<––––– Born in Texas, rasied in SoCal, college in San Luis Obispo (just up the road from the tri-tip capitol or the world, Santa Maria, CA)
My thoughts:
1. Saying you've had "properly prepared brisket" only counts if you've eaten it in Lockhart TX. There are plenty of variations of "good" brisket I gather comp judges do give awards for. Let's just agree that if you've never been to Lockhart, you're lacking in the credibility dept. when talking about brisket. No matter what the f-ing KCBS judges say...
2. Point & flat are real different – although they must be made together. The OP said "I think a brisket flat is one of the most overrated meats in the BBQ world." He didn't say brisket. He said brisket
flat. He didn't say Sucks, Lousy or Hate. He said
overrated. Fair enough. I feed it to guests who don't know any better, also.
3. I think of tri-tip as BBQ fast food. Quick, tasty & satisfying. Not very hard to fix. Perfect in many situations. Though not all.
4. Unlike brisket, no need traveling to the tri-tip's temple of lore to see how it "should be done." The locals poor salsa all over it quicker than you can say no. Idiots. (But the
sourdough bread they serve it with is worth having FedExed.)
5. The most important ingredient to any prepared dish is Love. Brisket stands alone among beef cuts in that regard. The post below says it better than I can.
FYI – we had a neighborhood throwdown last year for about 300 people: my Texas style UDS brisket vs. my Santa Maria-born buddy's tri-tip – which is as good as I've ever had. I won. And there was leftover tri-tip.
