Didn't gt as much done yesterday as I wanted......prolly over expectations!
Just have to postpone smokin' piggy until Labor Day. Maybe I can find time to find some FULL ribs today. Babyback ribs were on sale, but I hate them. Hate to smoke them and don't really care to eat them.............I'll still obliterate them though.
I need two full racks to top off two big pork butts and two full pork loins.
I still can't bring myself to smoke a brisket. I just can't find the proper cut, without paying an astronomical price at a private butcher.
I only do a packer cut brisket. The end product is just not as flavorful and ya get more stuff you can put in a 'MESS' of beans.
The biggest problem in finding the cut I want, is finding one with the proper thickness in the tail.....especially in relation to the head size...................way too big of a head for the thickness of the tail. Most of the cuts I find, just have thin tails......... period. Never mind the size relationship!
That all comes down to how the cow was raised, finished and age at harvest. They need to be fed free range in the development period and then finished fed properly and harvested at the proper age. Genetics can help, but the above still comes into play. When I started introducing 'stretch' Angus genes to my program, I got a LOT of benefits, but one of them was a dramatically thicker tail on the brisket. No telling if it would help a program that didn't raise and feed like I did, but it couldn't hurt, especially with the other benefits.
I was/am spoiled by raising my own beef in the past. The crap you get at the store is so damn subpar compared to what I raised, is pathetic. Most of you guys haven't a clue! My beef would make a vegan convert!
The only other way to get 'quality' beef is to find that kind of rancher or a co-op that has those like-minded ranchers as their members...............and a quality butcher.