructive advice. You know I love ya man.

I will try to do better. Been running on limited time so my grammar and punctuation is certainly a little off. My apologies. And you know the love is returned in kind my friend.

It was great. Either way. I appreciate what I get from everyone, no matter how the data is delivered.

YukonRon · October 2015

Franklin says salt and pepper only.
What say you?

SmokeyPitt · October 2015

I think there is some question as to whether Franklin actually only uses salt and pepper in his restaurant. I am sure it would be great with salt and pepper only but I would personally add a little more to it. Last brisket I used a coffee rub and I really liked it. It was actually Trader Joes coffee and garlic BBQ rub and I added some celery salt and more ground pepper. I would do it again.

lousubcap · October 2015

I've had good results with S&P-but of late have been adding some bourbon smoked paprika. Gives it a subtle kick. As with all things brisket, you can go with about anything as long as the beef taste doesn't get overwhelmed. YMMV-

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