My oh my, how things have changed in the last 5 years since this thread was last updated. Cheapest packer brisket I've seen at Winco was fairly recent @ $4.28/lb, labeled "Choice or Better." Until then, the price was well over a $1/lb higher.
I have a different outlook on briskets than many people. Folks are often swayed by the meat grade, equating a higher grade of brisket to a better final result. Cooking shows, televised competitions, and BBQ restaurant reviews have fed this perspective. There's nothing wrong with that, and it definitely impacts steak muscles, but briskets? I'm not sold.
Smoking was about preserving meat or turning cheap tough cuts into tender, juicy offerings. With the exception of steak, I've always bought the cheapest meat available, especially briskets, regardless of grade. When smoked and rested correctly, I've not noticed any difference between Select, Choice, or Better. Maybe the higher grades are more forgiving, but I treat each the same and get tender, juicy results.
I've compared Select Grade briskets with "Choice or Better" when they were available in the same store. It seems to me there was more fat on the higher grades, but briskets don't get their tender juiciness from fat; they get it from melted collagen in the muscle fiber. I'll take more meat over fat any day.
Someday I'd love to smoke a lean, tough, bison brisket. Hmmm. I think one just went on my Christmas list.
