Q-Dat
Babbling Farker
Legit strategy or much ado about nothing?
I suspect it makes a difference, but wanted to see what the brethren think.
I suspect it makes a difference, but wanted to see what the brethren think.
The Raw Brisket Flop Test For Tenderness
- Thread starter Q-Dat
- Start date
landarc
somebody shut me the fark up.
I do it, but, I do have some questions about it.
For instance, if there is a fat cap of some thickness, it is less flexible. A floppy raw brisket might also mean a thin flat.
For instance, if there is a fat cap of some thickness, it is less flexible. A floppy raw brisket might also mean a thin flat.
Q-Dat
Babbling Farker
See I have actually abandoned the flop test as of late for more of a squeeze test. In a supermarket display case of briskets you can poke or squeeze the meat and feel undeniable differences in muscle firmness and density.
Flopping can be affected as you said by fat cap thickness and the thickness of the flat. I also suspect that the tightness of the cryo pack can affect it.
El Ropo
Quintessential Chatty Farker
I would think a tender brisket with an unusually thick flat might not pass a flop test.
BBQ Bandit
Babbling Farker
Never had much success bending it while still in the cryovac.
Wound up buying basing on size, trim, and marbling.
Wound up buying basing on size, trim, and marbling.
I'm into grade. Night and day. Prime = No. Choice = Yes.
Alot of time and effort involved in my world to do a good brisket. Bigabyte has a killer thread on the subject. But to me, it all starts with the quality of the cut.
I'm sure there are folks here that can make any cut tender but I can not. Choice has the marbling as Bandit says.
Alot of time and effort involved in my world to do a good brisket. Bigabyte has a killer thread on the subject. But to me, it all starts with the quality of the cut.
I'm sure there are folks here that can make any cut tender but I can not. Choice has the marbling as Bandit says.
Bludawg
somebody shut me the fark up.
In my experience I don't think it makes much difference, When I pick out my briskets I look for a blunt point and uniform thickness end to end. I will pick a choice over a select all things being equal.if the price is roughly the same. To be honest some of the best briskets I have cooked have been select. Grading on a brisket don't mean much because cows are graded between the 4th & 5th rib, the more the cow moves around the leaner the brisket is going to be(marbling) because that muscle is exercised more than the muscles where it is graded.
bigabyte
somebody shut me the fark up.
This. The test is legit, but a thick fat cap will make even a tender brisket appear rigid while in cryo. All that said however, any brisket floppy in cry is tender, guaranteed. Another "gotcha" is how tightly wrapped in cryo it is. It is possible for even a floppy brisket to appear rigid depending on the factor of how tightly "sucked in" it is. Hope that makes sense. When all is said and done though...if it is in cryo, and is floppy, it's tender. But a lot of the unfloppy ones MIGHT also be tender.
So pick the one that looks best to you. Not floppiness.
Make sense yet? Confused yet?
Good!
Q-Dat
Babbling Farker
I do think the squeeze/poke test I mentioned above gets around some of the flaws of the flop/bend test.
landarc
somebody shut me the fark up.
I note that this is in Q-talk and not Comp. For backyard cooking I think you can choose just about any brisket and have a reasonable chance at getting a good brisket out of your efforts. To that end, I buy Choice if its there, but, it doesn't worry me to buy Select as Bludawg pointed out, the grading is not too important. If the cryovac is loose, I will do a flop test and a close visual check for a nice thick flat. If it is tight, I poke at it. In the end, it's a guess.
I will say, that the store makes a difference. Over the past two years, I feel that Cash and Carry has provided me with the better packers once the cooking is done
I will say, that the store makes a difference. Over the past two years, I feel that Cash and Carry has provided me with the better packers once the cooking is done
hmbrewr
Knows what a fatty is.
X2 on Cash and Carry. Smart & Final also. I think they are owned by the same parent company. But I'm not positive. Never had a bad one from either place.
Q-Dat
Babbling Farker
I know this. With all of the fat that I have had to trim off of packers lately, I am really questioning how much money I am actually saving vs buying trimmed packers like CAB
SDAR
Quintessential Chatty Farker
Prime = No? over Choice?
I guess I don't understand this if marbling matters. I've been buying some primes and man are they good! I say this even if the grade is at the ribs...seems like the chance for true marbling goes up significantly.
J
jmoney7269
Guest
I never had much luck with primes either. Not even the strube brand wagyu. I like the. CAB national packers 16-18 lbs
Haveuseen1?
Full Fledged Farker
It seems around here that all of the stores carry EXCEL brand briskets. Kroger, Publix, Star Market, Wal Mart, Sams, all carry EXCEL brand briskets. You can find Select, Choice and Prime. That being said, around here I am not sure it would make any difference where you bought one. You would have to determine what grade, and finally which brisket you feel is the best. I dont put much faith in the flop method, and I'm not sure I would put much faith in the squeeze method. Kroger freezes their briskets, and all of them might. So if you squeezed one that had not fully thawed out you might think it was firmer than one that had fully thawed. I look at the size, shape, and marble. Then I pick what I believe is the best available. If I were to cook one that I thought was questionable from the start, I would bet I would be more critical of that one.
JandJbuidasmoker
Full Fledged Farker
I find this thread very helpful, I'll sit back and take notes!
SDAR
Quintessential Chatty Farker
There is a difference between prime and wagyu in my opinion. It's almost two different meats as far as taste and texture based on my limited experience. Again, this is my opinion.
I really like the primes I've been getting from Creekstone though. I can get a choice to be as tender and probably close to as juicy, but the taste is wow without any help. They beat the heck out of the choice I can get around here.
With that being said, I talked with a buddy of mine that sells meat and I asked him why we don't get prime briskets in my town. He said that we probably do...that most of the CABs are graded "choice or better" and you have to know the difference when selecting them from the counter.
I still think the last few Creekstone's I've bought were better. It may be wishful thinking based on what I paid for them, but the guests seemed to agree.
I really like the primes I've been getting from Creekstone though. I can get a choice to be as tender and probably close to as juicy, but the taste is wow without any help. They beat the heck out of the choice I can get around here.
With that being said, I talked with a buddy of mine that sells meat and I asked him why we don't get prime briskets in my town. He said that we probably do...that most of the CABs are graded "choice or better" and you have to know the difference when selecting them from the counter.
I still think the last few Creekstone's I've bought were better. It may be wishful thinking based on what I paid for them, but the guests seemed to agree.
Q-Dat
Babbling Farker
It may not make a difference, but I should note that I tested the squeeze test yesterday at Restaurant Depot where everything is fresh never frozen. There were significant differences in meat texture from one brisket to the next. Not thickness of meat differences, or thickness of fat differences, or tightness of packaging differences, or temperature differences.
Very different textures in the MEAT from brisket to brisket all IBP, and all the same kill date.
Bludawg
somebody shut me the fark up.
Daddy always told me "Son don't let another man handle your meat he might be heavy handed"
Fatback Joe
Babbling Farker
I'll second the Creekstone. As mentioned earlier by the platypus, this is Q Talk and I am not sure I would spend the extra money for one for backyard cooking/eating. In 15 comps, I had 2 top 10s in brisket (using Wagyu and CABs) prior to switching to Creekstone, after the switch, I had 3 top 5s in 5 comps (one being a win).......and one of the two where I was outside was at the Jack so I was not shocked to be outside the top.
Maybe they just fit my cooking style, but I have been very pleased and have had very good comp results with the Creekstone Primes.
