Brisket - $10/lb

The brisket is either left whole, as a “packer,” or cut into its two parts. Cooking a whole one of these will definitely feed a crowd, but is a serious project that all avid smokers dare to tackle at least once in their career.

Preparing half of a brisket is a bit more reasonable and the two halves have pretty different qualities: The flat is the deep pectoral muscle and is leaner, so this cut would be great for a braised brisket recipe. The point is the superficial pec muscle and has about three times the marbling as the flat. This cut would be a nice to smoke!

• Cooking Methods: Braise, Oven Roast, Smoke

If you decide to smoke a brisket, there’s plenty of zealots touting their method is the best. I’ll let you peruse the debates and pick your side of the camp. One recommendation I have is that sometimes the brisket is relatively untrimmed, which means that there’s a pretty hefty fat layer.  Trimming it down to about ¼” will allow the fat to properly render while smoking, but leaving enough to keep the meat nice and juicy (I mean that’s what makes brisket BRISKET). But, don’t you dare throw that fat away. Save it and render into tallow that you can use to cook with. If you're unsure about how to do this, reach out!