BBQ culture transformed brisket into a highly appreciated cut of beef. Slow cooking methods such as smoking, roasting, and sous vide make brisket incredibly tender.

Brisket is a primal cut of beef found in the lower chest area of the cow. This area of the animal is worked pretty hard, so the muscles here are quite tough.

It’s not a bad thing, though.

The fat and the connective tissues ensure your cooked brisket will be very flavorful. Three main cuts make a whole brisket: the flat, the point, and the deckle.

The whole brisket is called a full packer. It has a fat cap and typically weighs between 8 and 20 pounds.

Since brisket makes no exception, here’s what to look for when buying one. We already discussed the cuts that come from a brisket and their traits, so now you can make an informed decision when you decide which one to buy.

There’s always the option of buying a full packer and cook it whole, or separate it yourself. How many servings you need matters when cooking your brisket.

It leaves some room for error, so you might end up with some leftovers. Planning for extra leftovers is a good idea, especially when smoking brisket.

Ideally, you want to buy the freshest brisket and the color says a lot. It should be a deep red, while the fat should be a bright white.

The soft fat is difficult to work with when it warms up. Avoid cutting into the meat and focus on the line dividing the muscle and the fat.

Some enjoy leaving between 1/4″- 1″ of fat. When I trim brisket for smoking, I like to remove as much of the fat as possible.

The little fat that remains adds a lovely flavor to the meat. Save that extra fat for your next beef broth.

Now that you know what part of the cow is brisket, it’s time to see the best ways to prepare it. In general, a tougher cut rich in fat and connective tissue such as brisket needs to be cooked low and slow.

If you have a smoker, and some patience, great results can be achieved.

Tough cuts of meat such as brisket are great for braising. This technique requires slowly cooking the meat in a liquid until it softens.

The slow cooker is wonderful for tenderizing brisket and it will do all the hard work. Looking for the fastest way to enjoy moist and tender brisket.

Whether you have a pressure cooker or an Instant Pot, you’ll have dinner on the table in about one hour. So you made sure the brisket you purchased is of good quality, you trimmed the extra fat, and cooked it just right.

Here’s what you need to know. After cooking, let the brisket rest.

For a whole smoked brisket, we usually let it rest for at least 1 hour before slicing. If you cut it too soon, all those delicious juices will leak, instead of staying trapped inside the meat.

Once you slice it, the meat will start to dry out, so it’s best done before serving. Using a sharp knife will ensure you get clean slices even when there are tough parts you need to deal with.

This means perpendicular to the muscle fibers. The meat will be more tender when sliced against the grain.

Thicker ones then to be a little chewy. Tip: Pay attention to the grain as you slice the brisket.

We figured out what part of the cow is brisket, what to look for when buying it, how to trim extra fat, and all the ways to cook it. With all this knowledge, you can try brisket in many different ways.

If you decide to smoke it, there are some amazing recipes you can try with leftover smoked brisket. Some of my favorites are the smoked brisket and beer queso dip, the brisket twice baked potatoes, and the brisket grilled cheese sandwiches.

At some point, anyone who cooks beef is curious about where the major cuts come from on the cow. This handy guide will show you the location of major beef cuts, like chuck, rib, loin, and brisket.

Beef is divided into large sections called primal cuts, which you can see in our beef cuts chart. These primal beef cuts, or “primals,” are then broken down further into subprimals, or “food-service cuts.” These are then sliced and chopped into individual steaks, roasts, and other retail cuts.

A side of beef is literally one side of the beef carcass that is split through the backbone. Each side is then halved between the 12th and 13th ribs.

The most tender cuts of beef, like the rib and tenderloin, are the ones farthest from the horn and hoof. The toughest areas of the animal are the shoulder and leg muscles because they are worked the most.

Beef chuck comes from the forequarter. Consisting of parts of the neck, shoulder blade, and upper arm, beef chuck produces tough but very flavorful cuts of meat.

This primal cut has a good deal of connective tissue. That makes chuck a good choice for braised dishes like beef stew or pot roast, both of which tenderize tough cuts.

The classic 7-bone roast comes from the beef chuck, as do the increasingly popular flat iron steak and Denver steak.

This means that it also contains a few inches of the longissimus dorsi muscle, which is the same tender muscle that rib-eye steaks are made from.

It’s also the source of the delectable ribeye steak as well as the classic French entrecôte.

It’s nearly impossible to describe a beef primal cut without discussing adjacent cuts. In this case, the beef rib primal is situated directly above the beef plate.

Nevertheless, the lower parts of those ribs—whether we attribute them to the rib primal or the plate primal—are where beef short ribs come from.

It is also where the skirt steak is located, which is used in carne asada.

It’s attached to the inside abdominal wall by a system of thick connective tissue, which needs to be carefully trimmed away. This steak is extremely flavorful.

Just don’t overcook it. Since it has coarse muscle fibers, be sure to slice it against the grain or it will be chewy.

Beef plate contains a lot of cartilage, especially around the ribs, which is why beef short ribs are ideal for braising. This process of cooking with moist heat at a low temperature will dissolve cartilage and turn it into gelatin.

The beef plate is also fairly fatty, so it can be used in making ground beef.

It’s also a moderately fatty cut of beef, but this can work to your advantage because it tenderizes into succulent, meaty perfection.

The characteristically thick, coarse-grained meat needs a lot of time and low-temperature cooking to break down and tenderize.

Another very popular technique for preparing brisket is to slow cook it in a barbecue or smoker.

Each side of beef has two shanks, one in the forequarter and one in the hindquarter. It is extremely tough and full of connective tissue.

Beef shank is used in making the luxurious Italian dish osso buco.

These include T-bone and porterhouse steaks, as well as the strip loin or strip steak.

It will yield anywhere from 11 to 14 steaks, depending on thickness.

The first-cut steaks are club steaks or bone-in strip steaks. The center-cut steaks are T-bones, of which there may be six or seven.

The tenderloin extends from the short loin back into the sirloin. It’s interesting to note that if the tenderloin is removed, there can be no T-bone or porterhouse steaks.

Dry-heat cooking is best for the tender cuts from the short loin.

The full sirloin is itself subdivided into top sirloin and bottom sirloin. Top sirloin is generally fabricated into steaks that are good for grilling.

Still, a first-cut sirloin steak—sometimes called a pin-bone steak because it includes a section of the hip bone—is very similar to a porterhouse.

Although it’s not obvious in a two-dimensional diagram, the back end of the tenderloin, called the butt tender, is also situated within the sirloin, and it’s either removed altogether when fabricating a whole tenderloin, or the back end is sold as a roast. Beware of butchers who use the name filet mignon to describe a butt tender, because that comes from the other end of the tenderloin.

The most tender cut of beef is the beef tenderloin and it is found within the loin. This is where we get filet mignon, which is made from the very tip of the pointy end of the tenderloin.

The tenderloin extends from the short loin into the sirloin. The pointy end is actually situated within the short loin, and the section in the sirloin is sometimes called the butt tenderloin.

Beef tenderloin should only be cooked using dry-heat methods, such as grilling and broiling. The meat is already super tender, so long cooking times are unnecessary.

Beef flank can be cooked on the grill. Since it has tough muscle fibers, it can get even tougher if it’s overcooked, so be careful.

The best technique for flank steak is to grill it quickly at a high temperature. Marinating the meat first can help prevent it from drying out, but avoiding overcooking really is the best prevention.

Beef flank is also good for braising and it’s often used for making ground beef.

Muscles from the round are fairly lean, but they’re also tough because the leg and rump get a lot of exercise.

The bottom round is where we get rump roast and eye of round.

There’s a good reason for this.

Collagen is the type of protein that turns into gelatin when it’s braised slowly. This means that braised rump roast isn’t as succulent as braised chuck roast.

More often than not, the best use of round roasts is to roast them slowly so they turn out medium rare. They can then be sliced thinly and used for sandwiches or even served as roasts.

Brisket is sourced from the breast section or the lower chest area of the cow. Positioned at the front of the cow, it is nestled between the shoulder and the belly.

Counted among the nine primary cuts of beef, brisket is also heralded as one of the four essential.

It’s composed of muscle that’s richly marbled with fat and abundant in tough connective tissues and collagen. For this reason, a slow and prolonged cooking process is essential.

We’ll walk through each major section, numbered, so you can easily refer back when you need to.

Chuck Situated around the shoulder and neck area, chuck cuts are robust in flavor but can be somewhat tough. This section is excellent for stews, pot roasts, and, let me tell you, divine pulled beef sandwiches.

it’s comfort food at its best. Rib Next, at number two, we have the ribs.

Marbling is the rib section’s middle name, making it incredibly tender and succulent. From ribeye steaks to prime rib, this section is synonymous with indulgence.

This is the VIP section, folks. It’s tender, lean, and just asking to be grilled.

Round Number four is the round section, found in the cow’s hind leg. It’s on the leaner side and not as tender as some other cuts, but it’s fantastic for roasts and thinly sliced steaks.

Flank Coming in at number five, we have the flank. This is abdominal muscle territory.

This is your go-to for fajitas and stir-fries. Short Plate Number six introduces us to the short plate.

Skirt steak calls this section home, and it’s a favorite for fajitas and the classic Philly cheesesteak. Brisket Ah, the guest of honor at number seven – the brisket.

Shank Finally, at number eight, we have the shank. This is leg country and is one tough customer.

If you’ve ever had Ossobuco, you know the magic of the shank.

If barbecue were a symphony, brisket would undoubtedly be the crescendo. A cut that, when handled with love and patience, rewards you with flavors that are simply celestial.

The brisket is essentially the pectoral muscles of the cow. Given that these muscles support much of the cow’s weight, they are well-exercised.

Let’s break the brisket down further. There are two sub-primal cuts of the brisket that you might come across at the butcher shop: the flat cut and the point cut.

It’s a bit more uniform in shape, which makes it a darling for those delightful slices you see in a Texas-style barbecue. The point cut, or second cut, is richer in fat content and has a slightly more irregular shape.

It’s the interplay of muscle fibers, connective tissues, and fat. Brisket has an intrinsic, beefy flavor that is truly distinct.

However, unlocking this flavor is an art. One might be tempted to simply grill it hot and fast, but the real magic with brisket lies in a slow and low approach.

This process is the alchemy that transforms a tough cut into a tender, juicy, flavor-packed delight.

For instance, knowing how the muscle fibers are aligned will guide you in slicing the meat in a way that yields the most tender bite. Yes, with brisket, even the slicing is an art.

Alright friends, we’ve arrived at the practical segment of our brisket journey. It’s time to put on our aprons and fire up the grill.

These tips and techniques will elevate your brisket game to legendary status. First and foremost: selecting the right piece of brisket is key.

This fat will slowly render as you cook, basting the meat in its own juices. Don’t worry about the fat content.

The best brisket also has a deep red color, with white marbling running through it. Let’s talk about seasoning.

Give me good old salt and pepper, and I’m in brisket heaven. Generously season your brisket with coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Now, it’s time to talk about the main event – cooking. Low and slow is the mantra here.

Patience is your ally. don’t try to rush the process.

So, if you’ve got a 10-pound brisket, you’re in for a 10 to 15-hour adventure.

Let’s not forget about resting. Once your brisket reaches an internal temperature of around 200 degrees Fahrenheit, remove it from the grill and let it rest for at least an hour.

Lastly, as we discussed earlier, slicing is an art. Always slice against the grain to ensure the most tender bite.

At this juncture of our brisket escapade, we must address a critical aspect that turns a good brisket into an exceptional one – the sauces and accompaniments. The brisket is the star of the show, but like any good lead, it shines even brighter with a stellar supporting cast.

Sauces: When it comes to sauces, regional preferences can be quite pronounced. Here’s a breakdown of some classic options:

Accompaniments: A well-rounded brisket meal also features some delicious sides. Here are a few classics:

The mighty brisket, while heralded as a barbecue champion, has the versatility to be a key player in an array of dishes. Here, I’ll share some creative ways to use brisket that may just become your new favorites.

we’re about to embark on a global brisket adventure.

Brisket Tacos: Ah, let’s take a detour down to the vibrant streets of Mexico. Brisket makes for an incredible taco filling.

Brisket Ramen: We’re heading to Japan. Transform leftover brisket into a sumptuous bowl of ramen.

Brisket Poutine: Let’s make our way to Canada with this indulgent treat. 4.

Brisket Shepherd’s Pie: A classic with a twist, all the way from the British Isles. 6.

As much as we wish our brisket adventures to be flawless, sometimes the BBQ gods challenge us with some hurdles. Fear not, for I shall arm you with the wisdom to overcome these common brisket pitfalls.

Avoiding Dryness: Nothing breaks a Grilling Master’s heart quite like slicing into a beautiful brisket only to find it as dry as the Sahara. Here’s how we can outsmart dryness:

Dealing with a Tough Texture: If your brisket is putting up a fight against your teeth, it’s time to make it surrender to tenderness: C.

Here are some tips: What is brisket, and where does it come from.

Brisket is a cut of beef that comes from the breast or lower chest area of the cow. What makes brisket a challenging cut to cook.

Brisket is a tough cut of meat due to its high collagen content and dense muscle fibers, requiring slow and low cooking methods to achieve tenderness. What is the difference between the flat and point cuts of brisket.

The flat cut, also known as the “lean” or “first cut,” is a leaner and more uniform portion of the brisket, while the point cut, also called the “deckle” or “second cut,” has more marbling and fat, resulting in a juicier and flavorful meat. What is the ideal internal temperature for a perfectly cooked brisket.

Aim for an internal temperature of around 203 degrees Fahrenheit (95 degrees Celsius) to ensure the collagen has sufficiently broken down, resulting in tender and melt-in-your-mouth brisket. How long does it take to smoke a brisket.

In this article, we’ll answer the question: What Is Brisket. We know it’s one of the best meats for smoking, but exactly what is it.

What is the history of use for this cut of meat.

In Old English the word is brushk, meaning tough. You can just see a lot of serious gnawing going on, right.

But the brisket we know and love today is, well, centuries beyond what was served in drafty dining halls along with tankards of mead and ale. And thankfully so.

Contents (Jump to Topic). Brisket comes from beef (cows or steers aged 2-years and up) or veal (milk-fed beef calves aged 2 to 4 months).

Front on, it’s the area between the front legs. This is called the breast, (lower) chest, or pectorals.

Cattle don’t have collarbones which help support the body’s weight, so these pectoral muscles are all that’s keeping the front half of a 1,200 to 1,400-pound animal off the ground. Supporting about 60 percent of the animal’s weight calls for dense and tough muscle.

You can see where the brisket comes from on the cow, and many tips and tricks from the pros on how to prepare and cook a brisket, in the following video from Jess Pryles: Found in tendons, silverskin, and ligaments is a rubber band-like material which mainly works to hold muscle fiber and sheaths together.

There are two forms of connective tissue –. A protein that is flexible and, well, elastic — able to stretch and resume its original shape.

The most abundant type of protein in all mammals and one of the strongest.The Accidental Scientist of Exploratorium.edu explains collagen’s rope-like structure of 3 molecule chains braided together hold fiber and sheaths together. It also makes collagen strong.

It turns into gelatin in the cooking process. The gelatin gives the meat a silky, moist texture.

Yes, the very thing whose absence brings on wrinkles and crêpey skin. This combination protein team is the reason beef brisket must be cooked low and slow.

And it takes time for the collagen to break down with long exposure to heat, to eventually become gelatin. As discussed in more depth in our article on brisket flat vs point, brisket is supplied 3 different ways:

It weighs between 8 and 20 pounds. A layer of fat covers the top.

This is the main part of the brisket. Also known as the first or flat cut or the deep pectoral, it lies toward the inside the cow, against the ribs.

It’s typically used for corned beef and pastrami. This is the lower portion which sits ‘outside’ above the leg, it is the superficial pectoral.

It’s typically used to make beef burnt ends. Brisket is available in two tiers at Snake River Farms:

This Wagyu cross beef is raised in the Pacific Northwest’s temperate climate, resulting in briskets with naturally rich marbling and exceptional flavor. Snake River Farms’ Gold Grade briskets are their most premium line, with more intramuscular fat and marbling than their Black Grade briskets.

Briskets from Snake River Farms range in weight from 9-12 lbs to 20+ lbs. Check Price on Snake River Farms.

Their packer briskets weigh 13.5 to 14.5 pounds, whereas their whole briskets weigh between 8 and 10 pounds. I’m not sure why they have different names as they are both ‘whole brisket,’ but they do have different weights and come from different farms.

Porter Road’s briskets are delivered frozen to keep them fresh. Check Price on Porter Road.

The website displays a good picture of what not to get. Never completely remove the fat.

If having the brisket professionally trimmed, the terms to know are: Packer — entire fat cap left intact.

The fat and the low-n-slow cooking method are what make the difference between gnawing gristle with great exertion and chewing brisket, relaxed and blissfully happy. Check out our guide on how to trim brisket for how to get the best results.

Related Reads. There was a time when tough, chewy, and stringy were commonly used words to describe a cooked brisket.

No one believed anyone would buy it on purpose. But there’s always someone hungry enough to take what’s considered the worst of meat and put it to the fire.

Smoked brisket dates back to the late 17th century here in the States when Eastern European and Jewish immigrants traded ideas with local ranchers. But it wasn’t until the 1960s that brisket became a standard cut commercially sold to restaurants and stores.

There are many workshops and even more competitions devoted to brisket, with it becoming almost synonymous with Texas barbecue. But there’s more to brisket than the smoker.

Coarse rock salt looks more like grains or seeds than teeny crystals issuing from a nearby salt shaker. Sometime back in 1570 or 1580 AD came the first recorded use of the word “corned” used to describe meat being preserved in a bath of salt.

Today we call it wet brining, or curing. We’ll take a more detailed look at this another time.

The name comes from the Romanian word pastrami taken from pǎstra, which means to preserve. This delicatessen staple takes the dry preservation route of a salt and spice cure followed by a stint in the smoker.

This one also deserves its own article, so more on this later. We discuss smoking brisket at length elsewhere, so, for now, we’ll just say that the process of seasoning (marinade / brisket injection), smoking (1 to 1 ½ hours per-pound at 250° F) and slicing brisket correctly leads to wonderful results.

Quality time in the oven or slow cooker with carrots, onions, and — okay, I’ll stop drooling if you will. Another cultural favorite, Betty Crocker, recommends for a 2½ to 4-pounder, roasting for 2½ to 3 hours covered in liquid at 325 °F until the internal temperature reaches 135° F.

A water bath at 131 to 133° F for 2 to 3 days melts the collagen into gelatin, creating a tender roast. Clint Caldwell of AmazingRibs.com explains the brisket will shrink by at least 40 percent in this cooking process.

The airtight package goes into the water-filled sous vide cooker where the low, steady temperature gently cooks the meat, turning it pink. It can be served to the table straight from the cooker, but some will put a crust on it by searing it in a dry skillet on the stove or under the broiler for a few minutes.

At this point, it can be frozen or refrigerated until grill time. Then, a 2-zone grill or smoker is fired up, the brisket leaves its plastic pouch and goes on the grate to be smoked for an hour at 225° F.

And then, it’s done. Yes.

Having so much connective tissue, a beautifully smoked brisket can be ruined by what happens at serving time. You’ll want to:

The brisket is a cut of beef that comes from the pectoral muscles of a cow. A full-packer brisket is made up of two muscles – the point and the flat.

Working as a professional chef involves picking out the best and freshest meat. After many years of practice, I can pick out a mean brisket.

I’ll share my favorites with you (including the king of ‘que-smoked brisket). Let me fill you in on cow anatomy and where brisket comes from.

Let’s go.

It is a triangular cut taken from the breast or lower chest portion of the cow. It is essentially the deep pectoral muscle.

Beef brisket is also one of the primal cuts of beef. That means it’s one of the first muscles removed when the carcass is butchered.

It is a notoriously tough cut to cook. This part of the animal is well-exercised.

Brisket is a thick and coarse-grained meat. Here’s the good news.

For my money, it’s the tastiest protein on the planet when smoked to perfection. That fat and connective tissue can be transformed into meltingly tender meat when it’s cooked using the right methods (I’ll get to those soon).

It can seem overwhelming. A whole-packer brisket is huge (usually 12 to 16 pounds).

If you’re smoking a brisket, it’s an all-day chore. It can take 16 hours, plus resting time.

I know many pitmasters who have failed at their brisket cooks and have given up. They go back to more foolproof fare like ribs or pulled pork.

With the right instructions, you can master brisket in no time. I’ll teach you how.

Now that you know what part of the cow is brisket, I’m going to fill you in on how to select the perfect brisket. Here are the top tips to follow:

These are known as the flat and the point. Together, these two cuts make up a whole beef brisket, which is also known as a full-packer brisket.

The point cut is a knobby piece of meat that extends over the triangular flat cut. It has more marbling and is considered the premium cut.

The flat cut of meat is leaner, and it is topped with a thick fat cap. It also has a more uniform shape.

Try taking it down to around ¼” or have your butcher do it for you. Note: Most grocery stores sell the flat and not the point.

If you’re smoking the brisket, the point is fattier, and you’ll be rewarded with a better BBQ. These cuts of beef can vary quite a bit in size.

If you’re cooking for a group, the rule of thumb is half a pound of meat per person. You should have some leftovers.

Absolutely amazing. Use leftovers in a hash, tacos, or omelets – the sky is the limit.

Pay attention to the color. The brisket should be a deep, rich red.

Stay away from gray meat – it’s getting long in the tooth. The three USDA grades, from highest to lowest, are Prime, Choice, and Select.

They lack sufficient marbling to make truly divine BBQ. USDA Choice is my go-to.

Wagyu is a specialty breed of cattle that comes from American cows that are bred with Japanese cows (“gyu” is Japanese for cow). It’s pricey but has exceptional marbling.

Spring for some at least once in your life, if you can afford to. Brisket is referred to by various names.

When in doubt, ask the butcher. Check the packaged-on date on the packaging.

When preparing brisket for the cooking process, your first order of business involves trimming any extra fat. Remove some, but not all, of the fat cap – I try to leave around ¼”.

Related Reading. There are many different ways to cook brisket – it is a versatile piece of meat.

I think brisket is best when it’s smoked. Brisket muscles are incredibly tough.

The meat is best cooked over low temperatures to break down the meat fibers and create next-level meat. These low and slow temperatures mean brisket will take hours to cook.

(16 hours of smoking. Then the meat needs to rest.

Here are some of the different methods for cooking brisket: This is probably the most popular way to prepare beef brisket.

The first step is to season the meat. Since the smoker will infuse the meat with an enchanting smoky flavor, keep the seasoning simple.

Let the seasonings sit for as long as possible. Overnight in the fridge (uncovered) is great.

This is known as dry brining, and it will increase the meat’s juiciness and flavor. Use ½ teaspoon of Kosher salt per pound or ¼ teaspoon of table salt per pound of meat.

I use oak or hickory for brisket. Feel free to add apple or cherry wood, or your favorite smoking wood to the smoker.

Sit back. Grab a beer or coffee.

You’re in for at least 8 hours of cooking if you have a flat or point. If you’ve got a whole brisket, you’re looking at up to 16 hours of cooking.

The brisket is done if a probe or toothpick easily slips in without any resistance. You can also use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature to make sure that it is cooked all the way through.

Let the brisket rest after cooking (I’ll cover how to do that in a bit). Pot roast is another popular preparation technique.

Start off by browning a 6-pound brisket – around 5 minutes per side. I do this in a Dutch oven or roasting pan on the stove.

Add this to the brisket pan, then stick it in the oven set to 300°F for about four hours. The brisket will be toothpick-tender when it’s done.

This is a popular cooking process because requires very little work. Grab your favorite rub and work it into the beef brisket.

Place the brisket inside and cook for 8 to 10 hours on low for a 6 to 8-pound brisket. The finished brisket should be very tender.

I’m a barbeque snob. I think putting brisket in a slow cooker is not the best use of brisket.

This method of cooking the brisket is a little bit more unusual but still worth a try. You get the smoky flavor of a traditional smoked brisket with the added bonus of moisture and tenderness from the sous vide cook.

Vacuum seal the whole brisket. Set your sous vide cooker to 155°F and add the brisket to a water bath.

Finish the sous vide brisket on your smoker at 300°F for 2 to 3 hours. A toothpick should glide into the meat with no resistance.

I’d recommend just buying it from the butcher. If you’re determined to make corned beef, here’s a crash course.

Add pickling spices to the brine. These spices can include whole coriander, allspice berries, mustard seeds, cloves, peppercorns, and more.

Store it in the fridge. Every day, flip the brisket over to the other side.

Related Reading. Slicing the brisket is almost as important as how you cook it.

This is key – never cut into a brisket right after you remove it from its heat source. It needs to rest so that juices can redistribute throughout the meat.

A 2 to 4-hour rest is ideal after smoking. Wrap the brisket in aluminum foil and stick it in a well-insulated cooler.

Patience, young grasshopper. Pot roast and slow cooker brisket will not need to rest since they’re cooked in liquids.

You can also shred the beef if you use one of these cooking techniques.

It will begin to dry out once sliced. Look for a long, sharp, and serrated blade – around 14 inches should work.

There are many different types of beef cuts available, each with its own set of unique properties. It is important to be aware of these different cuts and what they are best used for before cooking – some are suitable only for slow cooking, some are best for grilling, some are perfect for bbq and smoked.

Ribs are a tender and flavorful cut of meat that comes from the cow’s ribs and backbone. The cow has 13 rib bones, and only the last 6 are classified in this area (the rest are with the “Plate”).

Ribs are a tender and flavorful cut of meat and tend to be the expensive cuts – such as ribeye steak, and prime rib. There are several different types of beef rib cuts, including ribeye, rump roast, and sirloin steak.

Ribeye steaks, for example, are known for their rich flavor and tender texture. Rump roast is a less expensive option that is perfect for slow cooking or roasting.

The sirloin steak is located near the shoulder and has a bit more fat than other steaks. This makes it ideal for grilling, as the extra fat helps to keep the steak moist and juicy.

The ribeye steak is located in front of the loin and has a lot of bone in it. It is very well marbled.

Love grilling ribeyes and steaks. It’s perfect on any one of our walnut wood cutting boards made in USA.

Beef ribs are a popular cut of meat because they are easy to cook and take flavor well. They are very well marbled and tender – they are typically served at steakhouses in 12-16 oz cuts (or larger).

If you’re pan-searing these steaks, be sure to cut them a bit thinner. If your grocery store won’t do it for you, be sure to properly season your wood cutting board to protect it and avoid food contamination.

The cow has 13 bones in the ribs and backbones – the last 6 is in the above section under “Ribs”, the plate is the first 7 ribs. They are flavorful but not quite as expensive, and tend to be a little tougher cut of meat.

Short ribs, ground beef, and skirt steak are all popular plate portion cuts. The short ribs, which are very flavorful, can either be slow cooked (when you get it as as bone-in short-rib), or it can be “korean cut” – which is when they slice it against the bone in 1/4″ thick pieces.

The beef plate is a thin, inexpensive, and easy-to-cook piece of meat. The beef plate is a good choice for braising or making ground beef.

The beef brisket is a cut of meat that comes from the breast or lower chest of a cow. The brisket is made up of two main cuts, the flat and the point.

Sometimes you might find a brisket that is ready to be cooked, sometimes the fat has to be trimmed first. The brisket comes in different sizes, but can be VERY large – around 12-15 pounds.

You should also evaluate whether or not you have the right cutting board for brisket. If you’re going to season, trim and cook a brisket, make sure you have a cutting board that is large enough to accomodate the size of a brisket – such as our 18×24 extra-large cutting board.

The cost of a brisket is moderately expensive, and best suited for low ‘n’ slow BBQ. When slow-cooked, the beef brisket becomes very tender and flavorful due to its high fat content.

The beef shank is a tough and full-bodied cut of meat that is used in making osso buco, a luxurious Italian dish. The beef shank is inexpensive to buy and is best used for low and slow cooking.

The foreshank is a leaner, tougher cut of meat that is best suited for braising or stewing. The hindshank is a fattier, more flavorful cut of meat that is best suited for slow roasting or braising.

Round cut is the area near the cow’s hind legs – it’s where you’ll find cheap cuts suitable for slow cooking.

The Round Beef Cut is inexpensive and tough and is often used for hamburger. The Top Round Beef Steak is versatile and can be used in many different ways, such as in ground beef, or thinly sliced and most often found in Vietnamese Pho noodle soup such as this one (it’s that thinly sliced meat you get in Pho noodle soup).

Beef short loin is one of the most desirable cuts from the hindquarter. The cow doesn’t use this area much therefore it’s very tender and has amazing marbling.

SHORT-loin cuts: The first-cut steaks are club steaks or bone-in strip steaks.

The t-bone steak is located between the strip steak and sirloin and has a little bit of both muscle and fat in it. This makes it one of the most versatile steaks for grilling, as it can be cooked to perfection regardless of how you like your meat cooked.

Porterhouse, almost known as “king of the steaks” is a large cut that can weigh up to 32 ounces. It comes from the lower rib of the cow close to the loin.

T-bone steaks closely resemble a porterhouse steak, but a T-bone contains less of the tenderloin and is typically thinner (about 0.5 inches), whereas a porterhouse is much thicker (1.25 inches). Filet mignon, sometimes referred to as “tenderloin steak” is a cut from the tenderloin – this highly expensive cut of beef only represents 2-3% of the cow.

Most filet mignon cuts are sold in 6oz, sometimes called “petite sirloin” on restaurant menus. The most common is 8oz, but it also sometimes served as a 10oz portion.

No, a “filet” is really any cut of meat that is boneless, although you might find your friends refer to the filet mignon simply as “filet” for short.

Related Reading: What is Club Steak.

The cow’s loin is located right behind the ribs on the cow – it’s a muscle that the cow doesn’t use very much, therefore it’s very tender and has amazing marbling. There are two distinctive areas: the SIR-loin and the SHORT-loin.

The flank cut is a lean and popular cut of beef. The flank cut includes flank steak and London broil.

The flank is a moderately tough cut of beef. When cooking flank steak, it is important to use a tenderizing method, such as marinating, to help make it more palatable.

Flank steak is typically used in dishes like PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef. If you choose flank, be prepared to get slicing before serving it.

This cut of beef is also relatively lean, so it is a good choice for those watching their fat intake. Let’s recap real quick, and let’s talk about other less-common steaks and cuts you might have heard of.

This steak has a good amount of fat, which helps to keep it juicy and flavorful. The sirloin steak is located near the shoulder and has a bit more fat than other steaks.

The ribeye steak is located in front of the loin and has a lot of bone in it. This gives it a bolder flavor that some people prefer.

This makes it one of the most versatile steaks for grilling, as it can be cooked to perfection regardless of how you like your meat cooked. PRO TIP: looking for an awesome display of serving your steaks.

The tomahawk steak is cut from the rib primal of the cow, specifically from the ribeye muscle along the spine. It gets its name from the fact that it is often cut with a long bone that resembles a tomahawk axe.

The tomahawk steak is known for its rich, beefy flavor and tender texture. It is often considered a premium cut of meat and is well-suited for grilling or broiling.

If you’re cutting and serving this steak, the best jaw-dropping display of it would be our medium end-grain cutting board. Most steakhouses do not even have this type of steak except for very high end ones.

It truly is a show-stopper. Notice the bone one this one, seared with the Restaurant’s logo:

If you visit online forums, you might find chatter about how “overpriced” this steak is. In terms of price – this is not the best bang for your buck.

How to cook competition brisket. Most definitely one of the top searches on the web as far as aspiring competition BBQ cooks are concerned.

Without question, BBQ Brisket remains the most challenging category for most competition BBQ cooks to master.

I’ve searched the web for resources you might find useful if you’re trying to figure out how to improve your Brisket results for competition. Here’s the best of what I’ve seen thus far in terms of advice and general tips or How To reports.

Meaning, anything below choice (select, for example) should be avoided. The reasoning here is that choice grade brisket and above will give you the marbling (fat content) required to keep your brisket moist.

I know that many of the BBQ cooks competing down here in either FBA or KCBS events use either highly marbled choice or Certified Angus Beef briskets (CAB). If you don’t have a quality meat market in your area, Restaurant Depot carries CAB briskets.

A few folks competing here take it one step further and go “botique” with their brisket purchases. One popular source for “next level” briskets is Snake River Ranch.

These briskets run around $85-$90 a piece, and shipping from Snake River Ranch is extra. If you’re interested in using these briskets, see if you can find someone in your area with a restaurant or connections to ordering these from other purveyors to try and get your shipping costs down.

If you want what I know to be hands down the best deal on prime or Wagyu brisket, connect immediately with Shawn McCranie over at Master Purveyors in Tampa, Florida.

Read more here about how Master Purveyors of Tampa is a BBQ Competition Meats mecca. I’d like to take a moment to offer a special shout out to Chad Ward of Whiskey Bent BBQ Supply in Lakeland, FL for being the first to introduce me and many others to this amazing source of select competition BBQ meats.

Texas BBQ Bonanza – Franklin BBQ. Daniel Vaughn, BBQ Editor over at Texas Monthly posted a great article last year called “BBQ Anatomy 101: Know Your Brisket.” For those of you who don’t know Daniel, he’s pretty much the authority on Texas BBQ and is a go to resource for knowing how it should be done and who’s doing it right.

If you’re eating brisket in Texas, chances are that your favorite pitmaster is ordering Item No. 120: a beef brisket, deckle-off, boneless.

The number corresponds to the cut of meat defined by the Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications, or IMPS. No.

118 is just “Beef Brisket” and the bones remain intact), and the “deckle,” or the hard fat between the rib cage and the pectoralis profundus muscle, also known as the brisket flat, has been removed.

Beginner competition folks looking to learn how to cook competition brisket should take note when Daniel shares that buying whole brisket packer cuts (with the point and the flat normally sold in cryovac bags) is the most cost effective way to go. Some butchers will trim your brisket to specifications.

However, as Malcom Reed shows in the rather aggressive beef brisket trimming video below, you can really maximize the flavoring in terms of where the rub makes its way into the beef by doing this yourself. Where this article really shines is with the “investigative reporting” he does regarding the brisket sourcing choices of some of the most well-regarded Texas Pitmasters.

Some of these restaurants use select brisket (which was a surprise to me) while others go for only prime grades of beef — when they can get it / afford it. The work put into this article is awesome, as the information Daniel shares here really helps to define some of the nuts and bolts behind these great BBQ joints.

Some say pictures are worth a thousand words, and that videos are even better. In the case of this post on how to cook competition brisket, I think these videos do a bang up job.

I came across this super informative video over at the Virtual Bullet site. It’s more than one hour long, and you’ll want to skip to about the 12:15 minute mark to see the brisket portion.

This video is awesome. Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin, TX (referenced above) does a cooking demo a lot like what you may have seen with Alton Brown’s Good Eats series.

In this video, Franklin shares information about the anatomy of a brisket, how to select a brisket, and how to prepare a “secret brisket rub.” Note: The flavor profile you get with Texas brisket may not be exactly what you’re looking for in a post on how to cook competition BBQ brisket. That said, I think it’s a great way to get the idea across that less can in fact be more where this big meat is concerned.

Of course you want to see what Aaron does with this brisket on the smoker, so here’s that video. I also put a video of his below that provides a great primer on what kinds of wood to use for smoking BBQ brisket.

In cooking competition beef brisket, pitmasters I’ve polled including Rub Bagby with Swamp Boys BBQ, Matt Barber of Hot Wachula’s, Dorsey Odell of Team Unknown BBQ, JD Davidsmeyer of JD’s Team Xtreme BBQ, Jim Elser of Sweet Smoke Q, and Matt Pittman of Meat Church BBQ say that in the end, it’s the cooking process that really determines how the end product is rendered.

Go with one that has as much marbling as you can find. You’ll want to make sure there is a good amount of ‘flex’ in the brisket.

If it’s stiff, pass on to another. Sure, you’ll get some funny looks from some of the other shoppers – but they’re not going to be trying to coax tenderness from that bad boy come cook time.

In Aaron Franklin’s video above, we didn’t see him do too much of a trim on his brisket. How much you trim your brisket is up to you, and it’s important to understand what BBQ Judges are looking for when they evaluate what you’re turning in.

Here’s a great image of what, in my opinion as a KCBS and FBA judge, think is a great brisket turn in box: Here’s What A Good Brisket Turn In Box Should Look Like.

Note that all of the slices are uniform, there is no apparent fat (sorry, no Texas style fatty brisket for turn ins), the color is inviting (not grey), there’s a nice bark on top of the slices, and the burnt ends look like little glossy pieces of meat candy. To get this effect, you’re going to have trim your brisket before you cook it.

NOTE: You MUST have sharp knives when trimming brisket, and being able to keep your knives razor sharp is also key.

Malcom gets pretty aggressive with his trim, and you may or may not want to go as far into it as he does. But it’s no secret that Killer Hogs wins Grand Championships.

Once again, I’m going to turn to Malcom Reed for the first How to Cook Competition Brisket video. He’s cooking on a Yoder Pellet Smoker in this video, which makes for a nice comparison with what you saw Aaron Franklin doing with his offset smoker above.

Great information here on cubing up the point for burnt ends here as well.

Too many times, I see people struggling to figure out how to cook competition BBQ brisket, and other BBQ category proteins, all on their own. T.

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A full “packer” brisket is made up of two distinct muscles. The point and the flat.

Whether you are shopping for brisket, ordering at a restaurant, or getting ready to smoke your first brisket, it’s important to understand the differences between these two muscles. A brisket is a large cut of meat that comes from the chest area of a cow.

Brisket is a rather tough cut of meat. The breast area gets a lot of exercise and use during the life of a cow.

An average whole brisket weighs between 12-14lbs, while large ones can top out at 22lbs+.

You will commonly find brisket flats sold in grocery stores. You can sometimes find a brisket point sold on its own, but they are harder to come across.

When visiting a barbecue restaurant, they will ask what portion of the brisket you want your serving cut from.

The brisket flat is also known as the “first cut” and is a leaner portion of meat relative to the point cut.

It comes from the area that is attached to the breastbone of a cow and is typically the portion of whole beef brisket that sliced brisket comes from.

The point cut is the fattier portion of the beef brisket.

It is much thicker and smaller than the flat cut but is packed full of flavor due to the higher fat content. It makes fantastic ground beef that can be used for burgers.

Many people separate the brisket flat from the brisket point and smoke each portion of meat separately.

I find that the fat from the point helps protect the flat from drying out, and you will end up with more moisture in your final product. Separating the flat from the point does have some benefits.

Another benefit is that you will be able to cook each portion more evenly. As I mentioned before, the flat has significantly less fat and connective tissue than the brisket point.

If you decide that you want to separate your brisket flat from your brisket point, it’s a fairly easy process: First, you need to identify where the flat and point are on the brisket.

Lay your brisket with the fat cap down and look at the part of the brisket that starts to get thicker.

Keep in mind that the top portion of the flat actually lays on top of the point, so the point curves down underneath the flat. Take a sharp knife and follow that seam of fat.

Trim the fat cap off a brisket or square up a rack of ribs in seconds. Take short, precise cuts all the way down the seam and once it is cut through you will be left with a separated flat and point.

The deckle is a thick portion of fat that separates the brisket flat from the ribcage on a cow. People will often mislabel the entire brisket point as the deckle, but that isn’t technically correct.

The deckle is a section of intercostal fat, not the actual point itself.

If you are ever unsure of how a brisket has been trimmed, your best bet is just to ask the butcher. They can give you more information on exactly how they trim briskets so you can be confident in what you are buying.

You’ve seen it on menus and maybe even ordered it, but making it for yourself is another story. So, what is brisket anyway.

It is actually one of the primal cuts of beef it’s so big. Traditionally it was not considered a high-value cut of meat and was typically used to make ground beef.

The brisket contains a lot of connective tissue that is not typically appetizing and why you need to be very careful with how you smoke or cook brisket. Read on to learn everything you need to know about beef brisket.

People eat brisket all around the world, from Korea to Pakistan to England. Each country prepares and cooks it slightly differently.

Why is this cut so popular. It used to be one of the cheapest options, which made it the best choice for ranchers, immigrants, and those who couldn’t afford the pricier cuts.

Let’s talk about what makes brisket special and how you can enjoy this cut of beef.

Because of the location of the cut, brisket can be a large piece of meat. A whole brisket can be anywhere from eight to 20 pounds.

And the highly active muscle is rich in connective tissue, making it a tough piece with moderate amounts of fat.

Brisket can taste richer than other cuts, which is why you can occasionally find ground beef that incorporates brisket to boost the beefy flavor. To maximize brisket taste, you generally use low heat and slow cooking to break down the connective tissue.

In traditional Jewish culture, brisket is often braised as a pot roast and often served at Rosh Hashanah, Passover, and on Sabbath. It’s also a popular cut for corned beef and pastrami.

Some people will even cook it in a slow cooker. Depending on where you go, brisket takes on different spices and flavors and is served with a variety of side dishes.

Because of the size of a full brisket, butchers can cut it into different parts by separating the brisket muscles. A full brisket is the flat and the point cuts with the fat layer (fat cap) intact.

You’ll want to choose the cut of brisket based on how you want to cook it since the amount of fat varies in each part. There is a line of interior fat that runs the length of the brisket.

This is where butchers cut to separate the parts of the brisket.

There are some benefits to separating the flat and point cuts because of the grain direction and the fat distribution.

But this is inaccurate. The deckle is not the brisket point or the layer of fat between the flat and point cuts.

You don’t normally find the deckle on supermarket briskets.

The cheapest way to buy brisket is the packer cut. It’s the whole brisket that hasn’t been trimmed, cut, or processed.

Buying a full packer brisket means you get to trim it just the way you like it. Plus, you’ll have a lot of brisket to enjoy for several meals.

That means a 12-pound trimmed packer brisket could take up to 24 hours.

The cooking process pulls water from the meat, which results in a smaller size. Dry cooking methods, like smoking, cause the brisket to shrink more than if you use a damp heat method, like braising.

This is something to keep in mind when you’re serving large groups. We explain how much brisket is required per person here.

Warehouse clubs, such as Costco, BJ’s, or Sam’s Club have meat sections where they sell larger briskets.

Plus, local butchers may buy from local farms. They may also have more time to answer questions and provide you with tips on how to prepare it, especially if you’re buying a whole packer brisket.

Something to consider if you do not want to learn this process for yourself. Online stores also offer brisket and Wagyu brisket.

The cost of brisket depends on a few factors, including:. On average, brisket is around $6 to $8 per pound for flat cuts and packer briskets as low as $2 to $3 per pound.

Whether you’re braising, brining, or smoking, this large cut of meat needs the proper time to cook. Once you have your brisket selected, it’s time to make some delicious beef.

One of our favorite ways is smoking brisket. You can make a brisket rub in just a few minutes that is based on the Texas tradition of salt and black pepper and then watch and take care of your smoked brisket as it cooks.

Smoked BBQ Brisket is a very time-consuming process with several important steps. As we mentioned, brisket has a lot of connective tissues so you need to smoke it low and slow to have a great outcome.

We explain in fine detail how to do this. We have plenty of brisket recipes to get you started, no matter how you prefer this kind of meat.

Brisket also pairs well with many different types of braising liquid, making it quite versatile. Make sure you’re giving yourself plenty of time before diving into a smoked brisket recipe.

You’ll want to have your rub picked out and also decide whether you’ll be injecting your brisket or not. Pitmasters will often inject their brisket with a marinade to add flavor and moisture but you certainly don’t have to if you like the smoke and beefy flavor as is.

These recipes are also well worth the effort, but please take note that many recipes will have you brine your beef for up to 10 days in the fridge. Other than the planning, this recipe is shockingly simple and a great addition to your rotation since it’s as easy as simmering the meat and you’ll have tasty leftovers for days.

If you think you’ll use your cooked brisket in a few days, opt for the refrigerator. If you think it will be a few weeks until you’re ready to take a fork for your meat, make room in the freezer for it.

Ideally, you reheat the brisket the same way you cooked it. But since this isn’t always an option, you can use the oven or even the air fryer.

Storing and reheating the brisket takes some planning, but the leftovers are well worth the effort.

Plus, brisket is an excellent source of protein, as a 3-ounce serving provides 28 grams of this macronutrient. It has oleic acid (a heart-healthy fatty acid) and is a good source of B vitamins, zinc, iron, phosphorus, and selenium.

Brisket comes in many forms – pastrami, corned beef, braised brisket, pot roast, smoked (and other dishes) – and has staked a permanent place on menus and backyard barbecues around the country. Traditionally, brisket was considered a tough cut because it requires slow, low temperature cooking to get tender.

But we’ve learned how to barbecue brisket to perfection, so it’s become more of a prized cut in barbecue circles. There’s a wide range of ways to cook brisket, from braising to corned beef, but the key with this cut of meat is a low and slow cooking process that gives the layer of fat plenty of time to break down and tenderize the meat.

With a little bit of time and the right cooking method, even the toughest piece of meat can be made delicious. Brisket, which comes from the breast of the cow, is a great example—it’s one of the least tender cuts of beef, but braised, smoked, or slowly roasted, it’s rendered soft and satisfying with incredible flavor.

Brisket is a beef cut taken from the breast section of the cow beneath the first five ribs, behind the foreshank. It comprises the pectoral muscles of the cow, which supports much of the animal’s weight.

A brisket is quite long and is usually divided in half and sold as two different pieces of meat.

Brining is also an option, which will turn the piece of brisket into a corned beef. after the meat is cured in a brine, it is slowly simmered until tender.

Whether braised, brined, smoked, or even cooked in an Instant Pot, brisket needs plenty of time to cook. A smoked brisket, Texas-style, is rendered soft and delicious after eight to 12 hours at 225 F.

In general, brisket has a beefiness to it. how you prepare the beef brisket will determine how the brisket tastes.

Once the full piece of brisket is cut in half, each half is given different names—the first cut and second cut—and sold as such. The first cut, also known as the flat cut, thin cut, or center cut, is the leaner piece of meat.

The first cut is more attractive and will slice up neatly. It’s a great choice for corned beef.

Pitmasters also gravitate toward the deckle, as the preponderance of fat makes for a juicy smoked cut that shreds nicely.

But it’s also the main ingredient in some other classic dishes like Romanian pastrami and Italian bollito misto. In England, brisket is a classic cut for a braised beef or pot roast.

A crockpot is an ideal vessel for cooking brisket, or you can use the oven or even the grill.

if you do not see any (or the size you need), it is worth asking the butcher. Keep in mind that a brisket will shrink down significantly when cooked, so you will need to purchase one that is larger than you would think.

keep in mind that the fat cap on a second cut will account for some of the weight.

A raw brisket can be stored in the refrigerator for five to eight days in its packaging and when wrapped air-tight can be frozen for six to 12 months. Brisket is the type of dish you often cook ahead of time (especially when braising, so the gravy fat has time to separate), so you may need to store the meat in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

you can store it with or without the gravy.

One of the most common questions we hear from those thinking about ordering large quantities of beef from us is “What cuts of beef will I get if I order a quarter, half or whole cow. ”.

Your question shows that you know that a steer is made up of more than just steaks — a lot more.

Plus, we will discuss exactly what cuts you get if you order a quarter, half or whole beef from our farm.

These eight areas are called the primal cuts, or the main cuts.

Here are the eight primal cuts of beef: These primal cuts are then broken down into subprimals, and then they’re cut into individual steaks, roasts and other retail cuts.

A portion cut is individually wrapped, ready to cook cuts of beef like steak, roast, ribs, and brisket.

The best, most expensive and tender cuts of beef are always from the center of the steer, which is the loin or rib section. The four most popular cuts from this area are the tenderloin (a.k.a.

If you’re wondering, “why the center of the steer. ” Take a moment and look at the diagram above.

So, the muscles there are firmer and that beef is the toughest. The loin and ribs are at the center of the animal and they don’t do much work, so they’re tender cuts.

Another way to say this that you may hear from your butcher is that “beef gets more tender as the distance from horn and hoof increases.”. How cuts of beef are named can be very confusing to anyone.

One of the many reasons there is confusion is because grocery stores and butchers can cut beef in a variety of ways and name it however is best for their store or region. In fact, one study showed that many grocery stores carry more than 60 different beef products.

When you order from our farm, we make it as easy as possible and cuts of beef are labeled with the most common name for the cut. So with the example above, it’s a “Strip Steak.”.

Meat from the chuck primal cut is from the cow’s shoulder. Cows use their shoulder a lot, so it’s a tougher cut of beef.

Types of cuts you’ll see for chuck are ground chuck (hamburger), flat-iron steak, chuck short ribs, shoulder tender medallions, chuck pot roast, blade roast, boneless chuck short ribs, stew meat, country style ribs, and top blade steak, just to name a few. You should choose chuck beef when you want lots of flavor, but need to be cost conscious too.

Beef brisket is usually tough and contains a substantial amount of fat, but don’t let that fool you. Chefs know that if you tenderize it with a marinade or rub, and cook it low and slow, it’ll melt in your mouth.

The shank is located at the animal’s forearm in front of the brisket. It is one of the toughest cuts.

Make stews and soups with the shank. The cow’s ribs and backbone make up the ribs.

The others are in the chuck cut. Ribs have lots of flavor and marbling.

Choose ribs when you want a tender cut of beef with extra marbling. The other popular (and expensive) cut you can find from this section is the Prime Rib Roast is also known as the Prime Rib, Ribeye Roast, Holiday Roast, Rib Roast, or Standing Rib Roast.

It can be found with both boneless and bone-in options. The prime rib comes from the best part of the animal’s rib, between rib bones seven and 11.

Prime rib is an expensive cut of beef, but it’s not complicated to make. Here’s our favorite Prime Rib Roast with Garlic Herb Butter recipe.

It is fattier. Make fajitas, pastrami, skirt steak, Philadelphia steak and short ribs with this cut and you’ll be happy with the results.

It is located at the top of the steer directly behind the rib, and since it’s not a heavily used muscle, it’s very tender and flavorful. The loin has two parts: shortloin and sirloin.

The sirloin area is a little less tender than the shortloin, but it’s also more flavorful. Common cuts from the sirloin area are sirloin steak, center cut sirloin steak, top sirloin steak, bottom sirloin, ball tip steak, Tri-Tip Roast and Tri-Tip Steak.

The round is a lean and inexpensive cut. It’s found at the cow’s rump and hind legs, so it’s sometimes tough.

Other common cuts are round steak, eye of round, tip steak, tip roast, top round steak and bottom round roasts. The flank is located below the loin.

It used to be less expensive at the grocery store, but this has started to change because flank steaks are known for being lean. Since consumers want lean meat more than ever before, it’s increased flank steak’s popularity and price.

When you order a quarter or half beef from our family farm, we use a standard cut list. The reason for this is because you are sharing the animal with several other people.

If you order a whole beef, you can customize the cut list however you’d like. We help walk you through this process.

With a quarter beef, you would get about 110 pounds of beef. Of this, 50 pounds would be ground beef, and the remaining 60 pounds would be steaks, roasts, brisket, etc.

A comment we sometimes hear is that people are surprised that there aren’t more unique cuts on our standard beef cut list, such as Porterhouse Steak, Delmonico Steak, Club Steak, etc. The reason for this is because a steer is made up of more than just steak.

Let’s explain this even more by looking at one cut of beef. You’re probably familiar with a T-bone steak with its famous “T” shaped bone in the center.

For example, if you decide to cut the bone out, you would no longer have a T-bone. Instead, you would have two distinct cuts — a tenderloin (or filet) and a strip steak.

And if it’s an extremely large T-bone, it would be called a Porterhouse Steak, not a T-bone. According to the USDA, if the tenderloin section that is at least 1.25 inches across at the widest section, it’s a porterhouse steak.

If it’s less than that, it’s a bone-in strip steak.

You can have EITHER t-bone steaks OR filets and strips. You can’t have both since all of those cuts come from the same section of beef.

Did you know if you look at a beef chart, there isn’t a cut of beef labeled “stew meat” or “kabob meat”. These terms are used to describe meat that is cut into cubes and packaged together.

Meat for kabobs is trimming from primal cuts like sirloin. If you do a side-by-side comparison of the two, you’ll see that kabob meat is usually larger chunks of meat.

If you order a whole beef, you have a lot more cutting options since you’re not cow-pooling with anyone else. You’re also sure to get the one-per-animal parts (like the tongue and heart) if you want them.

Technically, a side of beef is literally one side of the beef carcass that is split through the backbone. Each side is then halved between the 12th and 13th ribs.

However, when you purchase beef from our farm, we do what’s called a mixed quarter or mixed half. That means that we equally divide all parts of the animal so that you get cuts of beef from the front and back of the cow.

Great question. Just like humans, there are certain par.

A brisket will probably be the largest and most challenging piece of meat you’ll ever barbecue. It is truly the ultimate barbecue meat.

It’s a pretty intimidating piece of meat. thicker and fatter on one end and leaner and thinner on the other.

Believe me, it took me a few tries to get a proper brisket trimmed and seasoned, then all my smoking techniques down. This can definitely be unforgiving for the novice, but with some great tips and ideas, you too can have great success smoking your first brisket.

The brisket is located on the breast, or lower chest of the steer just below the shoulder. There are two of these on the entire animal, one on the left and the other on the right.

The brisket contains lots of connective tissue which will break down when smoked “low and slow”.

It got popular when folks discovered that smoking the brisket at a low temperature for a long period of time breaks down the connective tissue, and makes it tender and delicious. By now you know, I’m a butcher… been doing this for a pretty long time.

When a customer comes to the meat counter and says “I want to buy a brisket to smoke” my eyes just light up, and say “I’ll help you.

First, I will explain what the “packer-cut” is. Basically it is whole, untrimmed, and vacuum-sealed from the packer or producer.

Next, we’ll talk about the different grades of briskets that are most commonly found in the marketplace. There is USDA Prime, Choice and Select.

Marbling is the intermuscular fat within the meat that primarily determines the quality grade. Always buy the best brisket that you can find.

Also, choose a cut that has an even amount of white fat across it without any gouge marks. Make sure the seal on the packaging is tight and doesn’t have a lot of dark liquid (purge) in the bag.

Properly trimming a brisket is such an important step in achieving successfully smoked meat goodness. If there is too much fat, the smoke will have a hard time penetrating the meat.

It will take some time and effort to trim your brisket. You can do it.

Make sure to plan ahead when preparing your workstation. Your cutting board should be large enough to handle the whole brisket.

You’ll also need a sharp knife preferably a curved blade 6 to 8 inches in length. Using a sharp knife is very important as a dull knife will require you to apply more pressure to the meat, and can roll off and result in an accident.

Now let’s get trimming. First, trim off any loose or dangling pieces that may have been left on from the packer.

Next start with the larger end of the brisket, called the deckle. The deckle is the fattier end.

You’re going to want to remove a good amount of it. Trim any remaining fat on this side down to a ¼ inch.

Like the top side, go ahead and remove a good amount of this fat as well.

Take your time and go little by little, making sure that you don’t take too much off and expose the meat. Now that you have successfully bought and trimmed the meat, the next step is to season it.

A brisket can take on many different spices and herbs in the rub. You don’t need some fancy “best brisket recipe” here either.

dry rub (Black Gold is the perfect smoked brisket rub), your favorite rub recipe, or go with classic Texas Style (kosher salt and ground pepper). I like to season my brisket the night before so when I wake up at the crack of dawn, it’s ready to go.

There is nothing better than smoked beef brisket. This cut of beef will take a decent amount of time in the smoker at a lower heat of 225 degrees to break down all the connective tissue.

You can smoke brisket in an electric smoker, a charcoal grill, or a standard setup.

You can also wrap it in foil. At this point, I remove it from the smoker and let it rest for about an hour (even if you lose patience at 15 minutes).

It allows all the natural juices to slow down and get redistributed into the meat. It will also bring it down to a good temperature for slicing.

Start at the flat end of the brisket and slice against the grain of the meat in ¼ inch slices. When you reach the halfway point or the brisket, where the flat part meets the deckle (fatty end) you’ll need to turn it 90 degrees and slice across that grain.

Now you can enjoy your barbecue.

About the author: Mark Holzkopf has been in the meat business for over thirty-five years.

Being around meat all day has sparked and heightened Mark’s passion for grilling and barbecuing over the years. Mark enjoys using his expertise as a butcher to help spread more knowledge about meat, tips on buying, grilling, and smoking those prime cuts.

Brisket is commonly available at grocery stores, butchers, and meat markets. Hey Grill Hey notes that a grocery store brisket is generally a small, pre-trimmed cut weighing up to five pounds.

Instead, you’ll typically find the best brisket from a dedicated butcher. At a local butcher shop, you can get a full packer brisket, also known as a whole brisket.

While you’ll need to do some trimming (or you can ask the butcher to do it for you), a full packer brisket will likely give you more bang for your buck.

Some leftovers never hurt anyone, especially when we’re talking about brisket. At a butcher shop, you’ll also be able to select the grade of beef you prefer, which influences the price, fat content, and marbling on the meat, ultimately giving you more control over the final product.

Brisket is considered one of the best cuts for barbecue or smoking. But what part of the cow is brisket.

It has tough meat that soaks in flavor and becomes tender once you cook it slowly. That is why it is considered ideal for slow cooking and barbecue.

Brisket is the front breast portion of the cow. It is one of the nine primal cuts of beef and one of the four major cuts for barbecue.

The slow heat breaks down collagen and connective tissues, and you usually don’t have to be concerned about overcooking it. Cook it the right way, and it will be tender and juicy because of the marbling and a thick fat layer on top.

Along with other cuts, it is a popular choice for you to cook in a smoker. It can be the most flavorful beef BBQ because of all the connective tissues, marbling, fat, and meat.

Now that you know what part of cow is brisket, you may realize that brisket is a large piece of meat. An average brisket cut can be around 15-18 pounds.

Therefore, if you require a smaller portion of brisket, it is available in subprimal cuts. You can cut brisket into two portions known as the point and the flat.

Point is the dense part of brisket that is attached to the ribs of the cow. It has large hunks of fat.

You will need the longest amount of time to cook this part due to its tough tissues. You may prefer this portion to shred for BBQ sandwiches because it has less meat and more fat.

As the name suggests, this is a rather flat part of brisket and is ideal for cutting into smaller slices. The flat portion also has fat that you will need to trim.

You will see this portion sold as a brisket flat. The uniform, rectangular portion also has its share of marbling and connective tissues.

The portion you find in the store called a ‘brisket half’ is often the flat portion.

It is the fattiest part and tough to cook. The decker is also an inexpensive portion, so you can use it in stews and soups to add a strong beefy flavor.

Brisket is a popular piece of cow meat due to its rich meaty, and beefy flavor. It is packed with flavor, and due to its ratio of fat, tough tissues, and meat, it is perfect for slow cooking and barbecue.

Brisket is easy to find in butcher stores, and its large size makes it enough to feed a crowd.

In the regular supermarket you may find brisket, but it will probably be a flat portion. Look for a cut that is tough to touch and not spongy.

When selecting brisket, choose a cut with less layer of fat. A bit of fat is important for flavor and keeps the meat juicy, but too much can prevent the seasoning from penetrating to the meat inside.

Connective tissues are the cells that connect the meat: tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and the like. They are made up of collagen and elastin.

However, it can make meat tough and chewy if not cooked properly.

Fat is in abundance on brisket on both the point and the flat. Brisket is covered with a thick layer of fat.

Improper trimming will yield less-than-ideal results. For example, if you don’t trim enough fat, it will prevent the seasoning from getting to the meat.

Therefore, to get a flavorful bark, you should leave a quarter of an inch of the fat layer on the meat. Usually, the point and decker cuts have the most fat.

Find out how to trim a brisket with our step-by-step guide. You can ask a butcher to trim the excess fat, or if you are trimming it at home, you can cut the ends of brisket and extra fat and use it for steaks or in stews and soups.

Brisket is the lower breast part of the cow located between the shoulder and chuck. It is one of the most popular cuts for barbecue and BBQ lovers prefer it due to its blend of marbling, connective tissues, and fat.

Consequently it has a rich, meaty, and beefy flavor. As an added bonus, brisket is inexpensive and available in subprimal cuts as well.

Pitmasters love to rub brisket with salt and pepper, or you can also use your favorite seasoning with lots of spices and herbs.

Beef Cuts: A complete guide. Best cutting board for brisket.

View our entire collection of dark wood walnut reversible boards – there are many shapes and sizes to choose from. Find your perfect board for your next steak, bbq, stew, or smoked meat.

We are on Amazon, see our storefront here. Use coupon code VBKBLOG10 for 10% off your entire purchase of any Virginia Boys Kitchens on Amazon.

Brisket has become one of the foremost cuts in barbecue once it has been slow-cooked in a smoker. Not many cuts of meat can compete with a brisket once it has developed a delicious bark, perfect tenderness, and flowing juices.

The brisket is the cut of meat that comes from the lower pectoral region of a cow. It is a type of meat that is full of connective tissue due to it being a highly used muscle, but if it is cooked slowly, it becomes tender and juicy.

In my experience, briskets are worth throwing on the smoker and cooking until tender perfection.

You can find a full brisket to weigh anywhere from under 10 pounds all the way up to 20 pounds. The larger briskets may require extra trimming.

When trimming a brisket you may notice that there is a line of fat that runs diagonally through the “packer brisket”. This is because the brisket has two muscle groups that can be separated if desired.

If you aren’t familiar with briskets, you may not know that there are two separate muscle groups.

The opposite side will have a fat cap that covers the entire point and the flat of the brisket. It is important to trim the fat cap.

If you have never trimmed a brisket, check out my How To Trim A Brisket.

This means it contains less fat in it, so therefore it can be dryer. Buying a high marbled grade brisket can help ensure your flat is juicy after a long cook.

The “flat” is also as the name says, this muscle lays flat in comparison to the “point” when the two muscles are still connected and so it can cook faster.

The “point” of brisket can be much fattier than the “flat”. The extra fat inside the “point” help ensures this part of the brisket is always juicy after smoking for long hours.

To help recognize the point, it is the larger almost round point that sticks higher up on the brisket when the fat cap is facing up.

I share all this information here When To Wrap Brisket.

I have bought brisket from Sam’s Club, my local butcher, and several online websites, such as Snake River Farms, Crowd Cow, and Creekstone Farms.

As for where you can find the briskets you can find online, it either requires a simple google search or you can check out the briskets at Snake River Farms Here or Crowd Cow Here.

Beef briskets are often called “packer” brisket unless they are separated by the butcher. Then typically the cuts are labeled as brisket “flat” or brisket “point”.

The price of briskets can have completely different prices based on two criteria.

Locally, I have found briskets that cost as low as $60 for a 12 lb brisket. On the other end, I have found wagyu briskets that can cost upwards of $200 for a 18lb brisket.

Here Is One Of The Best Places To Buy A Brisket.

For me, the low and slow method is the best way to smoke a brisket. It gives the brisket plenty of time to get tender and allows the fat to tender properly.

Brisket is not necessarily done at a specific temperature but rather a temp range. I always recommend cooking brisket to 203-205 degrees Fahrenheit.

Getting perfectly tender brisket is more important than a specific temperature. Never smoked a brisket before.

I Highly Recommend Trying Snake River Farms Brisket.

Come back soon to Joshs Cookhouse, where nothing is off the table. Alright, now that you know what a brisket is, it is time to check out How To Smoke A Brisket Guide to learn how to smoke the perfect brisket or you can mix it up and learn about beef short ribs.

Before slow-cooking a brisket, it is recommended to remove most of the fat cap until only a 1/4 inch layer is left.

However, briskets can be a bit spendy since they often exceed 10 lbs before being trimmed.

The brisket steaks would still need to be cooked for a long period of time to ensure it becomes tender. You would not want to be eating a medium-rare brisket steak.

Every cow only contains two briskets. They are both located on the lower pectoral region of a cow and there is one for each side, one on the left and one on the right.

Both corn beef and briskets are the same cut of meat. There is a difference to them though.

Corned beef on the other hand is first cured in a brine before it is sold. The brine gives the brisket meat an added flavor that regular brisket won’t have.

One popular way to buy beef in bulk is to purchase a whole, half or quarter of a cow (technically, it’s probably a steer) directly from a farmer. This is also called “freezer beef” because it will fill your freezer and you’ll always have high quality meat on hand.

Many of farmers selling beef on ChopLocal offer quarters, halves or whole beef animals for sale, but buying half a cow a different from buying individual cuts, and it can be a bit confusing. Read on for answers to the most frequently asked questions about buying half a cow.

The short answer – it depends on the size of the animal. A good estimate is about 300 lbs of beef.

Most fully grown beef animals are between 1200 and 1400 lbs (live weight). After harvest, the carcass usually weighs around 800 – 900 lbs (hanging weight).

So when you are buying half a cow, you are bringing home around 300 lbs of beef.

The freezer above or below your refrigerator will not be big enough to hold your beef, so you’ll need to invest in a “deep freeze.” A small chest freezer (about 3 feet wide, 3 feet high and 2 feet deep) or small upright freezer is approximately 7 cubic feet of freezer space, so check the product specs to make sure that your freezer is big enough.

As long as your freezer stays frozen, your beef will be safe. However, the meat quality may decrease over time.

When you buy half a cow, you’ll get approximately 75 -100 lbs of ground beef, and the rest will be roasts, steaks, and other cuts like brisket, ribs, stew meat, soup bones, and organ meats (liver, heart and tongue.). If you don’t like those cuts, you can have them turned into ground beef, which will obviously increase the amount of ground beef you receive.

You get to pick what you want, to some extent. Beef animal carcasses are divided into “primals” and each primal is cut down further for your freezer.

You also have to make some choices. For example, you can get T-bone steaks, but then you can’t get filet and New York Strip, because a T-bone steak is really filet mignon and NY Strip that hasn’t been cut off the bone.

Most farmers price their bulk beef based on the hanging weight. Hanging weight is the weight of the carcass after harvest, before being cut into individual steaks, roasts, etc.

If the cow’s hanging weight (total) is 800 lbs, then half is 400 lbs. To estimate your final price, take 400 lbs times the price/lb charged by the farmer.

That means your half will cost $1600. You will also have processing charges from the butcher.

A safe estimate is about $1/lb for processing. That brings your total up to $2000.

So, you’re paying $2,000 and bringing home 300 lbs of beef. That’s an average price of $6.67/lb for your beef.

We’ve made it as easy as possible by bringing together dozens of beef farmers on one site.

Don’t see a beef farmer near you. Send us a message to let us know, and we’ll track one down.

Beef Cuts: loins, shanks, briskets and chuck – if all the different cuts confuse you when deciding what to cook, this guide will help.

Follow this beef cuts guide and you’ll be acting like a butcher in no time.

These primal cuts are then broken down into sub-primal cuts, including specific steaks and chops: flank steak, flat iron steak, filet mignon, rib eye.

These are usually leaner cuts of beef, best grilled or fried, and work better with high heat. It’s the T-Bone and Porterhouse Steaks, the Tenderloins, cuts of meat that respond better to dry heat cooking.

Filet mignon, bavette, tri-tips, strip steak and roasts – coming from the rear of the animal, these are also leaner cuts, and certainly not the best beef choice if you want to slow cook. The sirloin family is best for grilling, skillet and stir-fry, with high, dry heats.

Ribeye filet, ribeye cap, ribeye steak. These cuts are getting fattier, meaning some of them are better for slow cooking and roasting.

Blade, chuck eye, country-style ribs, this is where the slow goodness starts to come to play with some good cuts for pot roasts. Don’t get us wrong, you’ll also find lots of chuck cuts are good for grilling: top blade, ranch steak, shoulder steak.

You can’t really go wrong with brisket, whether you choose flat or point cut – they both want to be slow cooked. For us, brisket point works better than brisket flat, the flat cut is a bit leaner.

For this perennial Texas favourite, find these tips and techniques to keep your dish from becoming dry and stringy. Low and slow should be your mantra.

Top, bottom and eye round will go well at high heats, the bottom, rump and eye roast are best for slow cooking and, you guessed it, oven roasted.

There are endless rich variations on braised ribs, where this cut is immersed in a bath of rich flavours like red wine, beer, garlic, or tomato until the meat is falling off the bone. Beef cuts come in all shapes, sizes, textures and tastes.

You have stewing steak, burgers, corned beef, minced and ground beef in this category. Shanks, which come from the legs of the cow, are probably one of the most interesting beef cuts and perfect for slow cooking.

Beef cheeks are an often overlooked piece of meat that many top chefs use in their restaurants. One of the most forgiving cuts when cooked slowly and a simple piece of meat that will change your pot roast game for the better.

12-Hour Braised Beef Cheeks.

Take the beef cut chart to the next level, this beefy encyclopaedia is this simple collection of 60 different beef cuts from across the whole cow. A great beginners cheat sheet for meat treats.

You can see every beef cut and exactly where it comes from on the cow (more on Butchering Animals).

Next Level Beef Recipe from Narisawa..

This chart is great because it focuses is on some of the best cuts of beef with details on what should be looking for when you’re actually purchasing beef. There’s a good explanation of the differences between prime, choice and select beef.

If you’re someone who has your go-to beef cut checklist in order, perhaps you can take some insertion from this selection chart of underrated beef cuts. There are six different cuts listed with great details on how you should cook them.

Everyone wants to create a mouthwatering brisket at home that is just as delicious, if not a cut above the brisket served at renowned BBQ restaurants.

grab a beer.. there is a lot of ground to cover.

If I could go back and talk to my younger self, this is precisely the information I would provide.

There is more to Texas Style Smoked Brisket than seasonings, cook times, cooking temps, Texas crutch, injecting, resting, and slicing. If you are brand new to smoking..

Let me save you some time, money, and frustration. You need to start with Smoked Pulled Pork, because it is SO MUCH MORE forgiving, and you can overcook it without severe consequences.

If you don’t believe me, here are a few quotes from dear friends that are in the competitive BBQ space: Charlies Gordon from Kentuckiana BBQ Pitmasters: “I think the number one most common mistake for brisket is that people don’t rest it long enough.

Dave White from Great White Smoke BBQ: “For me, I think it’s important to not get hung up on finishing temps. Get that soft as butter probe or good jiggle.

Once you master the basics, focusing on the consistency of your technique, smoking a brisket will not be as difficult as you might think. So let’s start the class.

First Off, we will be talking about a whole beef brisket. What is a whole beef brisket.

This cut of meat is tough, with a lot of connective tissue in and around the muscle fibers. The leanness of the meat is due to cattle not having collar bones.

Hopefully, you are starting to seeing the challenges with this cut from the start. If it’s not cooked long enough and the correct way, you’ll never achieve a traditional Texas Style Brisket.

Brisket is actually two separate but tightly connected muscles with very different makeup and feel. We have learned the two pieces by the names ‘brisket flat and brisket point.’.

Also known as The Deckle, The Deckel, or Brisket Second Cut. You may come across the word “deckle” in your brisket studies.

The word is sometimes spelled deckel.

It has more marbling, fat, and connective tissue than the flat. This means significantly more flavor from the extra fat but less meat yield.

Also known as The Beef Brisket Middle Cut. Brisket Center-Cut.

or Brisket Nose Cut. The flat is the flatter, meatier and leaner part of a whole brisket.

It has little in the way of interconnective tissue and WILL BE tough if not cooked correctly.

Yes, it matters. There is a greater chance of starting your 12-15 hour smoke with a more tender cut.

This is a pretty straightforward concept on paper or a blog, but how will you know from which side the beef was harvested. I doubt the young kid at the grocery store would be much help.

When you pick up a whole brisket, lay it fat side face down. The narrow point end should be facing you.

If it curves to the left, it’s a right handed brisket. If the curve points to the right, the brisket is left handed.

A brisket is already a tough cut of meat, so the quality does matter, and here is a deeper explanation of how the USDA Grades meat. Beef is graded in two ways: quality grades for tenderness, juiciness and flavor.

From a consumer standpoint, what do these quality beef grades mean.

It has abundant marbling (the amount of fat interspersed with lean meat), and is generally sold in restaurants and hotels. Prime roasts and steaks are excellent for dry-heat cooking such as broiling, roasting or grilling.

Choice roasts and steaks from the loin and rib will be very tender, juicy, and flavorful and are suited for dry-heat cooking. Many less tender cuts can also be cooked with dry heat if not overcooked.

Select beef is very uniform in quality and typically leaner than the higher grades. It is relatively tender, but, because it has less marbling, it may lack some of the juiciness and flavor of the higher grades.

Other cuts should be marinated before cooking or braised to obtain maximum tenderness and flavor. Let me be get real clear on this point, the fat cap does not penetrate or melt into the meat as it renders down.

Some pitmasters like to leave the entire fat cap on the meat, using it as insulation. However, they trim the brisket before serving.

Most often times the brisket is trimmed before the smoke, leaving a thin layer fat that is between of 1/8″ to 1/4″, if you leave the full fat cap on, spices and seasoning will simply drip off the meat during the smoke. Some pitmasters with also remove the fat layer between the point and the flat.

Remember, fat helps retain moisture and will typically shrink to about 1/8″ during the smoke. Your brisket will make mouths drool while slicing, and the rendered fat will make each cut shiny and juicy.

The argument is as old as cooking brisket, and everyone has their preference. We already know that the fat does not penetrate contracting muscle fibers during the smoke.

I say trim most of the fat but leave a thin layer, a little less than 1/4″, and I use the fat as a heat shield facing down. Hell, I’ll flip the brisket halfway through the smoke just to avoid the debate.

It is completely up to you. Here are some key points to consider:

*Reduces cooking time by 1/3. Smoking a Whole Brisket lends to drier or burnt ends.

When separated, there is more surface area for bark. When separated, the two muscles are typically uniform in thickness.

Most likely, you have heard that low and slow, around 225°F for 18 to 20 hours for a whole packer, is necessary to make the meat tender and juicy. I have friends that are BBQ caterers, and they advocate cooking brisket at 275°F (135°C) and up.

Bottomline, I advocate for low and slow until you have mastered the techniques and deliver consistency. 225°F is what I am going to use for this smoked brisket recipe.

Once again, the answer is science. It is a scientific fact that wet meat takes more smoke, so mopping or spritzing with water, beef broth, or apple juice will yield better results.

From a flavor standpoint, liquids have a limited impact on taste. Apple juice, beer, or beef broth do not pack enough rich flavor to dramatically change the flavor profile of brisket.

Before we talk about the Texas Crutch, you need to know about “THE STALL” The stall is when a large cut of meat like a pork butt or beef brisket is cooking, and the internal temperature of the meat just seems to “stall” or plateau around 155-165°F for hours.

For brisket, the stall starts typically after two to three hours once the internal temperature of the meat is around 150°F. The stall can last for as long as 7 hours before the temperature of the meat starts to rise again.

The Texas Crutch is a technique for speeding up the cook and retaining moisture. This method is employed when the meat hits about 150°F (internal), and the brisket is wrapped tightly in untreated butcher paper.

I personally like to wrap at 160°F. Scientifically, when the brisket hits 150°F, the internal moisture is pushed to the surface.

There is a down side of using the Texas Crutch, being that it softens the crusty bark. However, you can overcome that by placing the meat over high heat for about 10 minutes per side just before slicing.

Our Belties are one of the smaller populations on the farm, but their larger size means that each animal goes a long way. The cows spend their entire lives moving as a herd through our many pastures eating only grass and hay that we produce.

This makes Hogwash beef unbelievably delicious and much leaner and healthier than conventional beef. We make sure that each animal gets used to its full potential once it is butchered, so we decided to add some cut and cooking information here.

This page is dedicated to giving you as much cut and cooking information that we can gather.

The biggest culprit when preparing grass-fed meat is overcooking due to its lower fat content than conventional meat. Many unsuccessful grass-fed meat experiences are due to improper cooking methods.

If you like well-done meat, then cook your grass fed beef at very low temperatures in a sauce or liquid to add moisture. using a crock pot is a good option.

Please ask our permission before copying or reposting***. ***This image is the property of Hogwash Farm and the artist.

***This image is the property of Hogwash Farm and the artist. Please ask our permission before copying or reposting***.

Cheeks: Beef cheek muscles get a lot of use while the animal is alive turning all that good grass into fodder. This means that cheek meat is a very tough cut, with fibrous muscle that has tons of flavor.

Tongue: We do get beef tongue back from our butcher. Most people prefer it as dog food these days, but tongue can be a great food for people too – especially those who know how to cook and enjoy it.

After slow cooking and peeling tongue is commonly sliced thin and fried.

This area is full of muscles that are well used while the animal is alive, resulting in some of the most flavorful cuts that are also more economical due to the fact that they can be tougher and contain more fat. Sierra: This cut is the largest single muscle from the shoulder.

The Sierra can be slow cooked whole, divided into smaller chuck cuts, or divided even smaller for stew meat, sir fry meat, and ground beef. Flat Iron: This chuck steak is a tender cut from the front shoulder, under the shoulder blade.

The Flat Iron has become very popular as an economical alternative to the pricier loin steaks – many people can’t tell the difference in flavor. This steak is tender enough for many cooking styles, especially if it gets marinated first.​Petite Tender: Also known as the Shoulder Tender, Chuck Filet Steak, and Beauty Steak – this is a very flavorful, although quite small, cut from the upper chuck.

Given a little time to marinate this tiny steak is tender enough for most cooking styles. Mock Tender: Also known as the Chuck Tender or Scotch Tender is also similar in shape to a tenderloin, which is where it gets its name.

It benefits from slow roasting or braising. This cut is often sliced into stir fry.

These cuts are the first two cuts from the shoulder before the rib-eye cuts begin, hence these cuts share much of the flavor profile and tenderness of rib-eye but are more economical. Clod Roast: Appetizing as it may sound, the Clod Roast, or Clod Heart Roast, is a very flavorful cut when cooked correctly.

It can either be slow cooked for a delicious and economical meal, or processed further for lean ground beef, stew meat, stir fry, or kababs. Chuck Flap Tail: This cut comes from the same muscle group as the short ribs, but comes without the bone so it’s a little cheaper.

Pot Roast: Your classic Pot Roast comes from the shoulder region of a beef cow, and the Pot part of the name implies that it’s best cooked in liquid if you want it to get nice and tender. Chuck Eye Roast: This is another delicious although fairly tough roast from the beef shoulder.

Meat from this section of a beef cow tends to be tender and marbled, resulting in juicy and flavorful steaks, roasts, and rib cuts.

This roast is traditional around the Holidays as it can provide for a large number of people. Back Ribs: These ribs are the bones trimmed from below the rib-eye, with most of the flavorful meat being between the bones.

This cut is usually braised in order to get the meat fully tender. ​.

But, back muscles are not heavily used while the animal is alive which results in less flavorful meat. There are many cuts from a beef loin, and their high quality means they don’t need much work or cooking to taste delicious in any kitchen.

They rest above the spine and ribs and vary in tenderness and flavor from front to back. The uppermost muscles, closest to the shoulder, are the most tender but have the most mild flavor.

The prized ribeye steak comes from just behind the shoulder and sits above the ribs, further back over the cow’s mid section are the strip steaks, t-bones, and porterhouse steaks, followed by the less favored sirloin cuts that are closest to the animal’s rump.Rib-eye Steak: Also known as Delmonico Steak, after the New York restaurant that famously served it, this is one of the most flavorful, tender, and sought after steaks on any beef animal.

​Strip Steak: Also known as the New York Strip Steak, Kansas City Strip, Hotel Steak, Hotel Cut Strip Steak, Ambassador Steak, and Shell Steak this is a very common Steak House steak and is great for all cooking styles. It gets it’s name because it is ‘stripped’ from the animal’s loin during the butchering process.

Center Cut Strip Steak: These are the most valuable and desirable steaks from the Strip Steak section of the loin.T-Bone Steak: These steaks are cut so that they contain both loin muscle and tenderloin, with the iconic T shaped bone between. They are cut from the loin across the animal’s spine in order to incorporate both muscle groups.

These steaks are great grilled or broiled.Porterhouse Steak: These steaks are the same cut as the T-Bone steaks, just a from a little further back on the animal so there is more tenderloin in the cut. Both the Porterhouse steaks and T-Bone steaks offer the delicious combination of flavorful strip steak and tender tenderloin, just in different proportions.

This is a long, cylindrical muscle made of many small muscle fibers that runs along the inside of the spine from a little behind the rib cage to the hind leg. The small fibers that compose this seldom used muscle are what make it the most tender part of the animal, and also the most expensive.

Filets are most often sliced into medallions and served with delicious sauce. ​Chateaubriand: This is the name of a dish, but also of the cut that is the thickest part of the Tenderloin muscle.

The Chateaubriand cut comes from the back of the Tenderloin, nearest the hind leg. Chateaubriand is typically Tenderloin or Filet intended to serve two people instead of just one.