Breaking down a costco prime brisket

[smoke ninja]

They look good and at $2.99 lbs its seems too good to be true. I've heard others say how much fat is on them. Ive noticed it myself.

I planned on pastrami so i seperated the point and flat and removed most the fat. Since i finally got some batteries for my scale i decided to weigh my yields.

The whole packer was close to 15 lbs



The point. My first time doing this, missed a little. The point was about 3.5 lbs. It was for dinner tonight



This is the flat, destined to be cured, it was just under 4 and a half lbs. The trimmings pile was 10 oz and will be for some tacos or such.


That left me with a 6.25 lb mountain of fat. I maybe could have left a pound on the meat but much of it was excessive and useless.



I decided to tie, skewer and spin the point on the wood fired drum.





And then i chopped it up for sliders topped with pickled red onion.





Flat should be ready in a week

 

[cholloway]

That's a ridiculous amount of fat for a 15# roast.
$18 worth. No thanks.

 

[Smokiemon]

I agree pretty fatty, hard to beat for the price tho.

 

[Grabnabber]

You can always melt the fat pile down for french fries.

 

[Mikhail]

It is a lot of fat, but hey - prime beef.

 

[ulc]

Some have less fat. You have to pick and choose. The smaller 10-12 lbs ones usually have less fat. It looks like you trimmed off almost all the fat. I like to trim the hard fat and leave some of the softer fat in the back. If you're going to trim that much, you're better off buying something like chuck roast.

 

[smoke ninja]

That's a ridiculous amount of fat for a 15# roast.
$18 worth. No thanks.

There was alot of fat but at $3 a pound i didn't feel cheated. It would be 4 and change for usable meat and around here thats the lowest id pay for roasts and such, heck a brisket flat can run $6+ lbs

Some have less fat. You have to pick and choose. The smaller 10-12 lbs ones usually have less fat. It looks like you trimmed off almost all the fat. I like to trim the hard fat and leave some of the softer fat in the back. If you're going to trim that much, you're better off buying something like chuck roast.

Yup noticed the smaller ones dont have as much excess fat. I trimmed the flat for curing although i considered leaving an 1/8th inch cap. Not sure id corn a chuck. The point roast was all good yield, chucks are $4 and up and dont yield as well. It was agreed that the point roast chopped was better than pulled beef from chuck, either way cost was at least comparable.

Ill make up for it on the flat, corned beef is expensive and good pastrami can be $10 a lbs at the deli. This has the benefit of knowing whats in it.

 

[ncmoose]

I did this a couple weeks ago to corn the flat and point separately for pastrami, also with a costco prime. I was pretty amazed

 

[ulc]

Yup noticed the smaller ones dont have as much excess fat. I trimmed the flat for curing although i considered leaving an 1/8th inch cap. Not sure id corn a chuck. The point roast was all good yield, chucks are $4 and up and dont yield as well. It was agreed that the point roast chopped was better than pulled beef from chuck, either way cost was at least comparable.

Ill make up for it on the flat, corned beef is expensive and good pastrami can be $10 a lbs at the deli. This has the benefit of knowing whats in it.

I think chucks make the best pastrami. You're missing out if you never corned chuck. It's better than corned brisket. Here are some pictures of the chuck pastrami I made few weeks back.

 

[WareZdaBeef]

I would have took all that fat and the flat and made ground beef, then smoked that point to make burnt ends. Its really the only part of a brisket i like. I would rather eat beef ribs or pork ribs then a flat. You mentioned flats being $6/lb, that puzzles me people actually pay that. Thats like paying more for sirloin then ribeye.

 

[sudsandswine]

While your example is on the higher side of what I normally see from the Costco briskets, and I'm a heavy trimmer, but on a 16lb brisket I'll trim 5 or 7lbs of fat and misc bits I don't like. After trimming it's probably more like $5-6 of uncooked product, and then you lose another 30 or 40%+ during the cook. $9-10 A pound cooked.

 

[smoke ninja]

I would have took all that fat and the flat and made ground beef, then smoked that point to make burnt ends. Its really the only part of a brisket i like. I would rather eat beef ribs or pork ribs then a flat. You mentioned flats being $6/lb, that puzzles me people actually pay that. Thats like paying more for sirloin then ribeye.

That would have a good idea but i dont do much ground beef, maybe once a month. Burgers are like a special treat aroind here, ill put a little in chili sometimes. I never understood why flats cost so much. I know ive seen tiny hunks of corned beef for 20 bucks

Ive had some good bbq brisket flat if cooked right, especially on these primes, that come from the section in the middle next to the point. My favourite part of the brisket its those slices with point and flat when cut right both sections are against the grain.

 

[WareZdaBeef]

I never understood why flats cost so much. I know ive seen tiny hunks of corned beef for 20 bucks

I wait for the corned beef to go on sale for $1.99/lb sometimes they go on sale for even $0.99/lb around St Patty's day.

I usually seperate the point from the flat before cooking so i get more surface area for bark, but i know what you mean by getting a few slices where its 1/2 point 1/2 flat. Its better then just the flat but you don't get enough to justify sacrificing less bark.

 

[Jrogers84]

My last costco brisket was 13.25 lbs with 2.75 of trim

 

[SmokerKing]

Dang, I've smoked several Costco Prime briskets, in the 14 lb range to start. None of them had that much fat on them.

 

[Beentown]

I can get crazy on trim. Last 21 pounder had 6 pounds of trim.

I smoke around 30 of these a year. It certainly helps to pick through the cases (another reason I like buying by the case). Still the best value for me.

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[sudsandswine]

How many come in a case? Looking at the website for cases of 18lb average weight, the cases are about 55lbs (so 3). I've bought 3 briskets at a time many times, so I may have missed out on some cheaper meat.

 

[smoke ninja]

I can get crazy on trim. Last 21 pounder had 6 pounds of trim.

I smoke around 30 of these a year. It certainly helps to pick through the cases (another reason I like buying by the case). Still the best value for me.

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Thats a wide one eh?

That was a 21 lbs costco prime? How much fat was left on after trim?

Thats about the same as i took off a fifteen lb'er. Ive always avoided the monsters.....do you prefer them?

 

[sudsandswine]

I picked up a 9.81 lb brisket from Costco over lunch. It's super bendy and looks pretty well marbled. Going to see how much loss to trimming I get with this guy - it feels like proportionally it'll be a lot less than the ones I was buying in the 16 to 18lb range.

 

[Beentown]

Thats a wide one eh?

That was a 21 lbs costco prime? How much fat was left on after trim?

Thats about the same as i took off a fifteen lb'er. Ive always avoided the monsters.....do you prefer them?

Below pic is of it trimmed. I trim heavy and between the flat/point.

I buy the biggest they have usually. I prefer them pushing 20 pounds or more. Mind you I buy by the case and they let me dig through the cases for my choices. I know my meat manager well now. Always make it a point to say high and get to know him.

The other pushed 23 pounds, same case.

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