How to ask for brisket

[iamdans]

Hi, I want to smoke a brisket. I understand that what we call brisket here in the UK is different from what the americans call brisket.
When I go to the butcher today, what exactly should I ask for to get the right cut of meat? Is it good enough to ask for 'An american cut packer brisket'? Will they know what that means?

Thanks
Dan

[MikeBamber]

Well you can ask for a 'whole brisket, flat not rolled' which the butcher should be quite pleased with as he basically won't have to do anything with it.

That's quite a lot of meat though! About £40 worth.

Depending on what taste you like, get them to cut it from either the point (more fatty) or the flat (more lean) side. I usually just ask for it cut straight down the middle!

English butchers can be a weird, grumpy bunch sometimes haha

[Grumpy Jonze]

Might be worth asking what the cows were fed on too, if the butcher seems a friendly sort. USDA beef is grain/corn fed, so is bigger and marbles better. Ours is grass fed and (sometimes) corn finished, which makes for a different taste and texture. Some UK producers are doing much longer corn-fed periods for their cattle now, so if you can find one of these, all the better. Be interested to see what you get, still to try a brisket at home. Good luck!

[GingerBen]

Just ask for an untrimmed brisket. If they look at you oddly say you want the whole thing - point and the flat together.

[Batch]

Just a quick bump for to thank the responders in here. Was going to ask the same question.

Complete noob. Should get my new proq frontier up and running over Christmas. Think I'll start with something cheaper, pork/ribs and move on to the brisket

[BraaiMeesterWannabe]

Just a quick bump for to thank the responders in here. Was going to ask the same question.

Complete noob. Should get my new proq frontier up and running over Christmas. Think I'll start with something cheaper, pork/ribs and move on to the brisket

some baby back ribs are the perfect thing to start with. shortish cook but long enough to enjoy learning how to control temps