Gray brisket

[scottm4300]

Um, maybe this is gonna be a stoopid question, but I don't get smarter if I don't ask!

Just came from the grocery store and to my amazement, they actually had briskets that weren't already corned. In this part of the world, about all we ever see is corned beef briskets, so to see this was a bit of a shock.

They called it a "gray brisket" and it was truly gray in color. Flat cut, about 3 pound @ 2.79 a pound.

So - for all you Brethren, my question is this? Is this worth buying? Worth smoking? There's a million posts on briskets - I can look through those for cooking tips, but I'm not sure what I was looking at - especially the color.

Thoughts? Thanks!!

 

[chad]

I have no idea what a "grey brisket" is - unless they mean raw as opposed to corned (pink).

Right now, at least in my area, $2.79 for a trimmed flat isn't all that bad.

I'd say buy it (or a couple and put some in the freezer) and give it a try.

 

[The_Kapn]

Must be a local term.
I am sure one of the NE Brethren will know.

Moved to Q-talk from Competetion.
General Que issue and interesting :lol:

TIM

 

[BrooklynQ]

I never heard of grey brisket either, but I'm willing to bet that it's uncured brisket. The grey color of the meat would concern me. All of the brisket sold here is red, just like an eye round,steak or regular piece of beef. But according to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, grey colored meat is ok.

"I've noticed that packages of ground beef are bright red on the outside, but a sort of dull grayish brown on the inside. Why is that? And should it concern me?

It shouldn't concern you at all.

The red color of beef and other red meats is largely due to the presence of a natural pigment called myoglobin. When the surface of ground beef and beef cuts is exposed to air, the oxygen of the air combines with the myoglobin to form oxymyoglobin, which is bright red in color. This color change doesn't mean the meat isn't fresh or edible. It's just a natural occurrence when red meats are exposed to oxygen."

 

[BrooklynQ]

I also found this....

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/mpcolor.htm

The whole link is an interesting read, but here's some info on meat color...

THE COLOR OF MEAT

5. When displayed at the grocery store, why is some meat bright red and other meat very dark in color?

Optimum surface color of fresh meat (i.e., cherry-red for beef; dark cherry-red for lamb; grayish-pink for pork; and pale pink for veal) is highly unstable and short-lived. When meat is fresh and protected from contact with air (such as in vacuum packages), it has the purple-red color that comes from myoglobin, one of the two key pigments responsible for the color of meat. When exposed to air, myoglobin forms the pigment, oxymyoglobin, which gives meat a pleasingly cherry-red color. The use of a plastic wrap that allows oxygen to pass through it helps ensure that the cut meats will retain this bright red color. However, exposure to store lighting as well as the continued contact of myoglobin and oxymyoglobin with oxygen leads to the formation of metmyoglobin, a pigment that turns meat brownish-red. This color change alone does not mean the product is spoiled (see explanation in question 2).

6. Why is pre-packaged ground beef red on the outside and sometimes grayish-brown on the inside?

These color differences do not indicate that the meat is spoiled or old. As discussed earlier, fresh cut meat is purplish in color. Oxygen from the air reacts with meat pigments to form a bright red color which is usually seen on the surface of ground beef purchased in the supermarket. The interior of the meat may be grayish-brown due to the lack of oxygen penetrating below the surface.

 

[BrooklynQ]

And finally an answer from Boston Magazine

"Then every March, the company, founded in 1984, churns out mounds of a St. Patrick's Day staple: gray corned beef brisket. As owner Jack Epstein will tell you, red and gray corned beef are as different as "peanut butter and tuna fish." Red corned beef has sodium nitrite. The gray stuff is cured with just salt brine."

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/content.php?name=news_index.txt

 

[chad]

Just ask the meat counter guy. If it's cured you can soak it in water andt then make grey pastrami! If it's raw - you're home free!!

Don't over think this stuff. If you think it's interesting then cook it.

 

[scottm4300]

Thanks Guys! Robert - me thinks I may learn a lot from you on this site!! I'm not sure I trust the guy at my local meat counter. I asked him if he could get me a Boston Butt and he looked at me like I had three heads.

Guess I'll go buy 3-4 of these greay briskets, and freeze them for later use.

I just got some venison from a buddy of mine. That's tomorrow's project!!

 

[Wayne]

And finally an answer from Boston Magazine

"Then every March, the company, founded in 1984, churns out mounds of a St. Patrick's Day staple: gray corned beef brisket. As owner Jack Epstein will tell you, red and gray corned beef are as different as "peanut butter and tuna fish." Red corned beef has sodium nitrite. The gray stuff is cured with just salt brine."

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/content.php?name=news_index.txt

Robert is right. Grey corned beef is an Irish thing. Brined beef boiled with potatoes and served with buttermilk on St Patricks day. It does not get more Culchy than that.

 

[chad]

cover the venison with bacon! And cook it a bit hotter than beef!

Just my $.02 worth.

 

[BrooklynQ]

Robert is right. Grey corned beef is an Irish thing. Brined beef boiled with potatoes and served with buttermilk on St Patricks day. It does not get more Culchy than that.

Damn. My Irish grandmother never served us brined beef like that. It was always the pink version.

 

[chad]

Grey, if brined, wouldn't have the nitrates!! I.E. McCormick QuiK-Cure or whatever.

 

[chad]

It's the nitrates (also known as salt-peter) that turns the meat pink.

For example: corned beef, "smoked" pork chops, "smoked" ham, etc. They may indeed have been introduced to smoke but the pink is from the nitrates.

 

[jgh1204]

I think it comes from gender confused cows.

 

[jgh1204]

Sorry, misread, that is gray brisket.

 

[nmayeux]

Those ghey briskets must be from BigMista's neck of the woods!!