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Do you wet age your briskets?

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    #16
    I try to do mine for at least 30 days. But usually I can’t wait that long and want to get it on the smoker! Just wish I didn’t have to pay so much for them where I live. At around 100$ and up there not cheap!

    Comment


    • SpeedyB
      SpeedyB commented
      Editing a comment
      Wow. All that pressure 🤯😆

    #17
    Maybe someone closer in the US could ship them to you? Would be a hassle with dry ice and all. My 16-pound Angus packers average around 50 bucks. Add shipping and a cheap styrofoam cooler and it's getting up there. Not to mention the border guards may not allow beef to cross? $100 Sux.

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      #18
      Are there BBQ restaurants that wet age their meat this way??

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      • BBQ_Bill
        BBQ_Bill commented
        Editing a comment
        I have eaten at a large number of Metro Phoenix area restaurants. I ask a lot of questions, but have never thought of asking them that one. I basically purchase 1 pound of smoked brisket flat to compare to mine. Will have to add that to the list as it is a good one. I will look into Aaron Franklin's info and see if he says anything about it.

      #19
      bradjo222
      At Franklin Barbecue, they wet-age their briskets between 14 and 40 days. "Around forty days, things get a little funny," Franklin said.
      HERE is a Link to an informative article about wet aging brisket.

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        #20
        Guess that settles it, gonna wet age my next brisket! Any tips aside from keeping it in the original cryovac? You guys ever try it with steaks?

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        • Huskee
          Huskee commented
          Editing a comment
          I would only do it with cryovacced beef, not foam tray steaks. Keep it original wrap, no leaks, no pin holes, fridge 32-38F. Not much else to it really.

        #21
        BBQ_Bill : Great to see you today on AR; you are truly the Brisket King. Where in Phx do you buy Angus packers--Costco?? Any comments on packers and quality in AZ are appreciated. Thanks and blessings!

        Comment


        • BBQ_Bill
          BBQ_Bill commented
          Editing a comment
          Thanks but I am still trying, still learning and no "king" by any stretch of the imagination. Costco packers are the "luck of the draw" but the "deck" is stacked against you in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, they are better than most other stores. I currently buy my packers at Restaurant Depot.

        #22
        I’ve wet aged for 30 days, and then a few weeks ago - the weekend I messed up my spine, I smoked a Costco brisket 2 days after buying it. I can’t say I could tell a huge difference. It was still a great brisket.

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        • Huskee
          Huskee commented
          Editing a comment
          Costco, at least when I've asked, hold theirs about 2 weeks before placing for sale. Plus it matters a little more with lower grades. With Choice & Prime, it's probably akin to dry brining only 6hrs instead of 48hrs- still a great result, but could be "better". Hard to tell a 9/10 compared to a 10/10 though.

        #23
        I'm currently aging a prime grade 16 lb whole packer brisket from Costco. Bought it on January 10th, and I'm going 45 days before I smoke it.

        Question: I had planned to dry brine it for 48 hours with 1/2 tsp/lb kosher salt. But I've been wondering if it's OK to dry brine a wet aged brisket that long. Would it turn it to mush? Or would the brisket be subject to ruining soon after unpacking since it was wet aged so long?

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        • Huskee
          Huskee commented
          Editing a comment
          Nope you're good, I try to go 48hrs with all mine. Do you knwo your meat's packed-on date? It may already be 45 days, some places hold them a couple weeks before placing in the bins.

        • jfmorris
          jfmorris commented
          Editing a comment
          I second what Huskee says. That packing date on the label on the Cryovac at Costco is *NOT* the true packing date. That is on the case they pulled it from. You may already be several weeks more wet aged than you expect.

        #24
        My last brisket I wet aged about 25 days. Pulled it out, trimmed it, liberally sprinkled Dalmatian rub (50/50 salt/pepper), and into the smoker it went. No dry brining time or anything - from cryovac to pit in about 20 mins. It was the best brisket I’d ever made.

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          #25
          Dumb comment: I don't have the *cojones* to wet age brisket. Or dry age even. Actually, truth be told, I don't have cojones period, but that's beside the point, unless virtual cojones count. I understand the benefits of wet/dry aging, but I'm just too skeered to do it myself. I live by "sell by" dates.

          Convince me otherwise.

          Kathryn

          Comment


          • wcpreston
            wcpreston commented
            Editing a comment
            I see a MAJOR difference when I wet age 30+ days. There is absolutely nothing to be scared of.

          • IowaGirl
            IowaGirl commented
            Editing a comment
            I'm a newbie about this too, so I have no personal experience to offer. I recently asked my friendly local butcher about buying cryovac meat to wet age at home. He laughed and told me that the meat he sells is already wet aged about 3 weeks, so I wouldn't have to hold it all that much longer at home to get 30 days of aging. It's possible you may already be eating wet aged brisket but just not know it!

          • fzxdoc
            fzxdoc commented
            Editing a comment
            Good point, IowaGirl . Your experience makes Huskee 's and jfmorris 's earlier comments even more on point when they recommended that we look for the true "packed on" date rather than the "sell by" date.

            Kathryn

          #26
          Any tips to ensure effective safe wet ageing?

          Comment


          • Huskee
            Huskee commented
            Editing a comment
            Great question, I do not know. I supposed I would do a trial thing and see if your sniffer detects anything off when the aging is complete, and toss it if so. Not sure beyond that.

          • Troutman
            Troutman commented
            Editing a comment
            Why MeatMonster you have a rat chew on one of yours?

          • MeatMonster
            MeatMonster commented
            Editing a comment
            LOL Troutman - its them pesky Haggis beasties, they get everywhere!

          #27
          I’ve wet aged a prime Costco brisket, I think it was around 28 days. It was the most tender brisket I’ve smoked, but the fat in between the point and flat had a bit of funk to it. A little more grey in color before smoking it and it has a different hue than what I’m used to after smoking it. It was hard for me to tell since it was my first experience with aged brisket (and the only other aged meat I’ve had are two dry aged NY strips.)

          I suspect the fridge didn’t hold a consistent temperature, so I may use my FireBoard and try to find out. It sounds like most people are keeping the fridge temp around the mid 30s.

          do folks wet age in a dedicated meat fridge or in their one and only daily fridge?

          Comment


          • BBQ_Bill
            BBQ_Bill commented
            Editing a comment
            I have a dedicated fridge to hold my packers in. I open it once per day for about 6 seconds or so to read the dozen temperature gages inside. On another note, the cardboard case that the packers come from the processing plant in, has the date they were processed on it. That is the date that I use as a start date for wet aging.

          #28
          Originally posted by dillywe View Post
          I’ve wet aged a prime Costco brisket, I think it was around 28 days. It was the most tender brisket I’ve smoked, but the fat in between the point and flat had a bit of funk to it. A little more grey in color before smoking it and it has a different hue than what I’m used to after smoking it. It was hard for me to tell since it was my first experience with aged brisket (and the only other aged meat I’ve had are two dry aged NY strips.)

          I suspect the fridge didn’t hold a consistent temperature, so I may use my FireBoard and try to find out. It sounds like most people are keeping the fridge temp around the mid 30s.

          do folks wet age in a dedicated meat fridge or in their one and only daily fridge?
          I never had a spare fridge until this past summer, so I would always use the regular fridge for years, assuming my wife could make room. Now I happen to have a spare and it's the "meat fridge". I think fridges hold better when they're not used in a household & opened every 20 minutes, but that's not to say it matters really as long as it's under 40. I keep my meat fridge about 34. I have a ThermoWorks freezer/fridge alarm on this fridge which beeps at certain alarm setpoints just like your BBQ thermometer, and it shows the recorded highs & lows so if you leave for vacation for instance you can see if the power went out and the fridge warmed up while you were gone. It's a nice safety net. Highly recommended if you have a meat fridge, heck even for your regular house fridge.

          Comment


          • dillywe
            dillywe commented
            Editing a comment
            Awesome! Good tip. Just purchased one. Thanks!

          #29
          So it looks as if you might be looking into wet aging a brisket or two dillywe?
          -
          If so, here is a bit more info on why I age my packers...
          Most all know that wet aging allows enzymes in the meat to break down contracting and supporting filaments in the muscle, making it more tender... so it tenderizes that big hunk of meat.
          -
          Wet aging brings about two more important features that I like which is working on the collagen, breaking it down as well as causing more collagen to break down in the cook, with an additional benefit of LESS moisture loss in the heat when smoking.
          (Because less is squeezed out during the stall)
          -
          So the benefits are:
          1) Flavor building
          2) Tenderizing
          3) Holding on to more moisture in the cook
          -
          Basically, wet aging packers in the cryovac bag is "smart money in the bank" in my way of thinking.

          Comment


          • dillywe
            dillywe commented
            Editing a comment
            Thank you sir! I hope to drop by Costco and give this another spin.

          #30
          If you purchase cut flats from the butcher counter, would you just take home and vac seal to age or generally concede that you shouldn't/can't age open meat. Then again, that would mean you don't wet age flats!?

          Comment


          • BBQ_Bill
            BBQ_Bill commented
            Editing a comment
            I may be "off base" here, but the way I understand the process is that the packer, or whole brisket is removed from the cold carcass, trimmed out, and then quickly scalded or steamed on the surface just before vacuum bagging. The vacuum bag seals the meat and keeps oxygen and contaminates out. Next it goes back into a chilled environment to keep any "baddies" that lived through the processing from multiplying.
            You might consider their process before considering air filled store packs.

          • SpeedyB
            SpeedyB commented
            Editing a comment
            BBQ_Bill thanks. Huskee clarified this for me in another thread

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