Where to buy a great comp brisket

[srfshane]

I just dont understand why all other sales of beef all over this country and probably the planet are priced per lb except when you buy a brisket from SRF or Huntspoint. Why do i pay for 16lb brisket and get a 14lb brisket? Im sure they pull in enough to afford a scale that doesnt just weigh steaks.

Shane here with SRF - I'm happy to explain this. The other sales of beef you're talking about are in a retail store...where the specific product you're buying can be weighed at the time of checkout (along with scanning your other items). You're having a physical interaction with a brick and mortar store, which allows the weighing to happen at the time of purchase.

In an ecommerce world, it doesn't work like that. You are buying a brisket, but not a specific brisket. Once you've completed your transaction, then someone goes into the freezer and grabs you a brisket to fulfill your order. So, the process is in reverse. We break the briskets into size ranges to try and make it more palatable for both you and us.

It couldn't work any other way really, because of the nature of ecommerce. If you try to sell individual briskets (at their exact weight) you're dealing with hundreds (or thousands) of unique SKU's, each with their own characteristics. If you sell them by the "size range" you're dealing with only 1 SKU per size range.

That's why you see that pretty much everyone has to break their briskets into sizes and sell them by the "each" (along with everything else...hams, steaks, roasts, etc.). Our entire business up until that point is based on per pound, and it would be much easier for us to continue that, but the technology just doesn't support it. Someday!

Hope that helps!

 

[BBQchef33]

Shane here with SRF - I'm happy to explain this. The other sales of beef you're talking about are in a retail store...where the specific product you're buying can be weighed at the time of checkout (along with scanning your other items). You're having a physical interaction with a brick and mortar store, which allows the weighing to happen at the time of purchase.

In an ecommerce world, it doesn't work like that. You are buying a brisket, but not a specific brisket. Once you've completed your transaction, then someone goes into the freezer and grabs you a brisket to fulfill your order. So, the process is in reverse. We break the briskets into size ranges to try and make it more palatable for both you and us.

It couldn't work any other way really, because of the nature of ecommerce. If you try to sell individual briskets (at their exact weight) you're dealing with hundreds (or thousands) of unique SKU's, each with their own characteristics. If you sell them by the "size range" you're dealing with only 1 SKU per size range.

That's why you see that pretty much everyone has to break their briskets into sizes and sell them by the "each" (along with everything else...hams, steaks, roasts, etc.). Our entire business up until that point is based on per pound, and it would be much easier for us to continue that, but the technology just doesn't support it. Someday!

Hope that helps!

Shane.. i understand all this, but just to continue the education(I think I already know the answer), I have a ???. The briskets have to be handled anyway, be it individually or case wise..

If its individual, it has to be put into a cooler, why cant the individual briskets be weighed and then the customer be charged accordingly after using a CC to 'hold' the maximum cost.

If its case wise, the exact weight is on the side of the case.

So lets say I order 2 14-17. I pay the max price for 34 lbs and thats what put on the credit card(HOLD). Then SRF pulls a case that weighs in at 28 lbs(2x14). Why cant final price be enter base on actual weight.

and then we can use the extra money we saved on the briskets to buy wagyu steaks for dinner Saturday night. :biggrin1: :clap2:

 

[srfshane]

Shane.. i understand all this, but just to continue the education(I think I already know the answer), I have a ???. The briskets have to be handled anyway, be it individually or case wise..

If its individual, it has to be put into a cooler, why cant the individual briskets be weighed and then the customer be charged accordingly after using a CC to 'hold' the maximum cost.

If its case wise, the exact weight is on the side of the case.

So lets say I order 2 14-17. I pay the max price for 34 lbs and thats what put on the credit card(HOLD). Then SRF pulls a case that weighs in at 28 lbs(2x14). Why cant final price be enter base on actual weight.

and then we can use the extra money we saved on the briskets to buy wagyu steaks for dinner Saturday night. :biggrin1: :clap2:

You bet, I'm happy to have a spot to talk about this, I know it's a point of concern for lots of folks. There are three key limiting factors:

First is the technology. The process you're describing is a custom ecommerce workflow (meaning it's different than 95% of other ecommerce stores). This means we would have to have it custom developed...which is expensive and then really limits the other technologies you can plug into. Which would be fine if we were a giant ecommerce player, but we're not, we need to be able to use off-the-shelf stuff.

Second is the environment. It's a big, frozen warehouse with multiple people in thick coats and gloves. Having these folks stop and deal with sensitive data (your credit card info and specific weights of products) presents challenges both in terms of accuracy and security, neither of which we're willing to compromise.

Third is the issue of scale. While we're not big, on busy days we'll do hundreds of orders. The more time we add to the order fulfillment process, the fewer orders we can do (or the more people ie $ we need to fulfill the same amount of order).

Your point about saving $'s however isn't the case. Neither approach saves dollars, it's just about averages. I know for a fact that in our 14-17 lb size range for briskets, the average brisket is 15.5lbs. That means that 50% of the people get under15.5 and 50% get over.

All that said - I totally understand your point and I wish I had a better solution. Just imagine the impact on our high-end products like Gold Prime Rib where the cost per pound is significantly higher than in briskets. Even the biggest guys in this business (Omaha Steaks) have to sell their stuff by the piece versus by the pound because of the above limitations.

Hope this helps!

 

[CBQ]

A little education for you.......

A little education for all of us.

Hunts Point Cooperative Market:

http://www.huntspointcoopmkt.com/

+1 718 842-7466

Jonny Love:

https://huntspoint.com/

+1 212 380-1273

and also the fax number for

http://www.terminalmarkets.com/index.htm

as seen here:

http://www.terminalmarkets.com/trucking.htm

To be clear: I have heard a lot of good things about the products that Jonny Love sells. People do well with them. I'm not saying don't use him as a supplier, just be aware he's a reseller not a producer. Read his post carefully, he doesn't claim otherwise. His website, however, is not as clear and people could be confused by it.

 

[Sawdustguy]

A little education for all of us.

Hunts Point Cooperative Market:

http://www.huntspointcoopmkt.com/

+1 718 842-7466

Jonny Love:

https://huntspoint.com/

+1 212 380-1273

and also the fax number for

http://www.terminalmarkets.com/index.htm

as seen here:

http://www.terminalmarkets.com/trucking.htm

To be clear: I have heard a lot of good things about the products that Jonny Love sells. People do well with them. I'm not saying don't use him as a supplier, just be aware he's a reseller not a producer. Read his post carefully, he doesn't claim otherwise. His website, however, is not as clear and people could be confused by it.

Of course he is a wholesaler like RD. I doubt he has a cattle ranch hidden somewhere in the Bronx.

 

[motoeric]

Guy,

I believe that in Huntspoint's response they said that they were in NYC and moved to New Hampshire less than a year ago (9 months?) and didn't think that changing the name would be good idea.

Eric

 

[BBQchef33]

Oh ladies... Can we keep thus somewhat on topic now. We got the history lesson on the origin of huntspoint. That should be enough. Personally.. I see nothing wrong with using a reseller. Like I said before.. If price is right, its delivered as expected and customer service is good.. Who cares? Companies do it all the time. Case in point.. If u go to Sears and buy a Kenmore fridge.. Its really rebranded from Westinghouse or whirlpool.. Their vacums are Electrolux.. And their grills are charbroil and jenaire... But they're backed by sears.

If huntspoint buys from srf or imperial and resells.. AND backs it up.. What's the issue?

Kenmore (brand) Kenmore Appliances is a brand of household appliances sold by Sears since 1927. The products are currently produced by manufacturers such as Whirlpool Corp, GE, Panasonic, Sanyo, LG, Bosch, Electrolux, and Mabe Mexico.
Kenmore (brand) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenmore_(brand)Wikipedia

Anyway... Back on topic.

 

[BBQchef33]

You bet, I'm happy to have a spot to talk about this, I know it's a point of concern for lots of folks. There are three key limiting factors:

First is the technology. The process you're describing is a custom ecommerce workflow (meaning it's different than 95% of other ecommerce stores). This means we would have to have it custom developed...which is expensive and then really limits the other technologies you can plug into. Which would be fine if we were a giant ecommerce player, but we're not, we need to be able to use off-the-shelf stuff.

Second is the environment. It's a big, frozen warehouse with multiple people in thick coats and gloves. Having these folks stop and deal with sensitive data (your credit card info and specific weights of products) presents challenges both in terms of accuracy and security, neither of which we're willing to compromise.

Third is the issue of scale. While we're not big, on busy days we'll do hundreds of orders. The more time we add to the order fulfillment process, the fewer orders we can do (or the more people ie $ we need to fulfill the same amount of order).

Your point about saving $'s however isn't the case. Neither approach saves dollars, it's just about averages. I know for a fact that in our 14-17 lb size range for briskets, the average brisket is 15.5lbs. That means that 50% of the people get under15.5 and 50% get over.

All that said - I totally understand your point and I wish I had a better solution. Just imagine the impact on our high-end products like Gold Prime Rib where the cost per pound is significantly higher than in briskets. Even the biggest guys in this business (Omaha Steaks) have to sell their stuff by the piece versus by the pound because of the above limitations.

Hope this helps!

Actually.. I had no point. I was just curious if the process. I'm of the mindset that if its dropped on my doorstep and its what I expected.. I'm happy.

I do see and agree that it all averages out. Guess I'll just have to bite the bullet for those waygu steaks.

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

Oh ladies... Can we keep thus somewhat on topic now. We got the history lesson on the origin of huntspoint. That should be enough. Personally.. I see nothing wrong with using a reseller. Like I said before.. If price is right, its delivered as expected and customer service is good.. Who cares? Companies do it all the time. Case in point.. If u go to Sears and buy a Kenmore fridge.. Its really rebranded from Westinghouse or whirlpool.. Their vacums are Electrolux.. And their grills are charbroil and jenaire... But they're backed by sears.

If huntspoint buys from srf or imperial and resells.. AND backs it up.. What's the issue?




Anyway... Back on topic.

I have no knowledge, but just what I've read here regarding Huntspoint, but it appears to me that he is doing a service to those up in the NE.

For almost two years I have bought brisket by the case. Primes and Wagyus and there is normally at least one brisket that is not comp worthy(to thin, grain running wrong,etc) I'll use it for home use, but otherwise it can be just as expensive as the "hand picked" briskets.

I have also seen pics of a "gold" wagyu that was sent for comps that was unexceptionable, by comp standards. The company made it right, just as you would expect any hand picked briskets to be Guaranteed. It happens and while it can be frustrating a cook must understand, until the cryovac comes off there can be surprises.

Like I said earlier, it's hard to get consistent briskets no matter where you live. The top cooks have a way of dealing with it, the rest of us buys a few as we need them and does a little prayer at trimming time.:faint:

 

[ynotfehc]

Thanks for the response Shane. I admit i dont like the flat rate for a weight range, especially when we are talking about expensive quality of meat, it ends up being about a $30 difference which is a couple more beers and another cigar for the weekend. Ive dealt with a local grass-fed producer who ships nationwide and sells by weight rather than range. I dont know how their system compares to yours or size of operation either. Ill guess and say you are somewhere between them and Sysco. But its a valid point on your end, so thanks!

 

[Shiz-Nit]

Interesting thread....

 

[Huntspoint]

Hello Fellow Brethren,

This is Johnny Love, I wanted to add a couple of thoughts to various comments that have been made on this thread.

YNOTFEHC asked about the weight ‘groupings’ for brisket sales. For competition teams,
Huntspoint Meat Company hand selects the best briskets with competition traits. The reality is, for example, a competition team would rather have a 15 lb brisket with a thick flat that is more marbled then a 17 lb brisket that has a thin flat and less marbling. We do not select briskets based upon upper end and lower end weight ranges. Our goal is to help BBQ Competition teams to win with the best bbq meats which includes briskets, ribs and pork butts. Your success becomes our success.

Many professional BBQ teams do use wagyu and many do not. There are BBQ teams that have won with a choice or prime brisket. If you know how to cook and get the right table you can win with briskets other than wagyu. The alternative to wagyu briskets are prime and choice briskets. The 1855 Black Angus High Choice briskets we carry can have marbling that verges on prime.

Many teams look for very heavy wagyu briskets. On the other hand there are teams which don’t have big budgets. We recommend they use smaller gold wagyu briskets which costs almost the same as a 15 lbs prime brisket. With the smaller gold Wagyu brisket, bbq teams can have the luxury of cooking with the highest marbling grade wagyu brisket that also can have a thick flat.

On a side note; I know that licensing and inspection were a (very reasonable) concern for BasicPatrick. As I stated in an earlier posting, "unfortunately we don't control when the government schedules an inspection or sends out inspectors.”

We're happy to let you all know that the inspection has now occurred and, as we anticipated, we passed with no problems. Anyone can call the state of NH to verify this information.

As always, we are more than happy to answer any questions. Please feel free to give us a call or send us an email through our website.

Have a great weekend.

Johnny Love

 

[Pickin' Porkers]

We've won MORE brisket top 5's using basic, IBP USDA Choice briskets than all the Wagyu's put together that we have cooked.....and saved a mess of cash in the process.

 

[Podge]

We've won MORE brisket top 5's using basic, IBP USDA Choice briskets than all the Wagyu's put together that we have cooked.....and saved a mess of cash in the process.

I hear ya there !!.. got (2) 1sts in brisket with wagyu, a lot more with CAB's.. I can't understand my problem.. I reckon I like to waste money.

 

[New Pal Frank]

I started cooking SNF briskets last season and had great results. When I buy them, I know I'm buying at a range price and as log as all of them make that range, I'm happy. I've trimed a 17# and a 14# side by side and when finished, it was hard to tell them apart. A lot of the weight difference in my case appeared to be a heavier fat cap. Most of the difference was in the trimmings.

I have 6 coming next week.