You are right. Snow's also uses choice and sometimes even select grade brisket. They also wrap in foil and not butcher paper like most bbq joints. Tootsie is basically doing a massive backyard style brisket cook every weekend, and reached #1 in Texas doing it. I always felt that lower grades just reduces your margin for error as far as drying out or screwing up, but if smoked to perfection, a choice can be just as good as a prime.
I pretty sure HEB with their crazy buying power is getting it for about 5 bucks a pound. 20 percent margin is about what they are looking for. HEB isn't making much money on fresh meat.
I honest don't know how these restaurants are hurting when they are charging up to 35 bucks a pound for cooked brisket. The food cost for finished briskets is roughly 10 bucks a pound.
I have always asked this question but just assumed I didn't know the restaurant industry or business well enough. I understand it takes wood, manpower, time, etc. I used to think it was because everybody switched to using prime to be competitive with one another and added cost because of the meat being used. Then you have people like Franklin needing briskets by the second - I think he does something like 80-100 briskets a day. He wants the best cuts, and from what I recall, he used to get the best cuts from Creekstone Farms, so I'm guessing he may be paying up for that and passing those negative savings along. Then again, maybe he gets discounts because he buys so much. No idea. But then when you think about it, everything's price is probably jacked up in comparison to what you can cook it for at home. I just remember when you could get brisket for under $10/lbs cooked at restaurants, and it ticks me off when I see $40/lbs brisket now. Even pork ribs are over $30/lbs at a lot of bbq restaurants, and that's a lot of bone you're paying for. Man, I'll cook a steak (or two) at home for those prices.
Didn't realize there were so many brisket connoisseurs...y'all really take this to heart. I feel like there should be a contest at my house and everyone is required to bring the best cut of whatever bbq they choose and my family will decide.
https://spacekatbbq.com/ Austin place (food truck it looks like), sounds interesting. Good to see BBQ that's not just the same ol' same ol'
It's not looking any better for the future... https://www.fb.org/market-intel/smaller-cattle-herd-creates-market-volatility https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-b...stays-at-75-year-low-keeping-beef-prices-high
I think tri-tip popularity is part of the California invasion into Texas. I never really used to see it anywhere here until a few years ago. I tried it once in a restaurant as a ribeye replacement test at a restaurant once but never as bbq. It tasted great when I tried it. I don't know if it was Akaushi wagyu like in this menu, though. It doesn't take anywhere near as long as a brisket to cook if it's smoked.
Tri Tips are awesome, it's more of a grill than a smoke in my experience. If you say they're from Cali, the Brazilians and Argentinians might want a word or two
Not literally the cut is from Cali, but it's apparently a popular cut out there, and a lot of transplants from Cali were either adding them to their newly-started restaurant menu or looking for tri-tip cuts when they came over here. I know some grocery stores started selling them here and there after the influx. The restaurant I ate tri tip I believe started in New York, but all their locations may have shut down subsequent to the pandemic. This is the style of cooking they said they used. They cooked it like a steak, but others do smoke it.
Am I to believe California has invaded this thread. I was going to say, “sir, this a brisket thread.” In the Wendy’s voice. But technically, the thread is also about “any Tips” too.
Yeah? No. It's a longtime South American cut for the parrilla. Where do you think the Calis learned about it?
Ok, apparently there is some miscommunication. Let me say it again : "I wasn't saying the cut is literally from California. I'm saying the influx of people from California is where the demand picked up." There weren't thousands of Argentinians and Brazilians coming here demanding tri-tip as a cut and then grocery stores started succumbing to their desires. lol. Hopefully that's clearer. If not, I give up.
They're running a test market item in Lubbock only next month to see how it fares. The McBrisket. We will see if it's any good. I'm looking forward to trying it.
