I went to my local Food Lion and asked the butcher there if he could get me a whole packer brisket. He pointed over to the meat case and said. "one of those?" What he was pointing at was a pre-packaged 2.5 lb. corned beef brisket. I said no, a whole packer. He looked at me as if I had just spoken Farsi. He did not have a clue what I was talking about. I then went to WalMart and right there in the meat case were 8 or 10 packer briskets from 9 to 14 lbs. each. They had good fat and were nice and flexible. Really good looking meat. I was so surprised that WalMart had whole packers.
Now unfortunately, I do not have my smoker yet. I have told my wife that I want one for my birthday, which is almost THREE MONTHS AWAY. But I am already scoping out places to get my meat.
How I miss the days when you could go to your local butcher and buy just about any cut of meat that you wanted, and have him cut it, trim it or slice it the way you want. I know that some of you still have butcher shops that you can go to, but here in North Central NC, they are hard, if not impossible to find.
When I was a kid living in NYC in the early 60s, we had a neighborhood grocery store that probably wasn't 1000sq feet inside, but they had everything you wanted including a full time butcher. He was a big gruff man who could wield a knife and a cleaver with the skill and precision of a heart surgeon. Oh how I miss those days.
Well, this is enough for my first post here. I am waiting in breathless anticipation of getting my first smoker, and in the meantime, I am reading everything I can about cooking in a smoker.
Thanks for putting up with my ramblings.
Now unfortunately, I do not have my smoker yet. I have told my wife that I want one for my birthday, which is almost THREE MONTHS AWAY. But I am already scoping out places to get my meat.
How I miss the days when you could go to your local butcher and buy just about any cut of meat that you wanted, and have him cut it, trim it or slice it the way you want. I know that some of you still have butcher shops that you can go to, but here in North Central NC, they are hard, if not impossible to find.
When I was a kid living in NYC in the early 60s, we had a neighborhood grocery store that probably wasn't 1000sq feet inside, but they had everything you wanted including a full time butcher. He was a big gruff man who could wield a knife and a cleaver with the skill and precision of a heart surgeon. Oh how I miss those days.
Well, this is enough for my first post here. I am waiting in breathless anticipation of getting my first smoker, and in the meantime, I am reading everything I can about cooking in a smoker.
Thanks for putting up with my ramblings.