First BBQ brisket not great - need advice

[Buccaneer]

Yeah Bent, that's exactly what I was saying and your picture spells it out where my words could not.

[Bentley]

So you all just get flats? Anyway a butcher would hook you all up?

[beaver]

i have dealt with full packers that are only 2.5kg.
in this case it was a VERY small cape grim where the average size is 3.5kg and the biggest is like 8kg.
as bentley asked, are we getting flats? well in the 600g situation i think a "portion" of brisket may have been cut off and sold and its likely just the flat.
in all cases these days i purchase full packers but Aussie cattle are just inherently smaller.

The "heart guide" and other shitty aussie healthy initiatives have pretty much limited the aussie beef market where you will get younger cattle slaughtered as your average mum/dad only want a 350gram ribeye on the bone instead of a 700-800 gram one.
this in turn means every other cut is smaller including the brisket.

Yes Bentley, our briskets (on average) are very small and harder to cook. I always teach students to source bigger briskets as they are easier and recommend not trying to cook anything under the 3.5kg mark due to how hard it is (as you have pointed out).

[Buccaneer]

So you all just get flats? Anyway a butcher would hook you all up?

Yes, it takes some searching but a decent butcher will do them for you, but you need to be able to show him exactly what it is so he knows what to do.
A lot of butchers I went to just said no, too hard. Perth people can PM me for a guy who does quality beef and takes brisket orders.

[urbangriller]

So you all just get flats? Anyway a butcher would hook you all up?

Yes, it takes some searching but a decent butcher will do them for you, but you need to be able to show him exactly what it is so he knows what to do.
A lot of butchers I went to just said no, too hard. Perth people can PM me for a guy who does quality beef and takes brisket orders.

........part of the problem is you need a butcher who cuts from the carcass instead of opening boxes.

[urbangriller]

i have dealt with full packers that are only 2.5kg.
in this case it was a VERY small cape grim where the average size is 3.5kg and the biggest is like 8kg.
as bentley asked, are we getting flats? well in the 600g situation i think a "portion" of brisket may have been cut off and sold and its likely just the flat.
in all cases these days i purchase full packers but Aussie cattle are just inherently smaller..

Most Australian cattle are sold as Yearlings, we don't have year round grass in most of the country. so they are grain fed for 3 months....then it is too costly to take them into another year. Ox is two year, Cape Grim can do that as they have year long grass.

Yes Bentley, our briskets (on average) are very small and harder to cook. I always teach students to source bigger briskets as they are easier and recommend not trying to cook anything under the 3.5kg mark due to how hard it is (as you have pointed out).

I have no problem cooking a rolled brisket and I think it's a great place for a newby to start, they are easy to get, cheap and they cook up well...they don't look like a US brisket, but when its practice you need they are fine....chuck is also good to practice!

Cheers
Chris

[Buccaneer]

So you all just get flats? Anyway a butcher would hook you all up?

Yes, it takes some searching but a decent butcher will do them for you, but you need to be able to show him exactly what it is so he knows what to do.
A lot of butchers I went to just said no, too hard. Perth people can PM me for a guy who does quality beef and takes brisket orders.

........part of the problem is you need a butcher who cuts from the carcass instead of opening boxes.

This,
Thanks Chris, I didn't realize it wasn't clear, a usual I assume too much!