Good Brisket / Bad Brisket

I had a thread the other day about leaking cryo bags. i am posting this thread so maybe someone else can learn from my misfortune. i had a prime packer in the freezer for about a year. put it in the fridge to thaw and the bag leaked a lot of blood. no big deal as most of the time they turn out good. it was in the fridge for 4 days. i had one previously that turned out really weird so i cooked 2 just in case. the cook was for my daughter and her friends who went to the north texas bash last week and had to leave before the briskets were done.- thanks smitty :tsk:

anyway, the prime cooked like normal and looked good but the taste was just nothing...plain...like i didn't put any rub on...couldn't even taste beef. it did have a few brown spots that i assumed were from air getting in the cryo. i trimmed off the brown areas and it did not smell off or weird. here are a couple of pics.





the 2nd one i cooked was bought that day and was a select grade. the fresh select brisket was way better, rub was good, flavor was good, tender, juicy. i used the same rub on both, wrapped both in bp and they were done on the same cooker. only difference was the age and the leaky cryo bag. not sure what the moral of the story is as i have had way more turn out good than bad with leaky cryo bags. just glad i cooked the 2nd one as insurance.

i was not trying to say that the select was better as a rule but that the leaky cryo bag may have some sort of affect on the meat. i do believe that any grade can be cooked properly and turn out good. i cook all kinds especially when people bring them to me to cook.

Bludawg said:

Most of the packers I cook are Select about 90% and 10% are Choice. I never look at the grading I look at the meat and buy the ones with the best marbling. As to the flavor I blame the cow and it's diet.

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so you have had this happen before???

Springram said:

I have found that when I cook for four people, I could easily get away with cooking just the point. Most of my buds prefer the more moist meat of the point anyway. The flat get little or not attention. My local HEB has points all the time but they are usually Select grade. Maybe will try one assuming it has not been market trimmed too much.

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i would give the select points a try. if i had magical powers i would take the point off a select and put it on a prime flat. i find that sometimes the points on primes have, if you can believe, too much marbling.:crazy:

when i go to test a bbq joint i always ask for the flat. it's almost impossible to screw up the point. now getting the flat to stay juicy/tender takes some work and/or experience.

SmittyJonz said:

Hey Now, them girls Chose to leave ...............

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or the cook was too slow so he wouldn't have to share.:shocked:

I still have at least 3 primes in the freezer that are 9 or so months old. Been doing it this way for a long time. Guess the next time the cryo breaks I'll have to do another side by side experiment.

I always thought meat was good for years at 0 degrees but I guess quality takes a dive. I just dug thru the freezer and found 2 briskets from July 2014...any takers?:shocked: could have sworn I had them in order by date. :doh: