Franklin’s brisket via Goldbelly, review

[Mosca]

There’s another topic outlining the ordering and pricing. If you haven’t seen it, I’ll say that it’s a decent deal. It’s not cheap, but it’s not a bad deal, compared to picking the product up in Austin.

Advertised as 5lbs, it came in at 6.1lbs. Included is a bottle of sauce and 5 sausage links.



I don’t have a container large enough to sous vide it, so I put it in the oven at 225*, stuck a probe in, and pulled it at 165*. It took longer than 75 minutes, it was closer to 2 hours in my oven.



Sliced.



Served.



Verdict: excellent. Just the right amount of smokiness, very tender but not flaky. And it has a deep beefiness.

We didn’t try the sausage; in fact, I was so focused on the brisket I forgot about it. Another time. The sauce is a fairly simple sweet red sauce; I’m a sauce lover, the brisket was fine without sauce.

All that being said, my best briskets are this good. Not that they are as good as Franklin’s, but my fresh brisket is as good as Franklin’s frozen, shipped, and reheated brisket. The difference to me is, 1) I didn’t have to nurse it through the night and half the next day, and 2) sometimes my briskets are inconsistent, and I nurse it through the night and half the next day and it isn’t this good.

And that makes sense. There is a mystique surrounding Texas smoked brisket, but there shouldn’t be. It’s a big hunk of beef. Cook it. If you do it right, it should taste like beef. And it should be tender. There’s not a lot of variation in flavor, at least there shouldn’t be. Texture, yes, but again; once it’s tender, that’s it. It tastes beefy, and it’s tender, so you did it right.

If you’re making consistently good brisket, keep doing it. If you don’t mind paying to short cut the process, you won’t go backward. But you might not go forward, either.

[Jerod Broussard]

""There is a mystique surrounding Texas smoked brisket, but there shouldn’t be. It’s a big hunk of beef""

May I have your autograph? Thanks to that mystique I got almost 8 hours of sleep the entire weekend, until my power nap this afternoon.

[STEbbq]

Excellent review. I can tell you must have been quite excited to forget about the sausage!

Was the sausage and sauce an unexpected freebie then or clearly part of the package?

it does make me feel more confident about dropping $175 on SNF Black or Gold if I want to go for a next level experience. Costco briskets are $5 pound for prime now sigh.

[STEbbq]

I look forward to your sausage thoughts.

[barelfly]

I’ve had a few of the SNF briskets - at the time I don’t know if it was black or gold, but was the Wagyu variety.

Now, they had a killer deal, buy 1, get 1. So…I did. And they were absolutely amazing! Melt in your mouth good! For a special event, I’d say go for it!

[STEbbq]

barelfly I see SNF is running 15% off now but BOGO is a whole another level. What should I hold out for sales wise?

[Jim White]

Thanks so much for this. I'm a little confused, though. The label says "never frozen" but you say it was frozen for shipping.

[Mosca]

I didn’t notice that. Yes, mine was frozen.

[Jim White]

That makes sense. Freezing gives a lot more leeway in shipping conditions and time while keeping it safe.

[bbqLuv]

Nice way to set a goal for one's own BBQ Brisket.
Possibly his secrets are leaking out. Add tallow to the wrap, and season salt to his rub.
Aaron Franklin's Brisket Secret - YouTube

[Sid P]

Excellent and much appreciated review. Please don’t take this the wrong way, as I’m not doubting anything you’re saying. When you make your best brisket, what meat are you starting with, what’s your method, rub, etc, and what do you smoke on? Thanks again!

[Mosca]

No problem, questions are appreciated. Creekstone Farms brisket, Meathead’s brisket rub. Big Green Egg. Chunks of hickory. Clean smoke, 250* until deep in the flat under the point probes like butter. Wrap in pink paper at stall.

Things I’ve tried and discarded: injecting, separating the flat and point (I used to be an advocate of that), and under-trimming; it might seem wasteful to cut off all those tips and ends, but in reality they dry out anyhow, and aren’t all that tasty at the end.

[Sid P]

Mosca thanks. I think "until deep in the flat under the point probes like butter" isn’t mentioned enough. Even Meathead’s book just says "cook to 203", and many people assume that the point will be done last because it’s thicker…

[Mosca]

Sid P I used to separate the point and flat, and temp them separately and pull them separately. And I got very inconsistent results. Then I read somewhere to temp it in the deepest part of the whole brisket, and "the point will take care of itself." That is when my briskets turned from good briskets into "WOW". And trimming all the loose stuff makes a difference. That 3” piece of 1/2” thick flat at the end isn’t going to be edible after 15 hours. You’re better off saving those for other uses.

[efincoop]

At some point I am going to see enough of these posts that I'm going to have to pull the trigger one one of these myself

[Sid P]

Same here, although they’re sold out every time I check.

[Mosca]

I ordered it in early August for delivery Sept 18th.

[efincoop]

Wow! That is good to know. So this definitely is not an impulse buy. This is a plan ahead buy.

[Mosca]

A final note, I did write to Goldbelly pointing out that the product arrived frozen rather than fresh. I didn’t ask for anything in return, in fact said specifically I didn’t want anything. I got a coupon for $15, good until 12/01/2021. I might use it, I might not, and I’m sure they pass out coupons like that pretty regularly. But it is a nice gesture.

[STEbbq]

Well, now you have an excuse to order Snows and compare. Always happy to help you spend your money!

[Huskee]

Great writeup, thank you. I too chuckle when I see things like Texas BBQ is better, has that certain mystique, but I suppose if I lived there I'd flaunt it too. And there's something to be said for the convenience. Ordering a pizza - is it worth $30 or whatever in flavor alone? Maybe, maybe not. But in time & mess saving? Absolutely.

[Huskee]

Jerod Broussard You be tippin 58% for Little Caesar's? Dang.

[Jerod Broussard]

Tips got me through college, and I don't eat out often. A good tip is a great way to make someone's day and restore their faith in the human spirit.

[Huskee]

I hear you Jerod Broussard. That's good of you. I try to tip min 20% and 25%+ if it was especially good service, irrespective of the food.

[Troutman]

I tend to agree that a well cooked brisket does not require a PhD in "rocket science". I don't know that anyone down here touts their brisket as being "magical" which would invoke an aura of "mystic" surrounding it, I just think it's come to be the gold standard for how one should be cooked. I certainly see the same kind of attributes given to Kansas City/Memphis and Carolina pork all of which are excellent and probably in their own right the gold standard for them as well. But I've had some mighty excellent whole hog up in the Piney Woods of East Texas due to cooking via those same standards. It doesn't matter where you are but how you do it !!

That said, get on your horse, ride on down and try some of that brisket fresh out of the smoker and compare that to the frozen one they sent you. It's a whole different experience I promise you.

[Huskee]

Lol, I knew you'd be around soon. Agree it matters not the chunk of dirt you're standing on but the knowledge you use. And supplies too of course. A brisket in England might come out different than here in the states depending on the steers, but yeah we get it.

[Mosca]

I would love to do that some day. Every time I get a chance to try some really excellent bbq: Dinosaur, Smoq, Chubby’s, and others; I learn something, take it home in my memory, and figure out how to get mine to that place. Reading and writing is fine, but experiencing is what opens your eyes and your taste buds the most.

[glitchy]

Thanks for sharing this! Someday I’ll probably try one, but in no hurry and I miss out, I won’t .