Hi it looks to me as a cross section through the brisket. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. The briskets I've seen bbq'd are point and flat, trimmed with no bone. I googaled brisket and there's lots of pics and diagrames to show. Some one with more experience will surly post.
I use a site called 'east london steak company' (http://www.eastlondonsteak.co.uk/) as a yard stick as they sell most cuts of meat. They are a gourmet/gastro/foodie butcher selling heritage breeds. So the prices tend to reflect that.
If a butcher tried to give that to me as a brisket i would be kicking off and questioning their skill & knowledge as a butcher
Don't worry though as you've got some good meat, but it's defiantly not what you asked for. To cook this i would be tempted to break it down so you'll have a bit of flat and also a couple of beef ribs to cook.
If you want to do this the brisket part of this is the thin layer of meat that is furthest away from the bones. Cut this off then you can trim up the flat and the ribs and cook them both at the same time and it'll be some good eating.
OK... it's been a bit of a stressful evening deciding what to do with this. My mate (who's a butcher) popped round and told me that this is, indeed, brisket... just not the cut I was after! He reckons that it would feed 4 people comfortably (I have 15 guests coming) so I decided to put it in the freezer and slow cook it for the family as a special treat another time. Plus is I'll get more to myself this way!
So... I stuck to what I know best and went and got this:
I have done the rolled brisket and un-rolled it. Turns out great, i recommend injecting because most of the fat is trimmed leaving a really lean hunk of meat..
I agree with Ed, but that's because I know what I want and what it looks like. As a first time buyer not knowing what to look for I'd probably get shafted as well.
My main question though is if your mate is a butcher why go elsewhere, especially if he was to be one of the guests
