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Just bought a 15.44 lb whole brisket at Walmart for 2.96 per lb.!

I live in the Austin, TX area and HEB has whole briskets every day of the year

Sounds like a very good price to me. I live in the Austin area and HEB (grocery chain in Texas) has whole untrimmed briskets for $1.96/pound. Not sure what WalMart locally sells them for. Of course, you can buy whole brisket here year round. Another good cut of beef to smoke, if you can find it, is tri-tip. HEB has it year round, but might not be readily available in the northeast.


Whenever I visit my Mom & brother in Austin I usually am in the Bee Caves (RM2244) HEB a few times during my visit. The meat section ALWAYS looks so great vs the choices we have in Chicagoland. Trained myself to avoid the meat section and just head for the bakery.
 
Whenever I visit my Mom & brother in Austin I usually am in the Bee Caves (RM2244) HEB a few times during my visit. The meat section ALWAYS looks so great vs the choices we have in Chicagoland. Trained myself to avoid the meat section and just head for the bakery.
Yes, HEB has incredible selections of beef and other meats. Their bakery is excellent, too. They make fresh baked breads, cakes, pies, and pastries. The Bee Cave are is very nice. We live in Cedar Park, which is northeast of Austin. If you enjoy Italian food, there is a small Texas based chain restaurant called Mandola's which has a location in Bee Cave. They just opened a location less than mile from our house. We eat there at least twice per month.
 
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Yes, HEB has incredible selections of beef and other meats. Their bakery is excellent, too. They make fresh baked breads, cakes, pies, and pastries. The Bee Cave are is very nice. We live in Cedar Park, which is northeast of Austin. If you enjoy Italian food, there is a small Texas based chain restaurant called Mandola's which has a location in Bee Cave. They just opened a location less than mile from our house. We eat there at least twice per month.


Cedar Park used to be the end of the earth when my brother moved to Austin in 1975 or so. Certainly not any more, talk about development over the years!

My folks lived off 183 near Balcones CC from 1986-2008, then they moved into Ind Living in Querencia, about 500 yds from Barton Creek CC. My brother lives about two miles from there right off Bee Caves Rd. Makes it easy to visit my 91 year-old Mom, now in Nursing Care at Querencia.

About 15 years ago I seriously considered relocating from Chicagoland, if I had moved it would have been into a new development in (or very close) to Cedar Park, Twin Creeks CC. A very nice golf course development, great homes very reasonably priced, everything brand new. Played Twin Creeks a couple times, loved the course.

Thanks for the heads up on Mandola’s, I love Italian food, hopefully hit there on one of my visits.
 
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One of my favorite channels to follow. Chef Tom from ATBBQ always makes some delicious stuff. I’ve used a couple of his brisket methods and they always turn out great. Gonna do this one over the Christmas break.

 
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That is definitely one of his "secrets." He buys top notch quality beef to start with, USDA Prime whole briskets from Creekstone Farms. In Texas, the Texas Monthly magazine BBQ rankings reign supreme. All but one of their top 10 uses Prime briskets. Their #1, Snow's BBQ, uses choice.

Of course he also made his own smokers, which is hard to replicate. I heard he sells homemade smokers on the side now, I'd imagine each one costs thousands.
Figure at least 20% because it’s his.
 
That wasn’t nice. It’s the man’s Christmas dinner.

Anyone can make a great dinner using the best grades and cuts. Brilliance is making greatness from the rest, including the stuff from the 3D. ;)
And, dare I say, once you find that you can render the cheapest cut of beef into a feast you will remember for a long time after the dishes are washed, you are fulfilled in a way that is separate from just being full. I like nice stuff like anyone does.

But I also like the idea of taking what others are too proud to eat and turning it into gold.

I ate at a upscale restaurant recently which took a single braised short rib and turned it into a truly tasty and memorable entrée. A few months ago, I ate at a different place, just as pretentious and "foody," and the MF rib was so salty that I had to get up all night and drink water. How in the name of God could they have thought that this ball of sodium was not a disaster? Why did they serve it to me?

When they do start turning out Walmart meat on a 3d printer, I will be happy to smoke the SOB and see if I can eat it.o_O
 
And, dare I say, once you find that you can render the cheapest cut of beef into a feast you will remember for a long time after the dishes are washed, you are fulfilled in a way that is separate from just being full. I like nice stuff like anyone does.

But I also like the idea of taking what others are too proud to eat and turning it into gold.

I ate at a upscale restaurant recently which took a single braised short rib and turned it into a truly tasty and memorable entrée. A few months ago, I ate at a different place, just as pretentious and "foody," and the MF rib was so salty that I had to get up all night and drink water. How in the name of God could they have thought that this ball of sodium was not a disaster? Why did they serve it to me?

When they do start turning out Walmart meat on a 3d printer, I will be happy to smoke the SOB and see if I can eat it.o_O
For years, several friends and I agreed the short rib at Mercato (CC Philly) was among the best dishes in town. Then they changed the menu item.

Done right, that lesser cut of meat can be marvelous. And even the best stuff can be ruined with disappointing ease.

I’ve gotten to the point where making something outta nothing in the kitchen is among my favorite creative outlets. Not at the point where I’m smoking meats on my own (always part of a large group shore weekend, big party etc.), but can’t wait to get there...

Send some pics of your first few carves on the 25th.
 
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For years, several friends and I agreed the short rib at Mercato (CC Philly) was among the best dishes in town. Then they changed the menu item.

Done right, that lesser cut of meat can be marvelous. And even the best stuff can be ruined with disappointing ease.
All true. But nothing blows like a lesser cut in the hands of an idiot or a pretentious fool.
 
I live in the Austin, TX area and HEB has whole briskets every day of the year

Sounds like a very good price to me. I live in the Austin area and HEB (grocery chain in Texas) has whole untrimmed briskets for $1.96/pound. Not sure what WalMart locally sells them for. Of course, you can buy whole brisket here year round. Another good cut of beef to smoke, if you can find it, is tri-tip. HEB has it year round, but might not be readily available in the northeast.
I finally found tri tip in a local market in my area of PA after reading about it in several derailed threads. That is one fantastic cut of meat to smoke.
 
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I don't buy the flats, because even at Sam's they are like 6 bucks a pound! That is ridiculous...more than lots of cuts of steak. Look, the reason you have to cook this thing for an hour per pound is because it is the toughest, most brutal cut of meat on the animal. The brisket is a poor man's piece of meat. Fatty, gristle-y, gross and wrong. But the smoker transmogrifies it!:)

Exactly! Plus it's an excuse for a beer-drinking, lounging opportunity.
 
Here's a good video on carving...
Dear God No! Do not carve a brisket like that. That goon removed the bark, where a ton of flavor and seasoning comes from. Then he had to carve fat off a fully smoked brisket, likely because he didn't cook it well enough to render the fat properly. This video is a travesty. Starting at 6:45 in the third video I had posted Aaron Franklin shows the proper way to carve up a brisket.
 
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