I Bought a Brisket

I didn't just buy brisket.  The markets I usually go to sold it pre-inflation for about $8/lb, seven on sale, so I would pick up a couple of pounds maybe twice a year.  It was a treat.

One day, I was running errands for work at Smart & Final.  For those who don't live near one, they're like Costco or Sam's Club, but smaller and without membership, and primarily focused on food.  It's where restaurants go in desperation when the egg delivery is two days late and there's catering to finish.  I also downloaded their app, but really only use it for work.

Anyway, I was on the way to the register with 2 cases of eggs when I passed by the meat section and noticed a whole brisket slab weighing 22 pounds.  Yes, it was a good price, but 22 pounds?  There's no way I needed that.  I couldn't imagine anyone buying that.

Over the next few weeks, $3.79 per pound for any kind of beef kept gnawing at me.  Every time I popped into S&F, I glanced at the brisket selection.  They weren't always that big.  Some were as "small" as 14 pounds.

I was on the app checking prices for work and plugged in brisket out of habit.  It was on sale for $3.49/lb for the week, $3.19 with an app coupon if you bought a 50 pound case.  Hard no on the latter, but I started asking around for anyone who wanted to go in with me if I bought one.

The last day of the sale, I took a big breath and plunked down $57 dollars on over sixteen pounds of brisket.  That day, Pavilions had it for $10.99.  Granted, the ones at the fancier store were trimmed lean and beautiful, but not enough for a $7.50 per pound price difference.

My friend came over with foil, freezer bags, and an excellent knife.  The package had suggestions for how to cut it up, clearly acknowledging that no one was going to roast it whole.  I cut her several smaller roasts.  A piece in the middle of even thickness will be for corned beef.  I got a few 1 to 2 pound roasts off the knobby end.  Weird, uneven pieces got chopped into about a pound of stew cuts.  And about a pound of excessively thick fat ended up in the trash.  I was expecting that.

I had planned to take a picture of the cuts, then forgot until they were wrapped and in freezer bags.  I have a new appreciation for butchers.  We each got about 7 pounds of trimmed meat.  I don't know about my friend, but that will get me until at least Passover.

The lesson I got out of this one is that a single person can buy in bulk.  Find friends or neighbors willing to split whatever it is: meat, produce, dry goods.  You could get a case deal on canned vegetables and split it up, or one of those huge bags of rice at Costco and everyone take 5 pounds.  We all need to get creative to lessen the pain of rising prices.