Around mid August I bought a Prime Brisket to have on hand for a special occasion. Since no special occasion was on the horizon and we just wanted something other than our usual fare, we decided to throw it on the pit. It would provide us with several meals and also some to freeze for later. I picked this one up at Costco. I had not been able to find Prime briskets anywhere for some time. So when I spotted this one I grabbed it. The price per pound left me puzzled. At 3.49/lb it was much cheaper than any Prime I had found before. Generally 3.49/lb is what I pay for a non prime brisket. It was labeled on both the cryovac pack and the price sticker. However, the brisket was the worst one I have ever BBQ'd.
Over the years I have cooked a lot of briskets. I have a foolproof technique. It always has turned out tender enough to not even need a knife. It always is very flavorful. I have been asked many times, 'when are you gonna cook another brisket and have me over?' Yes, I have been told it is the best they have ever eaten. (This is the first time I have ever repeated that. I don't like to say it and appear arrogant.) I am just trying to show my bonifides when it comes to brisket. For those not in this part of Texas, you're not supposed to need sauce if it's cooked right. We don't want the smoked goodness to be covered up with sauce. I do offer sauce to guests if that is what they like. Usually if you have to have sauce it's due to it being too dry. Mine never is. It's the final technique that ensures moisture and tenderness. Yes, I can remember having 2 briskets that didn't turn out all that well. Neither were prime briskets. One had so much fat running through the meat, not just the fat cap, but in the actual grain of the meat, that it just wasn't good to eat. The other was from Costco also and was unusually tough and not very flavorful. I had not bought another brisket from Costco until this latest. A span of several years.
As soon as I cut into this one, things weren't going good. It was tough. Where was my smoke ring? I had never seen that before. I had to look really close for the smoke ring and the meat just was not colored right. Too light not the darker rich looking I am used to. Taste? There was none. No seasoning (rub) could be detected and no smoky goodness. I was done eating quickly.
I cooked that thing another 2 hours and let it cool and placed in the fridge. The next day I got it out and started slicing the whole thing. It slices better when cold. This one was even harder to slice. As I got into it I could see that it was full of gristle and way more fat than it looked like from the outside. I threw away a couple pounds of gristle and fat. It still was tasteless. I used sauce. I added salt. (the rub I use is salt based-and it needed salt. ????
I can just guess it was so gristly and tough it failed to absorb smoke or seasoning. That thing cost me right at 50$ and we won't really enjoy it at all. I probably won't eat any more of it. The wife will drown it in sauce and continue on for a bit.
The takeaways? I am really glad we didn't have anyone over to eat this disaster. I would have been appalled that something like that would have been served to anyone. I am done buying Costco briskets. That's two bad ones from there and one just OK. I guess my foolproof technique can't over come a really bad piece of meat.
Happy Trails
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