Went to Costco today. Whole packet brisket prime was $4.29 a pound. Choice flat only was, not sure on exact, but something like $5.85.
Yes the packer has a bunch of fat to trim and the flat not, but still not getting why the prime was less per pound than the choice. Admittedly I don’t think prime cut adds much over choice to smoked brisket either. But it definitely isn’t worse.
Is the point just not considered desirable? I love the point.
I’m puzzled and wondering if others have seen this.
Many, many people prefer the flat since it’s leaner. All of those people are insane 
. The fat is where it’s at for flavor and you can always trim excess. In the run up to St. Patrick’s Day I usually buy several corned beefs to freeze and not because I can’t get them the rest of the year. It’s because the rest of the year only the flat seems to be sold in stores around here and it’s quite frankly an inferior cut.
ETA: Interesting difference in experience between me and pulykamell. I assume the point isn’t available because nobody buys them, he assumes they aren’t available because everyone does. I’m not sure which is more likely.
It’s always been like that for those cuts at Costco, or at least since I’ve started buying this cut at Costco (maybe 10 years ago?) They price the prime packer cut cheaper than the choice flat. (There is a significant amount of fat to trim from the packer cut – but it’s still usable if you want to render it down to tallow. [Pretty easy and hands-off if you have a slow cooker] ).
As for flat vs point, it seems that most people like point from my observation–at least around here (Chicago). At the regular grocery store, I often can’t find the point, only the flat.
I myself love the point, but if you can keep a flat juicy and give me a fattier piece, I’ll take that over the point. The point on its own is far easier to cook and keep moist.
The fact that I see choice flat at Costco regularly but I’ve never seen point by itself, argues that your interpretation is more probable. If I only was willing to buy 4 to 5 pounds for smoked brisket (or for that matter for Rosh HaShanah) I’d buy a flat over the point. Easier to slice if nothing else. Although I buy a corned point for making pastrami because I want the extra fat.
Now I have to decide if I am going to divide it or try to squeeze it in my smoker whole.
So what do they do with all those points?
Now when I looked up corned beef a few years ago everything pointed to the flat cut being better due to firmer meat and less fat and not as chewy … and somewhat referred to the point as poor peoples brisket in so many words and the point cut is always cheaper than the flat
You Butchered the thread title
I am not sure where you live in Chicago but you might want to give Peoria Packing Butcher Shop a try. I love that place. I cannot guarantee they will have what you want but they seem to have everything and their meat prices are really reasonable (relatively speaking).
Note that while they have a sizeable parking lot this place gets super busy almost all the time. Unless you get there very early you can expect to drive around the lot for a while to get a spot. Sometimes there are lines to get in (especially around holidays).
There is nothing fancy at all about this place. It is tables of meat and you pick what you want, put it in a bag and go to checkout.
If not them then I would find a local butcher shop, call them and order what you want. Most will probably be able to get what you want although it might be expensive.
Supermarket meat just isn’t that great anymore. Many no longer do any butchering in the store (or very limited) and simply get pre-packaged meat from some supplier. My local market does not even sell Prime beef of any kind. It is all Choice or Select (and it is a huge mega-size supermarket by a major chain).
Yeah, it was flat out confusing. I didn’t get the point.
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Oh yeah, been going to Peoria Packing for over 20 years now. Not where I go for beef, but any porky product is perfect. (Costco’s beef is better.)
If I am going for some truly top-notch steaks or prime rib then I will go elsewhere but those purchases are few and far between (so expensive). Probably a tenderloin or filet too. For things like ribs or brisket or beef roast I think Peoria is fine (although I cannot remember the last time I made beef ribs…even though I like them).
Peoria’s packer cut brisket is fine – the last time I bought it from there it was a cryovacced product sold by Excel, so pretty much the standard packer cut you can get around town. They all work fine. There is nothing wrong with that product. I happen to live near Columbus Meat Market, so that’s where I tend to buy my packer cuts if I don’t go to Costco. I’ve bought Peoria’s regular beef products and just haven’t been as happy with their roasts and steaks as I am from Costco. The beef selection is pretty much the only reason I keep a Costco membership (and, to be honest, with as often as I eat beef, I don’t buy enough to justify the membership cost.) I really like Peoria’s pork selection, their sausages (their hot links are quite good), and their customer service (they were able to produce pork jowls for me years ago when I wanted to make homemade guanciale.) There’s nothing wrong with their beef – I just don’t find it as good as my other options.
Flat is easier to find the grain and carve properly. Point cut has the grain going in all directions so it’s very hard to slice well.
I suspect deli corned beef is all flat cut, which means less of it is available in supermarkers.
Full disclosure: I am a full packer virgin. (Be gentle.)
Looking for any on line tips for trimming a packer I am reading that nearly a third of it is typically trimmed off before smoking, not only fat but some meat of portions thin and/or dangly. I knew there was some extra fat to trim but I had no idea that that much was typically trimmed.
The choice flat is already well trimmed.
The lower price for full packer prime begins to make some sense. Meat for meat the prime costs more.
I’m still wondering what happens to the excess points …
Use the point to make burnt ends.
Oh I love the point as is. I mean in the marketplace.
For every flat there is a point but mostly flats get sold alone.
That’s a good question about the points. I wonder if, being less popular at retail, the points are sold for processed meats, prepared foods (like frozen chopped brisket) or ground for hamburger.
As for trimming the brisket, I never did until recently. Now I trim the fat to about 1/16 - 1/8 inch all the way around and then use a filet knife to cut out almst all the heavy solid fat between the point and flat. By the time I am done, they are almost completely separated.
As I understood it, the reason to not trim fat was to allow the meat to baste itself and the fat would work its way into the meat and keep it from drying out. I don’t think that the fat actually does that.
What I have found with trimming a brisket is that the meat is just as tender and juicy. The thinner layer of fat crisps up to a better bark and the brisket seems to take less time to cook since the trimming will remove a couple pounds of fat.
With winter coming, the next time I cook a brisket, I’m going to try my hand at rendering the trimmed fat to suet to feed the birds that overwinter here. Haven’t done that before, looked worth a try instead of just tossing it.
