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Hard time parting with $$$ for brisket.

I found a food service company that caters to restaurants and independent groceries, you know those smaller semi's with all the fancy food graphics that do the deliveries. In our little part of north Florida we have two pretty good sized operations so I'm pretty confident there are regional counterparts pretty much everywhere. Anyhow, I found one that has a will call desk that will sell to the public and they have everything from meats to paper products & condiments. The only catch: you need to purchase in their case lots. For choice brisket that's 5 15 pounders per case for about $2.50 per pound. Pork spare ribs, 9 racks 36 pounds per case for $2.00 per pound. I've found the quality excellent.
 
In STL Sam's club has packers for more than $4/pound. Pork loins are $2/pound and the pork in almost 100% edible. Guess which we've been eating :)
 
Cabin Fever said:
I haven't cooked a full packer brisket in over 4 years due to their price. I can buy all natural 8-10 pound bone in pork butts all day long at Wegmans for less than $12 each and yet 10-14 pound briskets at Wal-Mart run around $45-$60. I simply can't afford that and the worst part is that Wally World carries the bottom of the barrel as far as quality goes. I couldn't imagine what others are paying for packers that are actually a better grade. :cry:
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Wow. You're paying $4.50/lb. for brisket at your Wally World? We're paying $2/lb. less at our WW here in PA. Guess I'm just not understanding how the same store charges different prices to that extent in different areas. :confused:
 
tish said:
Wow. You're paying $4.50/lb. for brisket at your Wally World? We're paying $2/lb. less at our WW here in PA. Guess I'm just not understanding how the same store charges different prices to that extent in different areas. :confused:
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We're paying up to $3.07/lb here and as low as $2.67/lb depending on when they decide to run sales or not. So do the math. Even at $2.67/lb you're still paying $32 for a 12 lb brisket and that's not including sales tax which would push it to $35. Trust me, it sux. :mmph:
 
Bamabuzzard said:
We're paying up to $3.07/lb here and as low as $2.67/lb depending on when they decide to run sales or not. So do the math. Even at $2.67/lb you're still paying $32 for a 12 lb brisket and that's not including sales tax which would push it to $35. Trust me, it sux. :mmph:
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I believe it. That's nasty. :twitch:
 
2.38-2.48 a pound here in North Alabama. That would include Sams or Kroger for Choice packer briskets. At that price it seems like a no brianer vs Ribeye or New York Strip. Ground beef ( 73/27 ) is 2.49 a pound. So we buy 12 pound packers for less than 30 dollars, cook, vaccum seal, and eat. We can always find pork butts for around 1.00 per pound. I like them both, but the truth is pork is not beef, and beef is not pork. If I want a big slice of beef, a pulled pork sandwhich is not going to fix that.
 
Gore said:
In Maryland it has always been expensive ($5/pound is a good price here and I've seen select for $9/pound at regular grocery stores) and we have ZERO BBQ tradition and few places that even sell BBQ. BBQ is all about taking cheap cuts of meat and making them taste good. It doesn't have to be brisket. I'm very happy to cook chuckies and they're less than half the price. They're also easier and very tasty. I love brisket, but I'm not a brisket snob. :drama:
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Gore, I don't know where you are but there is fair priced brisket in MD. You have to look for it as the demand for packers is low.
 
Vision said:
Gore, I don't know where you are but there is fair priced brisket in MD. You have to look for it as the demand for packers is low.
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Thanks, I haven't seen any in my area. I still check the local stores from time to time, but I can't recall seeing less than $5/ pound in I don't know how long. Even our Costco is never below $5/pound if they even have it at all.
 
I'm getting flats for $2.48 at my local SAMs. The order got screwed up and I was told I could have flats at packer price!
 
Cayman1 said:
Thank the elected officials in DC for a lot of this problem, they are the ones that passed the requirement that 30% or so of all corn production must go to produce ethanol. Never mind about food for people or livestock. Di**heads!

I think it is a location thing though, I just paid $3.39 for CAB packers.
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landarc said:
Or you could thank the corn lobbyists who pushed for laws making it illegal to sell ethanol that is not corn sourced.

Truth is, there is low cost beef out there, but, you have to want the right cut in the right location. Right now, tri-tip could not be easier to find out here. Cheap and plentiful, and some really good looking ones. No kidding though, many of the higher end butcher shops are selling brisket and even packers, if you ask. And that is really different from the past in CA.
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You both are wrong about ethanol. There is a by-product from the production of ethanol called distillers grains. This is used as feed for cattle. So blaming ethanol doesn't hold water in this case.
 
Ethanol myth

Cayman1 said:
Thank the elected officials in DC for a lot of this problem, they are the ones that passed the requirement that 30% or so of all corn production must go to produce ethanol. Never mind about food for people or livestock. Di**heads!

I think it is a location thing though, I just paid $3.39 for CAB packers.
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Feedlots use all the distillers grain they can get, it's actually higher in protein than ground corn. Very little corn product is "consumed" in the ethanol process.
 
The shortage of corn as well as severe droughts have led to a drop in supply. My parents have a cattle operation in Colorado and have had to sell some of the herd off and may have to do more. The other issue driving prices up is with gas prices high the transportation cost increases. I can usually find brisket for around 2.40/lb but am contacting some local beef producers about buying directly from them.
 
BigBellyBen77 said:
The shortage of corn as well as severe droughts have led to a drop in supply. My parents have a cattle operation in Colorado and have had to sell some of the herd off and may have to do more. The other issue driving prices up is with gas prices high the transportation cost increases. I can usually find brisket for around 2.40/lb but am contacting some local beef producers about buying directly from them.
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This is what I've been told as well. Farmers selling off their herds and the rising prices of fuel driving up transportation cost.
 
If you can find packers around here, they're gonna set you back about $50-$60 in the few places I've seen them. And stuff like flank steak and skirt steak-about $15-$20 for a piece. What's funny is that there are bazillions of beef cattle grown here-most of the land is too steep to crop farm, so it's mostly cow pastures. Now pork-it's pretty cheap. I bought whole butts for .99 a lb. a couple weeks ago.
 
Pyle's BBQ said:
You both are wrong about ethanol. There is a by-product from the production of ethanol called distillers grains. This is used as feed for cattle. So blaming ethanol doesn't hold water in this case.
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Exactly - the main reason for potential higher beef prices is the severe drought that has caused cow-calf producers in Texas are other big cattle states to liquidate their cow herds , which will eventually lead to lower supplies.
 
Gore said:
Thanks, I haven't seen any in my area. I still check the local stores from time to time, but I can't recall seeing less than $5/ pound in I don't know how long. Even our Costco is never below $5/pound if they even have it at all.
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Where are you?
 
well corn prices suppose to be cheaper this year,and cattle prices have drop some , in the next few month they should be dropping, but like someone said brisket is a popular meat
 
Here in PA brisket is expensive. Even at the wholesale clubs your paying $4.00/lb. I found that your better off getting a pre-trimmed brisket for $5.00/lb because the amount of fat you would trim off would more then make up for that extra $1/lb. Plus they tend to pre-trim the briskets with more meat on them. I have a rule of thumb , well 3 thumbs...If the flat end is less then 3 thumbs thick of meat it doesnt go into my shopping cart. I laugh when i see a brisket being sold with 3 inches of fat and 1 inch of meat at the flat end.
 
Clearly I live in the wrong place, briskets run about $6.00 a pound, and the funny thing is I almost never see them on sale but I can regularly buy Porterhouse steaks for $5.00 a pound and the Butts $3.00+.
 
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