So I go to my local H-E-B today for groceries and to scope out the meat counter for another brisket and in the freezer case they have Prime for 4.77/lb (YIKES! I bought a prime from them a month ago and it was 3.88/lb) and a bunch of "super trimmed" packers for 4.99/lb. and then they had a ton of Swift brand that looked good and were 3.89/lb but no grade markings on them anywhere. I asked the butcher and he told me they were Choice and when I asked him how could he tell he came over to show me and realized there wasn't any markings. He tells me they are "ungraded" brisket. WTH is an UNGRADED brisket? I've been trained by you guys to look for Prime, Choice and then Select in that order and stay away from other stuff. I thought that all briskets were graded. I passed on ALL of them because I just refuse to pay 56.00 for a 12-13lb piece of meat.
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If there is no grade on the package one must assume they either screwed up on the packaging... I've never seen a cryovac package that wasn't marked or they were intentionally leaving it off.
My assumption would be its a select.😎 -
I've seen some from Sam Kane's here in Texas that were not graded. I don't think it is required.
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I'd recommend Costco if there's one nearby.Comment
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What's Costco getting on theirs? I'm not a member but could become one if the price is right.Comment
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Costco varies on the location. Some have prime, others don't. Down in Texas it seems cheap but choice flats in my area are like 6 bucks plus a pound if I remember correctly.
Oh yeah. My area is Northern Virginia.Comment
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This may stir up some controversy but, I found that in my area Walmart has been a consistent and reliable place to go for brisket. Depending on when you buy (now is an awesome time!) the price is under $3.00 LB. I picked up 2 - 15 pounders yesterday @ $2.96 (lb). The price goes up just before Memorial Day to 3.96 (lb) and they become harder to get. If you are looking for anything better than choice then Walmart won't work. My philosophy is that we make a very difficult (to cook) hunk of dead cow a delight by customization, skill and patience. In addition smoke, awesome rub, lots of consumed alcohol and love to create a masterpiece. I have never tasted Prime or Wagu because I just cant to come up with a good reason to pay up to $12.00 per pound. Part of the fun is making your friends and family think that you are a back yard BBQ God with a very inexpensive slab of meat. So far so good ...
The Costco near me has a fine selection of quality meat at a fair price, but they do not sell whole packers.Comment
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Costco in MI. have prime whole packers for $2.89/lbComment
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Boy I wish my local Costco sold prime packers and at the price. -
Huskee We went to the Sloan Museum couple weeks ago so we were 1/2 way there, so had to pick up a couple Ha Ha,Bonus.
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Not on topic but I can remember when I was young (70's) and trying to make it on my own. I lived for the end of week sale at my local grocery store where the beef (?) was dumped into a freezer section and labeled as "mystery meat".
Honestly, I probably lived on mystery meat like some people live on Ramen Noodles. I'd load up the cart and get about 50 pounds of the stuff for less than 20 bucks. To this day I wish I could find some good old fashioned mystery meat but with all of our current regulations I don't think it's going to happen.Comment
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The unlabelled stuff might be "western" beef. The meat that needs to be packaged with a meat grinder.
JimComment
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After a while you can sorta get a feeling for grade by looking at it. Those that grade meat aren't "rocket scientists" (no insult intended, but they aren't). Local Sam's always has choice for around $3/#. Once in awhile they have prime, for not much more. Got 2 Sam's within 10 miles & Costco is 35 miles but about to try them for a year and see what they have...Comment
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Just bought a prime for $2.89/lb in a Denver Costco today!Comment
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Bought a prime packer at Costco here in Houston Friday for $2.79/lbComment
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That's called "no roll" and it just means that, for some reason, the plant decided not to have, or not to pay for, the USDA grade. It's still USDA inspected, it's only the quality grade stamp that is not "rolled" on. Plants can do this for several reasons, they might have a customer that is looking to save money on a large purchase and isn't concerned about the quality grade because they are comfortable that the lot meats their specifications. In this case, "no roll" usually means Select. Or the plant may have singled out a carcass that they know to be high quality in terms of marbling, but one that will be downgraded because of something like yield or maturity. In that case you might get high Choice or Prime level marbling - these are usually sold under a private grade, like "gold" or "silver".Comment
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Not going to risk it. They're asking prime prices for mystery grade? No thanks. Good to know though. Thanks for the info. -
We sell a lot of mystery grade beef for premium prices. Our very best carcasses won't get a Prime stamp because of calcification of the rib bones. Our beef that is Prime tends to be our medium grade. It depends on if you trust your butcher, if you don't then the grade stamps don't matter anyway.
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It should also be noted that Inspectors work for the Food Safety and Inspections Service, Graders work for the Argricultural Marketing Service, two different agencies within the USDAComment
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