I’ve been buying “pork brisket” since early on in keto (3 years ago). I started buying it because it was fatty, and because the price was right (normally $3 a lb). It’s also very tasty. I normally roast the pieces till cooked through, then simply eat with salt. The pieces are random sizes and contain bone, cartilage or both. Have you ever tried pork brisket? How do you cook it? Is it a good choice nutrient-wise? Plenty of protein and fat but otherwise? Thanks.
Pork Brisket, a quality meat choice?
jmbundy
(John)
#2
Not sure where you are from, but I don’t come across this cut specifically too much. I do eat more pork than most humans though. The front leg of a pig has 2 main parts, the shoulder and the picnic. The shoulder is up top and is usually called a pork butt, Boston butt or pork shoulder and is used primarily for pulled pork. Sometimes it is sliced up and called country style ribs. The picnic is used quite a bit, but nowhere near as much as the butt. Now the picnic usually contains a good portion or all of the brisket, I have only seen them separated maybe once.
All that to say it is a tough, hard working muscle that is usually best treated like the others, cooked at 250-300, preferably on a smoker, for 8 hours or so until it gets to about 200 internal. Most of the fat will melt during the cook and make it very juicy and tender, it is an excellent, fatty cut (down about 3" is pork belly some that makes sense).
Treat it like pork butt, if you haven’t had that I insist you make it ASAP, you can even make bacon out of it. I have 40 pounds going on the smoker Saturday night.
Brenda
(8 year Ketogenic Veteran)
#3
@jmbundy
Definately have had all kinds of pork, buy butts and roast them for pulled pork often.
These random brisket pieces are just strange. I live in Minnesota, in the Minneapolis metro. So a big city area. I wonder what people buy this for? The package has random size pieces, and like I said, are full of cartilage and bone. The package I bought today was marked down to $1.49 a pound. A steal.
Fiorella
#4
Very good choice to cook “slow and low temperature” in oven, after it sits in a marinade for about an hour. The cut is basically close to same parts as a boned out picnic ham, without the curing/smoking process of course. This is another good example of a meat that does not appeal cosmetically (like a nice pork chop) so it’s not as popular. But, it’s a fatty and delicious cut. Who gives a crap what it looks like, it tastes good! It’s not a beauty contest…it’s food!
jfricke
(Guardian of the bacon)
#5
If it’s similar to Beef brisket which I suspect it is. Low and Slow is the ticket. Shred it up and let the meat fibers soak up all that tasty fat that melts.
Brenda
(8 year Ketogenic Veteran)
#6
I love to slowly fry it so as not to render all the fat out, but instead crisp up all the fatty edges. I find almost all the meat very tender. And the cartilage bits make a gelatinous broth when added with bones.
tdseest
(Tom Seest)
#7
Floyd must be on a hunger strike. I hope he doesn’t go into starvation mode.
Poor kitty.
tdseest
(Tom Seest)
#11
I discovered Alex was feeding him good Heavy Whipping Cream, so who knows what else he gives him…