Hi Everyone,
I need some help with explaining to a Catalan butcher what a brisket cut is. I live in Barcelona, Spain, and butchers here have totally different terms and cuts for parts of the cow. My butcher is super helpful and has tried a number of times to make me a brisket and has even brought out 1/2 cow and butchered the cut in front of me to try and get it right. It was a lot of fun and great to watch. Our little system has been good, but it's not exactly spot on.
We've worked out that I am going to try and get a good description of what a brisket cut is in English and then have a friend translate it to Catalan (therefore I can't use any technical terms). Catalan is the local language of Barcelona and is my butchers preferred language. We talk together in Spanish, but since all the terms are different, we are going to shoot for Catalan for the explanation as it is also easier for him and his staff. btw, he doesn't speak English and so he couldn't really find a good explanation of it himself.
I know there is some explanation of the cut on the website, but since I need to take it to another level as I am trying to explain it to a butcher who has never made the cut before, I thought I would expand it and double check before posting.
Here is what I was thinking of writing. I'm going to include some diagrams/ pictures to help him. Any thoughts/ feedback would be great!
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Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast of the cow. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectorals and contains two different muscles, the point (fatter) and the flat (leaner). There are no bones in the cut.
The muscles are separated by a thick, white seam of fat. The meat of the Point actually has its own separate grain that is different from the Flat’s grain and run almost perpendicular to each another.
There are 3 parts of the meat:
The Flat: It is a flat, rectangular piece of meat that makes up the majority of the whole brisket. It has less fat than the point. From an anatomical perspective, the Flat is the "deepest" portion of meat and is attached to the rib cage
The Point: This is the part of the brisket that has the most fat on it. It has a more marbled look. The Point is a lump of meat that partially overlaps one end of the Flat. It is quite fatty on its surface as well as within the meat. It also contains a lot of connective tissue between the meat fibers. The Point sits on top of the Flat and is nearest the surface.
The Fat-Cap: One side of the brisket will be covered in a ‘fat cap’, a large layer of fat that sits on top of the Point.
The Flat and Point are separated by a very thick vein of fat running between them. This fat extends over the entire surface of the Flat, becoming thinner at the end opposite the Point. Thick fat may also wrap around one edge of the Flat, especially near the Point.
The hard fat and intercostal meat on the inside surface shall be removed at the natural seam exposing the lean surface of the deep pectoral muscle. The inside lean surface shall be trimmed practically free of fat." The word "intercostal" refers to meat between the rib bones.
I need some help with explaining to a Catalan butcher what a brisket cut is. I live in Barcelona, Spain, and butchers here have totally different terms and cuts for parts of the cow. My butcher is super helpful and has tried a number of times to make me a brisket and has even brought out 1/2 cow and butchered the cut in front of me to try and get it right. It was a lot of fun and great to watch. Our little system has been good, but it's not exactly spot on.
We've worked out that I am going to try and get a good description of what a brisket cut is in English and then have a friend translate it to Catalan (therefore I can't use any technical terms). Catalan is the local language of Barcelona and is my butchers preferred language. We talk together in Spanish, but since all the terms are different, we are going to shoot for Catalan for the explanation as it is also easier for him and his staff. btw, he doesn't speak English and so he couldn't really find a good explanation of it himself.
I know there is some explanation of the cut on the website, but since I need to take it to another level as I am trying to explain it to a butcher who has never made the cut before, I thought I would expand it and double check before posting.
Here is what I was thinking of writing. I'm going to include some diagrams/ pictures to help him. Any thoughts/ feedback would be great!
------
Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast of the cow. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectorals and contains two different muscles, the point (fatter) and the flat (leaner). There are no bones in the cut.
The muscles are separated by a thick, white seam of fat. The meat of the Point actually has its own separate grain that is different from the Flat’s grain and run almost perpendicular to each another.
There are 3 parts of the meat:
The Flat: It is a flat, rectangular piece of meat that makes up the majority of the whole brisket. It has less fat than the point. From an anatomical perspective, the Flat is the "deepest" portion of meat and is attached to the rib cage
The Point: This is the part of the brisket that has the most fat on it. It has a more marbled look. The Point is a lump of meat that partially overlaps one end of the Flat. It is quite fatty on its surface as well as within the meat. It also contains a lot of connective tissue between the meat fibers. The Point sits on top of the Flat and is nearest the surface.
The Fat-Cap: One side of the brisket will be covered in a ‘fat cap’, a large layer of fat that sits on top of the Point.
The Flat and Point are separated by a very thick vein of fat running between them. This fat extends over the entire surface of the Flat, becoming thinner at the end opposite the Point. Thick fat may also wrap around one edge of the Flat, especially near the Point.
The hard fat and intercostal meat on the inside surface shall be removed at the natural seam exposing the lean surface of the deep pectoral muscle. The inside lean surface shall be trimmed practically free of fat." The word "intercostal" refers to meat between the rib bones.
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