Brisket Experiment

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chris1237

Sous Chef
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Today I am doing a little brisket experiment. I was able to get my hands on a USDA prime (I think dry aged) brisket. I will be cooking that today along side a regular nothing special USDA choice brisket. I have the stumps going with the stoker hooked up. I am using oak and cherry wood for the briskets. Once they come off Ill do a little taste test to see if there is a big difference between prime and choice. This the first time I have ever cooked a prime brisket so if anybody has tips for cooking them they would be greatly appreciated.

Here is a pic of the choice brisket




Here is the prime brisket


http://img442.imagesh

Chris
 
Good luck with the experiment. That brisket may have been wet aged but I doubt that it was dry aged unless you went to an old time butcher shop and personally requested it a few weeks back. They rarely if ever dry age briskets. Just not worth it most of the time.
 
Why has the fat cap been removed?

Prime briskets like low pit temps 190 to 210, check for tender at least 10 degrees before you normally would.
 
jminion said:
Why has the fat cap been removed?

Prime briskets like low pit temps 190 to 210, check for tender at least 10 degrees before you normally would.

Thanks for the advice Jim. The choice brisket still has a fat cap on it. The prime one has somewhat of a fat cap on it but more than I wanted has was trimmed by the butcher. Both of the pics are of the tops of the briskets. I forgot to take one of the fat caps so I cannot show you what was left.
 
I had a dry aged brisket once. It looked like it came off a cadaver....purple meat, and hard yellow fat. (the people I sent pics to will attest) The Butcher had to carve it off a 1/4 cow he had hanging in his walk in. ... Shame he didn't know how to do it. I got mostly fat and a smaller part of flat and point. It came out and Tasted OK though. Haven't been back there since.

Looks good so far Chris!
 
ScottyDaQ said:
I had a dry aged brisket once. It looked like it came off a cadaver....purple meat, and hard yellow fat. (the people I sent pics to will attest) The Butcher had to carve it off a 1/4 cow he had hanging in his walk in. ... Shame he didn't know how to do it. I got mostly fat and a smaller part of flat and point. It came out and Tasted OK though. Haven't been back there since.

Looks good so far Chris!

The cow is supposed to be dead. :LOL:

Chris, that prime has great fat going through it. I can't believe it wouldn't be more tender.
Great test....waiting for the results.
Then I want to find out who your butcher is. :LOL:
 
Diva Q said:
Good luck with the experiment. That brisket may have been wet aged but I doubt that it was dry aged unless you went to an old time butcher shop and personally requested it a few weeks back. They rarely if ever dry age briskets. Just not worth it most of the time.

It most certainly was dry aged. Look at the discoloration on the point and in the front part of the flat.

My briskets this year(all prime) were dry aged and I can honestly say I didn't notice a bit of difference. In additon, I have had primes that were really good and choice ones that were better than some prime.
 
I post a few pics tomorrow. Here are my thought from the tasting I did. The prime was was noticeably more more moist and had a richer more beefy flavor. The choice brisket was good it was moist and a lot all of the other briskets I have had.

Was the prime worth the extra cost?

Yes for comps. I feel this cut takes you to the next level. It has taking me to the point of which I was hoping to achieve with my brisket. I also like the idea that I am able to achieve the rich beefy more most flavor with out using stuff like fab. (I know there are a lot out there that use it successfully but from my limited use of the stuff but i cannot stand the taste of it). If I was just cooking for family and friends I would stick with choice because of cost and also I think once this stuff is put in a sandwich it would be hard to tell the difference.

I look forward to competing with this next year

Chris
 
The prime brisket



The choice brisket


Part of the prime brisket flat sliced after being reheated in the microwave

 
Uncle Bubba said:
[quote="Diva Q":24skewkb]Good luck with the experiment. That brisket may have been wet aged but I doubt that it was dry aged unless you went to an old time butcher shop and personally requested it a few weeks back. They rarely if ever dry age briskets. Just not worth it most of the time.

It most certainly was dry aged. Look at the discoloration on the point and in the front part of the flat.

My briskets this year(all prime) were dry aged and I can honestly say I didn't notice a bit of difference. In additon, I have had primes that were really good and choice ones that were better than some prime.[/quote:24skewkb]

Yes, it was dry aged. All of the briskets I cook are dry aged prime. I honestly do not remember how brisket tastes if it's not hung for a few days (weeks) before it's cooked, though, as it's been so long since I've cooked one that wasn't. Something in my memory tells me that I prefer eating a brisket that has been dry aged . . . although I don't know why, especially since I don't really like brisket to begin with :roll:
 
Prime looked more moist. Nice looking meats.

I thought all dry aging had to be done as a whole carcus, or half,,,,not smaller cuts, or it wouldn't work.
 
May be getting off topic but......Can you compete with a dry aged brisket... I mean are they packed so that they can be inspected....Is that considered to be tampered with ?
 
Cliff H. said:
May be getting off topic but......Can you compete with a dry aged brisket... I mean are they packed so that they can be inspected....Is that considered to be tampered with ?

I believe you can. As far as I know there is no rule that says meat must be in the cryovac. When I compete with the chicken I get from my butcher it is only rapped in butcher paper. Also you are allowed to pretrim your meats. The kcbs rule says meats must not be seasoned in anyway.

Another thing that make me think you can use dry aged meat is that if you look at the pics on the dizzy pig site their briskets shown are dry aged. Also the way I found out about this butcher is a through a local team that uses his meats.

I could be wrong though

Chris
 
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