CAB brisket.

This thread should help make a decision

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26484&highlight=cab+brisket

I think you're going to find most people on here say absolutely it's worth it, the real question is whether or not to get Choice or Prime. I travel one hour each way to get my brisket, although I only use CAB if I have to. ;-)

Here is my take on it. Others may disagree.

The CAB selection process focuses on the rib-eye portion, and pays no attention to the brisket. There might be some associated advantage, but if there is it is probably not enough to matter with a low and slow cooking methods.

CAB distinguishes itself by being selected thusly:

"Marbling and maturity

Modest or higher marbling – for the taste that ensures customer satisfaction
Medium or fine marbling texture – the white "flecks of flavor" in the beef that ensure consistent flavor and juiciness in every bite
Only the youngest classification of product qualifies as "A" maturity – for superior color, texture and tenderness
The next three specifications ensure a uniform, consistent steak size:

10- to 16-square-inch ribeye area
Less than 1,000-pound hot carcass weight
Less than 1-inch fat thickness
And finally, four specifications further ensure the quality appearance and tenderness of the brand:

Superior muscling (restricts influence of dairy cattle)
Practically free of capillary ruptures (ensures the most visually appealing steak)
No dark cutters (ensures the most visually appealing steak)
No neck hump exceeding 2 inches (safeguards against cattle with more variability in tenderness)"

I always use just choice briskets. I have used CAB but never made it any different, and beside a bad one we purchased on site in galvinell, we have never had a problem with competing. There is no reason to waste your money. In this car it is the indian not the arrow.

I pay $1.29 lb for cab so to me it's worth it

Holy Snikes!!!!!!

I pay $1.29 lb for cab so to me it's worth it

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.....where the hades you getting that one? Awesome price!

That is a cost price. I get mine directly from the slaughter house and that's what I pay. No mark-up, which is nice. Well worth bringing them a bunch of cooked comp meat. Plus, I get mine aged at least 35 days. I also get to tell them the size I want with weight of cases. Just got 275 pounds. 3 of the 18 briskets were prime.

I also realize that not everyone has the connections that I am afforded with getting these. So I am very fortunate.

Scottie said:

That is a cost price. I get mine directly from the slaughter house and that's what I pay. No mark-up, which is nice. Well worth bringing them a bunch of cooked comp meat. Plus, I get mine aged at least 35 days. I also get to tell them the size I want with weight of cases. Just got 275 pounds. 3 of the 18 briskets were prime.

I also realize that not everyone has the connections that I am afforded with getting these. So I am very fortunate.

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Wow that is an awesome setup! Do they wet or dry age them 35 days for you? It sounds like you have no problem freezing them either.

musicmanryann said:

Wow that is an awesome setup! Do they wet or dry age them 35 days for you? It sounds like you have no problem freezing them either.

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Wet aged in the cryovac. They just put them on a special shelf in their cooler. Don't really want to say their name, but they are a huge packer. We do legal work for them. The plant manager enjoys ribs... It's a match made in heaven... Well worth the 2 hour drive each way. And no, I have never had a problem with freezing these briskets. I think their quality is a major factor as well of not having any effect.

Scottie said:

Wet aged in the cryovac. They just put them on a special shelf in their cooler. Don't really want to say their name, but they are a huge packer. We do legal work for them. The plant manager enjoys ribs... It's a match made in heaven... Well worth the 2 hour drive each way. And no, I have never had a problem with freezing these briskets. I think their quality is a major factor as well of not having any effect.

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That's okay, I have my own brisky set-up albeit far less convenient than yours. :wink:

As I have posted many times--I use CAB because of the consistancy.
Not necessarily the best out there, but every case is consistantly high quality.

I buy from a CAB dist. in Panama City and pay less than Sam's wants for choice and Walmart wants for "whatever".
Current case was $2.19/ lb.

Works for me :lol:

TIM

butt head said:

I pay $1.29 lb for cab so to me it's worth it

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Where? For that price, it's worth the drive.

"Certified Angus Beef" (CAB) is a special industry designation developed in 1978 that involves standards for marbling, tenderness, age, and color. According to the National Cattleman's Beef Association, only about 8% of U.S. beef is entitled to the label "Certified Angus."

The Certified Angus Beef ® brand is a cut above USDA Prime, Choice and Select. An advantage for us Q'ers is that the slaughter date and pack date are within 24 hours of each other. When purchacing a CAB brisket the packing date is stamped on the packaging. This allows us to determine how long to "Dry Age" the brisket for best flavor.

Directly after cattle are slaughtered, their meat is generally quite tender, which is one reason people like fresh-killed meat. However, since few restaurants adjoin a stockyard, most of us have to settle for meat that's not nearly as fresh. During the first 12 to 24 hours postmortem the meat will toughen as the muscle fibers shorten due to rigor mortis. After that, however, enzymes in the meat attack the structural proteins that make meat tough (a process called "postmortem proteolysis"), resulting in slow and natural tenderization. The process happens quickest in pork and lamb and generally slowest in beef. Enzyme action has the additional effect of improving and strengthening the flavor of the beef, most likely due to the breakdown of proteins into amino acids.

Since aging would normally allow bacteria and mold to act on the beef, it's carried out at low temperatures, generally between 34 and 38 F. Beef can be aged anywhere from a few days to as long as six weeks, with the average probably around 10-14 days. Aging is typically done by the so-called dry method, where the beef is stored in an environment between 34 and 38 F. I use a separate refrigerator in my garage. Dry aging results in a loss of meat over time due to water evaporation and surface mold (which must be trimmed off), but is said to concentrate the flavor of the meat.

I would have tio disagree stating that CAB is better then prime. JMO

OC PIG ASSASSINS said:

I would have tio disagree stating that CAB is better then prime. JMO

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I have to admit I have cooked and submitted both at contests and the CABS were much better marbled. The advantage of CAB is knowing when the animal was slaughtered for ageing the brisket. Below is what CAB and the USDA claims. Marketing huey or not? You can decided for yourself. I personally like CAB briskets, but then again I can get them at a decent price.


Today, criticisms are arising that are not unlike complaints that were raised 70 years ago when U.S. grades were first proposed. Some people currently believe that eliminating the Federal beef grading program will spur the packing industry into marketing branded products and developing more value-added beef products. However, it was not until after beef producers and retailers demanded the development of the Federal beef grading program in the 1920's that the major packers developed their own packer brands.

It is interesting to note that packers in the 1920's had long criticized efforts by producers and retailers to develop a Federal beef grading program as they felt beef grading was unworkable and without merit in the marketplace. However, during the same year when the Federal beef grading program was initiated, major packers started their own house brands. Swift's Premium and Select and Armour's Star and Quality brands of beef products (two of the major packers of the 1920's) were instituted and aggressively promoted during the same period when the USDA beef grades of Prime and Choice were first marketed on a national basis.

Today, many branded programs utilize the USDA grade system or benefit from the skill, experience, and impartiality of the USDA grading service. Certified Angus Beef (CAB) is an excellent example of a successful branded product line that incorporates USDA grades and USDA grading services into its program, along with other requirements that provide value-added benefits to its purchasers. The CAB program can assure customers that their products are average Choice or better; the third-party services of USDA graders ensure that breed, maturity, and other quality factors in CAB program requirements are met. Several other branded programs have been developed or are being developed which rely on both USDA grades and program services, as well as producer-controlled criteria, to ensure products meet customers' desires.

10 Quality Specifications

Marbling and maturity

1. Modest or higher marbling – for the taste that ensures customer satisfaction
2. Medium or fine marbling texture – the white "flecks of flavor" in the beef that ensure consistent flavor and juiciness in every bite
3. Only the youngest classification of product qualifies as "A" maturity – for superior color, texture and tenderness

The next three specifications ensure a uniform, consistent steak size:

1. 10- to 16-square-inch ribeye area
2. Less than 1,000-pound hot carcass weight
3. Less than 1-inch fat thickness

And finally, four specifications further ensure the quality appearance and tenderness of the brand:

1. Superior muscling (restricts influence of dairy cattle)
2. Practically free of capillary ruptures (ensures the most visually appealing steak)
3. No dark cutters (ensures the most visually appealing steak)
4. No neck hump exceeding 2 inches (safeguards against cattle with more variability in tenderness)