What's with the price of brisket???

LTHers,

I went to the Price Chopper in Plattsburgh NY (where I live weekends/Summers on the Lake Champlain beach), with thoughts about brisket, maybe make some smoked meat.Whoa! WTF? $8/lb? I mean, I know it's be 6-7 months since I bought one, but really.... ??!!

Grabbed my butcher: "??" and he responded that the demand from the South has risen so wildly lately that the price has shot up.

It gets worse: "And the demand from China for pork belly is so great that I almost can't get it at all."

Yikes! Is this stuff going on elsewhere, or is it local to upstate NY?

Depressed,

Geo

It's definitely been high: I've been used to Costco prices of $3.99 (a little higher if you get the ones on styro instead of in cryovac), and Kosher around $10 (which I occasionally buy when my daughter-in-law is in town). At Rosh Hashanah in September, it was more like $6 and $12.

HI,

From reading about the beef industry, you are living the consequences of the drought a few years ago. When feed for cattle was sky high, many cattlemen sold their stock early. Beef was relatively cheap two years ago as herds were liquidated.

From what I understand, the beef cattle population is the lowest since 1951. South Dakota took a hit last October when an early blizzard killed entire herds. Cattlemen are now building up stock, though this will take time.

You are seeing the laws of supply and demand in action, when there is relatively little supply.

Regards,

I saw a brisket in the store at Rosh Hashanah that wasn't even Kosher for $91! OK it was probably 9+ lbs, but still...
I almost had a mishuma right there!
did better at Costco, but still ended up paying $49....
Oy vey!

So - a little insider industry insight here:

To echo what Cathy said, this is a result of the drought a couple seasons back - which we still have yet to recover from. Feed has been expensive, so it's expensive to fatten up the cows. Another problem with this is that beef has been leaner in general, especially the fattier cuts like brisket.

We're fluctuating between $3.75-$4.25/lb wholesale (packer cuts) - up from about $2.50/lb or LESS prior to 2012. It has seemed to stop climbing, but probably won't recover for a couple years, if much correction at all (as retailers adjust their prices from such a long-standing hike - prices may just stay where they are...the fix is in!)...

Also, if you're just buying the flats of the brisket - you're paying an even higher premium for that cut (upwards of $8/$9 per pound). When smoking a brisket, you should always seek out the full packer cut - but flats are useful for an oven-braised brisket.

Here's a fun fact - what do the butchers do with the point if they are selling just flats? Why doesn't anyone sell just the "Point" (fatty) cut of the brisket for making burnt ends? Well, it's because they grind that up in their ground beef - that part of the brisket has a lot of fat in it, and is great in ground beef... (we, in fact, make our burgers from 100% ground brisket - and it makes quite a nice griddle burger)

Smoke that $4/lb brisket for 16 hours, you lose about 1/2 of it to fat/water cooking off & trimming...not a cheap meat anymore like it was when BBQ was invented...But I'll be damned if it's not as good/better than a fine steak when done right!!

An interesting article emailed to me this AM from the NBBQA

Brisket sales have been booming, the result of increased awareness and, believe it or not, Arby's introduction of their brisket sandwich. On one of the BBQ forums, I remember reading something to the effect that Arby's was buying up to 5% of the available briskets. That and the beef shortage as forced many people to switch to other cuts or meat sources for their BBQ fixes. Those packers that I used to pay $25 for a 15 pounder now cost $55 plus and that is at Costco!!!

Found it - here is the Arby's link - http://www.grubstreet.com/2014/05/arbys ... rices.html

Brisket is becoming the beef version of the chicken wing - almost a throwaway item until the creation of buffalo wings and now costing more than chicken breasts.

Hi- I gave a link for that article from the NBBQA on one of the couponing sites I visit, and explained why the price of beef was going up. According to the article, the consumption of meat in general, including turkey, chicken, beef and pork has gone up 8% in the last two years because people perceive that meat is not as bad for you as they once thought. Somebody just responded to my post on Jill's site, and stated that maybe people started eating more meat, was because they were assured that pink slime was a thing of the past. I don't know if pink slime affected beef sales that much.

I was in Sam's Club tonight, and they had a 40 ounce fully cooked package of mesquite smoked brisket for $25.

That grubstreet site looked interesting, but I clicked on a recipe and ran into such a blizzard of pop-up ads that I lost all interest. It doesn't offer much competition to LTH in my opinion.

Brisket Was Cheap and Delicious; Now It’s Expensive and You Have to Wait in Line

http://www.wsj.com/articles/brisket-was ... 1423180291

If it's in WSJ, it's real, for sure.

But those prices are *still* cheap compared to upstate NY: brisket is about double up here. But then our gas is $2.43/gal (7 Feb '15).

Geo

I buy at least a pound a week already cooked and smoked from Marianos and its thirteen dollars a pound.

toria wrote:I buy at least a pound a week already cooked and smoked from Marianos and its thirteen dollars a pound.

Goes on sale for 9 bux a lb too sometimes, and it is usually VERY good.

I grabbed a flat cut brisket at Tony's Finer foods for $4.99/lb this week. Sales ends Tuesday........

I grabbed a flat cut brisket at Tony's Finer foods for $4.99/lb this week. Sales ends Tuesday........

You folks are killing me! Corned beef packs dropped to $3.49/lb for St. Patty's day. They'll be back up to $6 or $7 immediately after. Sheesh.

Geo

Acting on a tip (thanks, Mom!), I got a couple Harrington flats at Jewel last nigh for $5.24/lb.
They also had Vienna points for $4.87/lb which get me back over there this afternoon.

Excel whole cryovac briskets were $10.50lb yesterday at SuperWalmart in Lansing.

17625 Torrence Avenue
Lansing, IL 60438
(708) 474-6405

Even "variety meats" are getting expensive. I remember when buying beef tongue was considered miserly, and oxtails were considered soul food and more or less unfit for a proper table. Now tongues are sold at a higher price from Mexican butchers, and oxtails are considered gourmet fare.

It seems like brisket, once favored by the poor immigrants for roasts and cured meats, has come into its own. Thrifty cooks will have to move down another notch, to beef feet and suchlike.

cow hoofs are a thing? Or do you mean leg shanks?

kenji wrote:cow hoofs are a thing? Or do you mean leg shanks?

The hard keratin of the hoof is usually removed, but yes, it is a thing. Beef feet (also called "trotters" or "pata de res" in Hispanic butcher shops) are cut from below the shank. There isn't a lot of meat there, but there is a lot of collagen that can make a rich and satisfying broth in a soup. But there is some meat clinging to the bones and joints in the knuckles, and it is good, gooey-textured stuff. I've seen beef foot sandwiches (cemita de pata de res) in Chicago.

Depending on the butcher, they may not carry it or think it worth selling. I imagine a lot gets thrown out. But some people buy beef feet for their dogs to chew on, and if the butcher gives you a weird look, you can just say it's for your dog. They look like this:

http://www.amawebs.com/storage/photos/o47by29ejhlm.jpg

A pressure cooker helps, since it takes forever for all that collagen to break down.

Trotters, both pork and beef, are available in the Price Chopper, a standard supermarket in the sliced-white-Wonder-bread community of Plattsburgh NY, snuggled right up under the US-Canadian border. If they're here, they can be anywhere, maybe even *everywhere.*

And, as Cyriaco justly says, to throw a trotter into a soup pot is to enrichen it wonderfully.

Geo

Cyriaco wrote:

kenji wrote:cow hoofs are a thing? Or do you mean leg shanks?

The hard keratin of the hoof is usually removed, but yes, it is a thing. Beef feet (also called "trotters" or "pata de res" in Hispanic butcher shops) are cut from below the shank. There isn't a lot of meat there, but there is a lot of collagen that can make a rich and satisfying broth in a soup. But there is some meat clinging to the bones and joints in the knuckles, and it is good, gooey-textured stuff. I've seen beef foot sandwiches (cemita de pata de res) in Chicago.

Depending on the butcher, they may not carry it or think it worth selling. I imagine a lot gets thrown out. But some people buy beef feet for their dogs to chew on, and if the butcher gives you a weird look, you can just say it's for your dog. They look like this:

Nearly every supermarket in the Southwest sells beef feet, usually for $1.50-2.00/ lb and generally carry about 100# on display. In MOST cases, they are displayed FROZEN which would indicate that they are NOT prepared in the store but purchased in bulk from their wholesaler.

jlawrence01 wrote:

Cyriaco wrote:

kenji wrote:cow hoofs are a thing? Or do you mean leg shanks?

The hard keratin of the hoof is usually removed, but yes, it is a thing. Beef feet (also called "trotters" or "pata de res" in Hispanic butcher shops) are cut from below the shank. There isn't a lot of meat there, but there is a lot of collagen that can make a rich and satisfying broth in a soup. But there is some meat clinging to the bones and joints in the knuckles, and it is good, gooey-textured stuff. I've seen beef foot sandwiches (cemita de pata de res) in Chicago.

Depending on the butcher, they may not carry it or think it worth selling. I imagine a lot gets thrown out. But some people buy beef feet for their dogs to chew on, and if the butcher gives you a weird look, you can just say it's for your dog. They look like this:

Nearly every supermarket in the Southwest sells beef feet, usually for $1.50-2.00/ lb and generally carry about 100# on display. In MOST cases, they are displayed FROZEN which would indicate that they are NOT prepared in the store but purchased in bulk from their wholesaler.

============================

I saw beef brisket for $3.75# in US Food's Chef Store, which is similar for GFS Marketplace. I am not sure it is worth a trip to PHOENIX but it was a lot more last year.

Now it's NYC's pastrami that's taking a hit from brisket prices. Is nothing sacred??

Geo

From the great article:
“I could keep buying a lower quality for $5, but I won’t do that,” he said.

I wonder what the difference between a 5 dollar per pound pastrami is and a 9 dollar one is in NY?

texture, tenderness only or flavors too?

(I wish LTH had a thumbs up or something like a thanks button, I would have clicked on it for Geo linking the NY Times article...)

I agree kenji: we need a "thumbs up" or something, It's so lame to go "^^^^^ ! what kenji said"

Geo

BRISKET UPDATE: Treasure Island has USDA Choice brisket on sale for $5.99/lb through next Tuesday.

sundevilpeg wrote:BRISKET UPDATE: Treasure Island has USDA Choice brisket on sale for $5.99/lb through next Tuesday.

Thank you so much for this intel! I picked up two (just over 15# total) at the Lakeview location yesterday, and they'e been braising for hours. I've sneaked a few ctastes and they are delicious! It is possible that I just finally nailed the sauce and technique, but my instinct is that this is a better brisket than my last few at Costco.

BTW, TI gives away raw "Passover bones" for the asking. Since we're having a larger crowd than usual, I am setting out two seder plates so the bone I keep in the freezer won't be sufficient, and they were as accommodating as when I first went there over ten years ago.

This weekend paid $6.19 at Costco in Vernon Hills
but the largest one they had was 10#

Smassey: Glad to be of service - and Chag Sameach!