Unusual Odor - Crowd Cow Brisket Point

[JGrana]

I recently ordered some beef short ribs, a small chuck roast and a brisket point from Crowd Cow. I have ordered from them in - great meats.
When the meats arrived the were still frozen and put in the freezer. A few days ago I took out the point and let it defrost in the fridge. It was sealed but not that much vacuum.
This morning I opened the point (which was pretty small!) and trimmed some of the fat off. While trimming I noticed that it had a faint nut like smell. Not overpowering, in fact when I opened the bag there was little or no smell. I rinsed it off and did the trim.

It has been in the fridge for an hour or so. I just checked it and there is that noticeable nutty smell to it. Not strong but there.

Before I go through the dry brine, anyone ever had a brisket that had a nutty kind of smell to it?!?!

It does show some nice marbling and the fat was very white...

[Troutman]

Was it cryovaced or just sealed in some plastic? Sometimes, especially after I wet age my cryovaced briskets, I notice an odor after I unbag it. After a rinse, dry brine and time in the refrig it usually goes away. My gut is that the meat is ok since it was frozen upon arrival. If it persists and you don't think it's something you shouldn't prepare then call CC and discuss it with them.

[Donw]

Do you know which farm it came from and if it grass or grain finished? Why I ask is that we have sometimes noted a slight nutty flavor in some of the meats that are grain finished from one of the farms on CC. I forget right now which one, but I think either Long or Wolfe farms. After tasting it, pausing to think about it, we decided that it added an element to the meat that we liked. And we have had no ill effects from eating it several times.

[JGrana]

Good catch Donw, it was from Wolfe farms. And yes, it was grain finished. I am going for it. It's only around 1.7 lbs post trim and I am also smoking a nice 13lb Costco USDA Prime that has been wet aged for ~35 days

[Troutman]

Come to think of it I have some Wolfe brothers farms beef in my freezer. I'll have to make note of that.

[EdF]

Yeah, is it pleasant or unpleasant. As Donw points out, it could be a "feature". When I dry age, some "nuttiness" also turns up.

[JGrana]

Hi EdF, I wouldn't call it unpleasant. More surprising since I have never experienced this before with brisket. I have had Iberico Jamon - very nutty - they finish the pigs on acorns.
Maybe this one from Wolfe farms had acorns near by!

[EdF]

Might want to check whether they dry-age it a couple/three weeks. Our old supplier used to.

[Troutman]

They do claim to dry age their meat, although they never say for how long. I suspect it's that rather than acorns.

[HorseDoctor]

If it’s gone "bad" it’ll smell BAD (like rotten/sour), not nutty. You’re good! Enjoy! Or, refreeze it and send it to me. I let you know if I get sick...

[RonB]

My standard suggestion when in doubt about a piece of meat is to feed it to your MIL. If she survives, it must be safe.