I just wish I could get a whole prime brisket for that price in my area, I just gave 36 bucks for a choice brisket flat that is 6 pounds at Costco yesterday. I must live in the wrong place for brisket.
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vandy , do what I did. Let me give you the 10-cent back story:Originally posted by vandy View Post
I joined this web site a few months ago, and was shocked to read that many members here were buying Prime-grade briskets from various Costco stores across the country. So I waited for them to show up at my Costco. But they never did. And I waited for months.
So then I did what I should have done in the first place: I went on Costco's web site and logged a very detailed, but nice, complaint that my Costco never got Prime-grade briskets. I received a timely, lengthy reply from Costco. They said they took my complaint seriously. And I just kinda chuckled.
That is, until 3 weeks later when Prime-grade briskets began showing up at my Costco.
Coincidence? Possibly. But I don't think so. There are two constants in the retail business, whether it's food or clothes or other:
1. They want to sell you what you want.
2. The squeaky wheel gets the oil.
Send in a friendly but detailed complaint like I did. And let us know if it made a difference.
Good luck. The Prime brisket I bought easily bends in half over my forearm.Comment
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That is a thought but if they are selling choice for 6 bucks a pound then the prime would be out of my price range. I was there yesterday and saw 4 very small prime ribeyes in a package that were probably no more that 1.5 pounds total for over 63 bucks so I can imagine what they would sell a whole packer prime brisket for. Thanks for the tip though.Comment
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Actually, not quite true. I remember reading here (can't remember where, and they don't have the whole packers at my Costco) that the prime whole packers are actually CHEAPER than the choice flats because the butchers don't need any labor to put them out. They just put it as is out into the cooler and you buy it, so while it takes more work on your part to trim, you're saving money by not paying the butcher to do the same. MOST people outside of our little community here probably prefer HOF's, and so there is less demand for whole packers, too, for those armchair economists among us.Originally posted by vandy View PostComment
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Do you guys hang briskets length-wise, putting the bottom of the brisket just right above the coals?
It seems to me it would be best to hang the brisket edge-wise, with 2 hooks, so the brisket doesn't get too close to the coals.
Am I off base here?Comment
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I just did a Brisket cook and used Spinaker stacking technique for long cooks and got 8.5 hours (long enough for the small brisket I was doing) but pretty sure the temp would have maintained for at least another hour. Sorry I don't take pictures a lot I do video so I'll link the vid just watch the 1st few min for the charcoal basket: https://youtu.be/YkBLuJ37MXcComment
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Thanks Notavegan just finished up the last of the brisket today (the Ribs didn't make it a day lol)
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Has anyone else ever had this happen?
I had finally bought a prime brisket from Costco vs. what I had used on previous cooks - everything was going great and then towards the final few hours, black smoke was coming out of the PBC. Smelled horrible. Turns out all that good marbling dripped and extinguished the coals then the coals just soaked up the drippings for all those hours and then finally ignited.Comment
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I'm so sorry to hear this, kill2grill . I've never had that happen and I've run my PBC for upwards of 12 hours on a single (overfilled) basket sometimes, with 4 or 5 chuckies dripping like mad on the fire. That is totally weird.
How much time had elapsed before that happened?
I would think that Jerod Broussard could jump in here and give his opinion, since he has smoked as many as 4 briskets at a time in his PBC. If anything could extinguish a fire, I would imagine 4 briskets at once might have a chance.
How was the brisket? Still edible?
KathrynComment
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Originally posted by kill2grill View Post
What side of the barrel was the brisket hanging in relation to the vent opening??
How was the charcoal lit?
How high were the barrel temps when you started out and how much of the basket was lit?
What were the weather conditions?
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Surprisingly - yeah, the smoke may have smelled horrible but the brisket still was pretty good. A bit dry at the tip closest to the inferno. We just made some Smoked Brisket Stroganoff with that part and it was perfect.Originally posted by fzxdoc View Post
And to answer Jerod Broussard questions:
If you were facing the vent, it was hanging on the right side.What side of the barrel was the brisket hanging in relation to the vent opening??
What seems to have worked well for keeping the PBC going for 11hours is i use only 22 briquettes in the chimney, let it run for about 17 minutes, dump on full basket 10 minutes cover off, 10 minutes cover on. In the past, if I run a full 40 briquette chimney start - the PBC runs really hot for the first few hours. I'll typically do that for chicken.How was the charcoal lit?
Don't remember what the barrel started at, however 10 minutes later it was running 290, and about an hour later it was at 279. I don't know how much of the basket was lit, however I had put hickory & cherry wood chunks above & below the coals when packing it. I suspect that those never fully smouldered and may have been what had soaked up the drippings along with the coals on the extinguished side.How high were the barrel temps when you started out and how much of the basket was lit?
In the past you've mentioned you don't use wood chunks on the PBC - for some reason I need to due to usually having the coals go out = not much smoke from drippings igniting. This happens all the time on PCB chicken - left side of basket is still going, right side fully ignites when I crack the top towards the end of the cook.
It was October and about 58 degrees outside when it started. No heavy winds.What were the weather conditions?
Last edited by kill2grill; April 8, 2017, 04:25 PM.Comment
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Well, my Prime-grade whole packer brisket is now in the PBC, cooking away. This is SO easy compared to the WSM. Everything is better on the PBC - setup, cooking, temperature control, cleanup, etc. But that's just my opinion. Many people swear by their WSMs.
I wish I had taken a picture of the brisket after trimming. It easily folds in half. I've never seen a Choice-grade brisket do that, but I've cooked only a few.
I used Spinaker 's OCD lighting method, and it's working pretty well. For me on this windy day, it's running about 25-35 degrees lower than when I used Noah's recommended lighting method. After a "settling down period", my Thermoworks Smoke claims the temp is ranging from 225-235. By comparison, Noah's lighting method stayed at 255-270 consistently for me in two prior cooks.
I hung the brisket edgewise with two hooks - one hook on the end of one rebar, and the other hook on the opposite end of the other rebar.
IT in the thickest part of the point has risen from 40 to 130 in 2 hours. The brisket was 10.81 lbs before trimming, and I'd guess I trimmed off 2-3 lbs of fat.Comment
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IT is 149 after 4 hours.Comment
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The IT hit 160 after exactly 6 hours. I decided to wrap (crutch), and then double-crutch by finishing in my convection oven at 275 degrees for however long it takes to reach an IT of 200.
But kudos to Spinaker and his OCD lighting method. My coals are still going strong, and I estimate they will last 11 hours as advertised. The only reason I'm finishing in my convection oven is I needed a shower and to watch the end of the Master's Tournament without distraction.
BTW, the aroma of the brisket is mesmerizing. My wife and son keep asking me when it will be ready...
As I mentioned in a previous post, I hung the brisket edgewise, with two hooks. And when I brought it in to wrap it, it was in a slight "S" shape...kinda funny looking. Maybe I need to rethink my hanging strategy.
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The brisket was the best I've ever cooked. This was only my 3rd cook with the PBC, and by far the best.
Thanks everyone.Comment
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