Sam's Briskets

[SuperDave]

As hard as I have tried, I have yet to find a Sam's or Costco full brisket, I have tried more than a few.  Before drive to any further stores, can someone show me a picture of one that they have gotten there the next time they pick one up?  I'm very interested in how much they have been trimmed and what grade they are.  Mu current brisket source is just too much fat to meat ratio and I'm worried that the Sam's or Costco versions might be the opposite and be over trimmed for my liking. 

 

[DivotMaker]

Here ya' go, Dave!  16.9 lb Choice briskie from Sam's.  They're not overly-fat, but I do have to trim quite a bit (for my preference).  Certainly not over-trimmed.  They occasionally have Prime, but mostly Choice.

 

[SconnieQ]

I buy mine at Costco. They are PRIME whole Packer briskets (14-18 pound range). $3.59/lb. They do have Choice, but I'm not sure if they have Choice in whole or just flats. But with Prime at that price, I can't say I even consider anything else. The whole Primes are basically "untrimmed". I end up trimming off about 2 lbs of fat, and I only trim the thickest parts of fat, leaving about 1/2 inch (more than most people do). I'll be going to Costco in the next week, and I will take pictures when I am there. You can always try calling Costco before you drive there, but you generally can only talk to a customer service person, and they might not know much about meat...so they are minimally helpful usually.

 

[nvw-ssv]

Costco being built where I live this year....... I will definitely enjoy their deals on smoke-ables.

 

[SconnieQ]

SuperDave, here are the photos from Costco of a Prime whole brisket. $3.59/lb. I edited my previous post (had the price wrong). Photos show the same brisket, top, bottom, and two sides. If you want something with plenty of fat that you can trim to your liking, these are the ones. They did not have any Choice whole briskets, just Prime. They do have Choice flats, but they are heavily trimmed, and $6.99/lb. Ignore the meat in the background. I placed the brisket on top of some Choice tenderloins.

 

[kz0m]

Another thought, when you check at Sam's or Costco, ask the folks in the back of the meat section if they have any "short dated briskets."  Those are the ones whose sell by date are about to expire.  If you're ready to cook right away, these can be had for a very good price. 
I purchased a short dated prime angus that had been trimmed and placed on a foam tray and plastic wrapped.  These normal sell for $3.29/lb but trimmed and looking very pretty they sold it to me for choice price, $1.97/lb, beautiful prime brisket for a choice price with less fat, it was very yummy!
Just a thought, when they do trim these short dated briskets and set them out, they go pretty fast so I happened to ask one of the butchers if they had any short dated ones in the back and they brought one out for me to buy.  That would probably go for any cut of meat.

 

[SuperDave]

I'm just hacked off that Sacramento area Sam's & Costco's don't carry packer briskets.  I've started a network search with my friends and hope we can come up with one that does. 

 

[SconnieQ]

Another thought, when you check at Sam's or Costco, ask the folks in the back of the meat section if they have any "short dated briskets."  Those are the ones whose sell by date are about to expire.  If you're ready to cook right away, these can be had for a very good price. 
I purchased a short dated prime angus that had been trimmed and placed on a foam tray and plastic wrapped.  These normal sell for $3.29/lb but trimmed and looking very pretty they sold it to me for choice price, $1.97/lb, beautiful prime brisket for a choice price with less fat, it was very yummy!
Just a thought, when they do trim these short dated briskets and set them out, they go pretty fast so I happened to ask one of the butchers if they had any short dated ones in the back and they brought one out for me to buy.  That would probably go for any cut of meat.

The Costco I go to doesn't seem to want the customer to "talk" to anyone in the meat department. There is no buzzer or anything, and their meat people seem to be locked behind bullet proof glass, barbed wire and an electric fence. And when you call customer service, you can't be transferred to the meat department, because they claim they do not have a phone.

 

[kz0m]

I know what you mean though Kari!  I was in a Sam's today and asked if they could order pork belly, the guy looked at me like I was from Mars and started telling me all the pork they "could" order, which is what they have in the display cases, duh ;>)  Also, the first guy I talked to didn't know what a pork belly was, I had to explain to him ;>))
I think they treat their workers behind glass like the secret police or something, they are hard to get to come to the window and when they finally do, they act as though they know nothing, oh well, so it goes.....

 

[SconnieQ]

I know what you mean though Kari!  I was in a Sam's today and asked if they could order pork belly, the guy looked at me like I was from Mars and started telling me all the pork they "could" order, which is what they have in the display cases, duh ;>)  Also, the first guy I talked to didn't know what a pork belly was, I had to explain to him ;>))
I think they treat their workers behind glass like the secret police or something, they are hard to get to come to the window and when they finally do, they act as though they know nothing, oh well, so it goes.....

The Costco by me carries pork bellies, and they are beauties. Approximately 10 pounds at $2.79/lb. Skin removed.

 

[kz0m]

I'll be right over!!

 

[SuperDave]

Well, the power of networking paid off for me.  I have a guy that knows a guy.  LOL!  Picked this up today.

 

[SconnieQ]

Looks like a good price, $2.88/lb for Choice. I can see a nice hunk of fat there in the lower left of the picture.

 

[DivotMaker]

Good job, Dave!  But remember...letting someone pick out a brisket for you is like having someone go get a haircut for you! ;D