Wanted to share some observations from smoking a wagyu brisket last weekend. I have probably smoked around 30 briskets, but never wagyu. I did not do anything different....smoked it on the offset stick burner through the stall, wrapped and finished on the pellet until 200 degrees. However:

* The marbling on the outside of the brisket was a very soft, unusual texture. The bark ended up being the best I have ever seen, and it could be because of the marbling.

* There was almost no smoke ring. I have never been a believer that a smoke ring = a good brisket, but now I am sure of it.

* The point was more than 2/3 of the cut. It could have just been the way it was cut and packaged by Snake River, but I am used to around 50/50.

* It was a 14 pound brisket, after trimming. It got past the stall an hour faster than any other like-sized brisket I have smoked. Regarding the trimming, it looked like it need to be trimmed a lot more than it actually needed. E.g. the handle on the point looked like it was all fat....but actually had very little fat.

Bottom line- I might never smoke a non wagyu brisket again. Yes, it is twice the price of a prime brisket, but when I am only making two or three a year, it seems worth it. The Aggies watching a horrible game and eating brisket with me said it was the best brisket they ever had. I attribute most of that to it being wagyu.

Rule 1 to come if I can figure it out.

looks nice!

you need a bigger cutting board!

IMO Wagyu brisket is never worth the premium.

Buy multiple prime when there is a sale and freeze.

I would have to find the article, but the Camp Brisket does a blind taste test with the different grades of brisket, and most people have a hard time distinguishing prime from Wagyu, but its a precipitous drop-off after prime.

agrams said:

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looks nice!

you need a bigger cutting board!

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I know a guy…

agrams said:

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I would have to find the article, but the Camp Brisket does a blind taste test with the different grades of brisket, and most people have a hard time distinguishing prime from Wagyu, but its a precipitous drop-off after prime.

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That is my experience. Prime is the sweetspot.

I've cooked a couple wagyu briskets now and always been impressed, but can't bring myself to pay twice as much as prime. I still get really good results out of primes that are about the same.

But there's no denying the marbling if you get a good wagyu. Had to take a pic of the glisten I had on this slice of one I cooked last year.


As to the camp brisket blind taste test, it usually is the case that prime and wagyu are neck and neck with a drop off to the other grades. But I saved this screenshot from someone that went to the 2019 camp and the results were pretty surprising. Prime got out ranked by both choice and chairman's reserve. Maybe the prime they used was a bit of a dud? Who knows…

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* There was almost no smoke ring. I have never been a believer that a smoke ring = a good brisket, but now I am sure of it.

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Your assumption is correct. While smoke rings look nice and appealing, it has almost nothing to do with the amount of smoke or flavor the brisket gets. You can fake a smoke ring with tender quick added to the rub and some other stuff I cant recall right this minute.

If you want a good, non faked ring just throw the meat cold on the pit straight from the fridge. Dont let it sit on the counter or anything. I'll trim and season the night before and wrap in cling wrap so I can just start the fire and throw it on the next morning.

When's the next game watching party? Don't be stingy.

I agree with this statement, even stated such on a thread here on OB recently, I will only cook Wagyu for personal consumption. Having said that, the Snake River Farms from HEB I believe are their Gold grade, and I actually have 3 going on later tonight with 2 Prime. I have also cooked a few of their Black grade which I order direct from them, and honestly, I think they are on another level. It's a stiff price to pay though. I will do my own blind taste test this weekend with some of the friends we are having over and will report back if anyone can tell the difference between the SNF and Prime 1, both from HEB.

agrams said:

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looks nice!

you need a bigger cutting board!

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I agree. If someone was able to make a big ass custom Aggie cutting board for me, I would gladly buy it!

Yep, mine was a SRF Gold from HEB. I am making brisket for Thanksgiving and will order the Black directly from SRF based on your recommendation.

I've done the Wagyu too. Just an insane amount of juice on your cutting board, and it cooks fast. I'm sure that's because of the marbling that cooks out and melts. My guests never knew the difference though from the prime brisket, so I won't be spending the extra cash on Wagyu.

Never cooked a wagyu or prime. Choice turns out so good I've never spent the extra cash. Might try the prime one day.

All this talk of cutting boards reminds me…I need one. I barely escaped having one purchased for me at Bed Bath & Beyond today.

Can y'all remind me who local makes these?

The problem is that you lose all the benefits of the Wagyu/Kobe beef by cooking it past medium rare. By nature brisket is cooked well done and most of the marbled fat is rendered out.

Wagyu begs for a rare to medium-rare sear and straight in the mouth.

aggiedent said:

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The problem is that you lose all the benefits of the Wagyu/Kobe beef by cooking it past medium rare. By nature brisket is cooked well done and most of the marbled fat is rendered out.

Wagyu begs for a rare to medium-rare sear and straight in the mouth.

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This.

I have not smoked a brisket, but grill steaks often. Wagyu ribeye usually is very "rich". We eat our ribeyes medium rare to rare and that is where it shines. There is a drop off with Wagyu from ribeye, to strip, to sirloin in difference of it it to prime. I love the cap meat and "little eye", or ribeyes cut from the small end. In Wagyu it is really good.

I assume the OP is talking about American Wagyu. IMO, domestic Wagyu is great, but really only slightly better than prime (talking about steaks as I have never had even domestic Wagyu brisket). Also, I think a whole Japanese A-5 Wagyu brisket is around $700-$1,400 depending on size!

ashleyschaeffer said:

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All this talk of cutting boards reminds me…I need one. I barely escaped having one purchased for me at Bed Bath & Beyond today.

Can y'all remind me who local makes these?

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Agrams

Just cooked a prime (14lb) and wagyu (12lb) for a competition this weekend. Both briskets were purchased from heb. The prime was $78 and the wagyu which was a snake River farms was $105. Both were excellent but the wagyu was hands down better and no issue developing a smoke ring.

Buck Turgidson said:

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I assume the OP is talking about American Wagyu. IMO, domestic Wagyu is great, but really only slightly better than prime (talking about steaks as I have never had even domestic Wagyu brisket). Also, I think a whole Japanese A-5 Wagyu brisket is around $700-$1,400 depending on size!

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American Wagyu usually has some cross breeding.

Wow, you trim the hell out of your briskets. I'm too cheap for that.

It doesn't get wasted. It's saved in the freezer until it's time to make sausage.

Smoked a 17lb wagyu today. It was the best i have ever smoked IMO. Even the flat was juicy and had some marbling.

Wont be a regular thing because of the cost, but to me it was definitely noticeably an upgrade in flavor and tenderness over even a prime.

Cooked faster too, pulled it at 198 because the probe slid through it like it wasnt even there.

Also got a full pint of rendered beef tallow ouy of the trimmed fat, so extra bonus.

Aggietaco said:

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Wow, you trim the hell out of your briskets. I'm too cheap for that.

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Trim is trim, better to do it before cooking as opposed to after when you're cutting off that nice bark that you worked so hard to build.

Nobody wants a big gob of fat on their slice or a really dried out piece of lean because you were too cheap to cut that 3/4" wide piece of the flat that was never gonna survive the long smoke anyways.

Do It beforehand and you can make It into ground meat or something, or render down into tallow.

Old Sarge said:

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aggiedent said:

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The problem is that you lose all the benefits of the Wagyu/Kobe beef by cooking it past medium rare. By nature brisket is cooked well done and most of the marbled fat is rendered out.

Wagyu begs for a rare to medium-rare sear and straight in the mouth.

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This.

I have not smoked a brisket, but grill steaks often. Wagyu ribeye usually is very "rich". We eat our ribeyes medium rare to rare and that is where it shines. There is a drop off with Wagyu from ribeye, to strip, to sirloin in difference of it it to prime. I love the cap meat and "little eye", or ribeyes cut from the small end. In Wagyu it is really good.

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Steaks and brisket are teo completely different cuts, you really cant compare how one is prepared to the other.

It appears Camp Brisket usually occurs each January at TAMU. What is the cost and how can we commoners sign up for this 2-day bonanza of bliss?

mhnatt said:

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It appears Camp Brisket usually occurs each January at TAMU. What is the cost and how can we commoners sign up for this 2-day bonanza of bliss?

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Become a member of Foodways Texas ($75 a year) and wait. There's a lottery system as its limited seats and lots of people applying. Most people wait 4-5 years before they get in, they do have it setup where you automatically get in after applying 5 years if you never get selected in the lottery. And then pay $495 to actually attend the class.

Still interested?

agfan2013 said:

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mhnatt said:

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It appears Camp Brisket usually occurs each January at TAMU. What is the cost and how can we commoners sign up for this 2-day bonanza of bliss?

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Become a member of Foodways Texas ($75 a year) and wait. There's a lottery system as its limited seats and lots of people applying. Most people wait 4-5 years before they get in, they do have it setup where you automatically get in after applying 5 years if you never get selected in the lottery. And then pay $495 to actually attend the class.

Still interested?

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Can you put your place in your will and let your kids inherit your place in line. Hell, five years to me is an eternity!