Brisket Point help please


(Ivy) #1

Let’s see if I have this right.

A 5 lb brisket point, raw, yields–

46.1 oz tallow/broth with more broth to tallow

1 lb 10.8 oz meat?

Is this the usual, for those of you that have eaten brisket point?


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #2

If you trust the source where you got these figures, then go for it.


(Ivy) #3

I calculated it myself from my foodscale. Concluded that brisket is not the best for protein., and cooks down to not a lot.


(Tim Cee) #4

How much tallow exactly if you remove the water, I find meat with 50% fat to be quite good. I eat a diet high in tallow and lard. LCHF. The doctor thinks I’m eating high protein but really it’s high fat. I NEVER EVER EVER eat any meat that’s low fat. And I don’t try to boost protein either.

“Control Carb
Prioritize Protein
Fill on Fat” —Ben Bikman


(Ivy) #5

2 pounds of meat from a 5 lb brisket point is normal ?


(Tim Cee) #6

I don’t know. Meat isn’t pure protein though. I usually eat hamburger patties when I’m home. They shrink to what appears to be less than half their original volume. I collect the he fat and cook my vegetables in it since I’m not fully carnivore. If I were, I’d probably drink the fat.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #7

A lot of shrinkage, from what I understand, is the result of water escaping during cooking. So my thought is that we aren’t losing protein. And I use the pan juices as a sauce, make gravy, or just drink it, according to my mood and what I’m cooking. Bacon juice is quite tasty! (But let it cool, first, lol!)


(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #8

I eat to a macro of 2:1 fat:protein. I’ve eaten to this macro for about three years with a several month interval (ended a couple months ago) when I increased protein. I’m now back to 2:1 since I find it more satisfying. My ‘problem’ with meats/fish is they contain too little fat! I have to bump up the fat.

For example. I buy Our Finest frozen Angus beef patties at Walmart where I work. For a meal, I prepare them in one of two ways: either pan fried in palm kernel oil or microwaved in red palm oil. Below is my spreadsheet for meal #3 a few days ago. Not in the sheet is Nando’s Peri Peri Medium hot sauce which contains capsaicin and some other zero macro stuff. Whatever is in it is insignificant so I don’t bother trying to figure it out precisely.

Click embiggen:


(Central Florida Bob ) #9

FWIW, humans are about 55 or 60% water by weight so I always figured other animals were, too. My body composition scale says my percent water, first thing in the morning when we tend to be dehydrated, runs 54% average. That means about half the weight before cooking would go away during cooking. I could see it not being exactly half but maybe more or maybe less. I figure all those burger places that say things like “one quarter pound precooked weight” say it for a reason. I’ve never measured it.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #10

And partly that’s because the resulting burger is unpredictable. At least the protein and fat don’t evaporate! :grin:


(Laurie) #11

The “point” end of the brisket (as opposed to the flat part) is very fatty. Plus, cattle don’t have a collarbone; instead, the brisket point has a great deal of collagen to aid in supporting the animal’s weight. Depending on how it’s cooked, the collagen turns to either gristle or gelatin.

A while ago I bought a couple of whole briskets because they seemed to be cheap. But now I don’t think they’re a good buy at all, meat wise.


(Ivy) #12

Good to know.


(Doug) #13

Yeah, Laurie, especially for cooked weight of meat, in the end, versus price - it’s something to think about. I had a big old brisket in the last couple years, and cooked it in the oven in a great big brazing or roasting pan. This was a 5 kg or 11 lb brisket, something like that.

I loaded it with Jalapeño peppers and beef broth, and it added its own broth. Didn’t eat it right away - put the whole thing in the refrigertor overnight. The next day there was almost an inch-thick, or roughly 2 cm layer of fat on top. Tasted great but took a while to consume.


(Ivy) #14

Whats a good buy nowadays?
crowdcow, millers organic farm, butcherbox, others?


(Laurie) #15

Sorry, I can’t answer that. I’m in Canada; we have different retailers.


(Jane) #16

Can you go to the grocery store and pick up items on sale?

That is your cheapest option. Shipping frozen meat is insanely expensive.


(Ivy) #17

Yes


(Bob M) #18

For a lot of brisket recipes, you leave the brisket in the liquid and let it sit at least overnight, then reheat in the same liquid. This allows the meat to suck up more water.

Like this recipe (though I use tallow to cook and regular red wine):

I rarely cook brisket unless I’m doing something like this (cook one day, chill, reheat some other day).


(Ivy) #19

Its not worse to freeze it after cooking, right? Oh, red wine, sounds like I might go with it as an option

Ive only done it in an instant pot, cut in pieces. How is the brisket this way, in the oven–aside form using Instnat Pot?