Brisket prices

GaBGE said:

Just curious what y’all are paying for brisket? My local grocery store rarely has brisket. I saw that they had them on sale this week for $4/lb. and that was choice. I was wanting to cook one this weekend but can’t justify paying $70 for a piece of meat that may or may not be fit to eat. Thanks in advance. 

I think you need to look at this as an investment.  If it doesn’t turn out as good as you want, turn it into brisket chili.  You can’t go wrong with that.

Just paid $2.39 for CAB choice and $3.29 for a prime at H-E-B in austin. The CAB was the winner hands down. That was a great price for that brisket. 

FWIW- I pay $4-$5 for all natural choice or prime all the time. I was trying to today but they had shaved the fat cap off all 20 of them in the case. Was like a murder scene. Sad. Had to buy commodity beef which I really don’t like to do. The cab was really nice though and I’m using the prime to show how to prep for a class. All good. And cheap! 

Publix had $6.99 a lb for flats. I bought one bc it’s the only I could get my hands on to make next week. Won’t be able to hit up Costco for a few more weeks 

$3.99 commodity prime. $4.99 Meyers non non non everything Prime.  Prices per lb. 

Should you ever decide that a brisket is the most fun and challenging cook you can roll on a BGE or any other Q rig then the price/lb is much less an issue.  Once you evolve to that special place then you are looking for the quality going in as a great starting place.  Costco prime (when the butchers are engaged) is a great hunk of protein.  Once you get hooked then take a look at what Snake River Farms offers.  Additionally you can get top quality from Creekstone Farms as well as many other delivery specialty houses that can really drain your bank account.  FWIW-

GoooDawgs said:

@The Cen-Tex Smoker I'd be curious if the already trimmed packers are a better deal per yield.  My prime Costco packer had nearly 5 pounds of fat I had to trim off.  That was a good $20 I'm just throwing away!

They would be but they would also yield 100% terrible results. These were shaved down so lean that I would never bother cooking one. 

There is a reason brisket is so expensive at bbq places. You need to start with a lot of trim to get to a place that will deliver the best brisket.

People wonder why a $3lb cut of meat ends up at $20 in a bbq restaurant (and brisket is the worst margin in the joint). 

Take a 15lb packer, trim it to 11-12 if you are lucky then end up with 6-7lbs after the cook. Try to make money with that math! 

$3.39/# at Sams in Louisiana today. Got the last prime. Beast weighs 19.25#! Gonna let er rip in the morning 

Depending on when I can find them, generally $4.99 to $6 for a flat.