YES!!! Finally - It's Prime time baby!!

[RonB]

After almost a year of harrasing my local Costco to stock prime briskets, it's finally happened! We were in Costco today and as usual, I started to stroll by the meat case to see if there was anything exciting. Before I even got close, I spied what looked like a whole packer. Sure enough, they had a number of prime packers in the case for the standard $2.99/lb. I picked out a 15 pounder, and my wife rolled her eyes when she saw it in the cart, but didn't say a word. When we got home I trimmed it and dry brined it. Final weight was 9.5 lbs. Then I wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in a vac seal bag. That was one tough fit as it was much wider than the bag. I knew it would be tough to get it in and that's why I wrapped it in plastic wrap so the salt wouldn't be scrapped off when I bagged it. I'm freezing it for now because I'm not sure when I will have a chance to smoke it. I can hardly wait until I can smoke that puppy. :"D

[Mr. Bones]

Very nice, sweet deal!
I'll bet ya' cain't wait!!!

[RonB]

Mr. Bones - yes it is hard to wait, but too much going on now including a short trip, so I have to wait.

[DWCowles]

Nice score RonB

[Willy]

Let the good times roll!!!!!!!!!!!

[kmhfive]

Great job getting the Costco to come to there senses! Cook soon and post results.

[RonB]

kmhfive - It only took a year and being told a number of times by different people, including the manager, that they couldn't get prime packers.

[Spinaker]

Jackpot!!!!

[fzxdoc]

I'm enjoying your find vicariously, RonB . Wish I could find those locally. Congrats on scoring that prime packer. Jackpot.

Kathryn

[RonB]

fzxdoc - I don't know if it was the deciding factor, but I emailed customer service about a month ago asking if "my" Costco could get them. So it might be worth the time to do that. I did not get any notification though, so you will have to check.

[fzxdoc]

Thanks for the tip, RonB

[Huskee]

Congrats! Next time, don't be shy about giving it a month to wet age before unpacking.

[fzxdoc]

I'm so leery of the idea of wet aging, Huskee . Fresh meat sitting in my refrigerator for a month after purchase is counterintuitive to food safety, in my mind. But I know it's done, and done by FDA-approved butchers, so I know it must be safe. I just can't get over the idea of looking at a brisket in my fridge for that long.

What exactly is the benefit of wet aging?

Kathryn

[Wando52]

I have had the same questions, thx for asking!

[scottranda]

Way to go Central VA Costco! Finally! I got the same relief. My Costco still carries the prime packers at 2.99!

[Hawkce541]

fzxdoc Just as in any aging it allows the enzymes in the meat to break down the tissue and makes it more tender. That's why I hang all of my deer for at least a week. If it starts to smell a little sour, just rinse it off, and cook it or vacuum pack it and put it in the freezer. I hung a crusty old 8 point for about 2 weeks ( it had just started to smell a little sour) once I skinned it and rinsed it down there was no smell and it was as tender as a young deer.

[Huskee]

I'm so leery of the idea of wet aging, Huskee . Fresh meat sitting in my refrigerator for a month after purchase is counterintuitive to food safety, in my mind. But I know it's done, and done by FDA-approved butchers, so I know it must be safe. I just can't get over the idea of looking at a brisket in my fridge for that long.

What exactly is the benefit of wet aging?

Kathryn

I was the exact same way. When you buy burger or steaks, you cook them w/in a day or two, right? How on earth could I save a brisket in my fridge for a flippin' month? Not only do I want to smoke it, but I also don't want to waste it if it will spoil, which it will surely do after sitting there that long. But after reading so many other BBQ pros like Jerod Broussard et al who age theirs 30 even 40 days, and seeing this is quite common on other BBQ forums, I decided to do a trial...for science. I went 28 or 30 days don't remember. (SRF ages theirs 28 days before freezing & shipping, so don't age theirs after thawing, just cook).

The result was fantastic. Upon opening the cryovac I surely expected it to smell funky. I had back-up meat in the fridge for when I discovered this was a failure, because it surely was going to be. It smelled like fresh beef. After careful trimming and smoking and holding (which is obviously a crucial last step), as if I were serving Aaron Franklin himself, the result was largely melt-in-your-mouth tender & juicy (the point anyway) and thick slices of flat that bent and hung around my finger and had the textbook pull. Flavor was perfect. Others might not find it worth it, and that's ok. Some folks might not like dry brining a day or two in advance either. You find what you appreciate and you're willing to do and skip the rest.

I was sold. But I agree it's hard to do it that first time, it goes against what you know to be smart and safe for meat.

Some key notes that may be obvious but also may not-- it MUST be in the original cryovac, not opened by you or trimmed or anything first. And --this part can be confusing -- you MUST go from the actual "packing" date to start the aging timer, obviously not the "sell by" or "use by", what have you. Costco will print the packing date on theirs, but as Powersmoke_80 found out and explained to me, that's not always the actual packed-on date for those briskets, it may be when they receive and label them. You can go 40 days (or more) from the actual packing date. I've heard of 60 but I'm not that adventurous. Ask the man/woman behind the meat counter, and deal with their puzzling looks and the question marks riddled throughout their tone of voice, it can be close to 2 weeks form the printed packed on date when they were actually slaughtered and wrapped. Or be safe and go 28-30 days from the printed packing date, which is the easiest.

I encourage you to be brave and try it once! If you're anything like me it will become as much a part of the cook as the 2 day dry brine.

[fzxdoc]

Thanks so much for all of the great information, Huskee. I'm hoping to be courageous enough one of these days to give wet aging a try, thanks to your encouragement.

K.

[JPGators17]

So you're saying that the prime packer i picked up from Costco last Saturday can remain in my refrigerator for 25 more days without going bad?

[RonB]

JPGators17 - yes, that's what they are saying. At any rate, I am going to find out because I did not freeze the last packer I bought, and I'm not going to cook it until next month.

[HawkerXP]

Congrats RonB I hear from friends in Northern VA that those Prime babies keep making an appearance up there as well.
I am stuck in Savannah, 10 to 12 weeks, without my PBC and the nearest Costco 3 hours away!
I did bring my ChefAlarm and going to "help" a friend here do something this weekend.

[Locotech]

Maybe something they're doing chain wide. I've been a Costco member for about 15yrs, in northern Ontario, I've never seen brisket. Until last month...there was like a yellow spotlight shining down on them....yep, bought 2, only cause the wife was with me, there were 4 there.

[Bruce54]

This must have come up before, but faced with a pile of them fine Costco Prime briskets, how do YOU pick which one's coming home with you?

[Huskee]

I used to get the middle-weight ones, 12lb, 14lb, etc. But my last trip I got the biggest they had, a 16 and a 19, didn't regret it! So much gets trimmed off that I realized I want as much of that smokey salty goodness as I can after all that effort.

[HorseDoctor]

I look for the ones with the thickest flat so there is less discrepancy between the flat & point. They cook more evenly that way. After thickness, I go for the biggest. If I'm gonna spend time watching a brisket, I too want a BIG prize at the end.