Whole Foods BBQ Brisket vs Smoque

Stopped by the Whole Foods up by Peterson on the way back from an H-Mart run. Figured I'd see what updates they did with the new store versus the older one on North Ave. that I usually shop at.

I was impressed that they integrated a lot of the good design elements of their Austin, TX flagship, as well as their Harry's Markets in Atlanta. Dry-Aged Meat case; large prepared food area.

Most notable was their bar/food counter, the Sauganash Grill.
And most notable at the counter there was their barbecue beef brisket.

I bought a pound to go, just to see if the WF people could do a good job with a Texas dish.

I got lucky in that they just brought out about 5 new briskets from their holding area (or smoker) in the back. I asked the counter guy not to trim the brisket before cutting it because he had trimmed a previous brisket of most of its good fat on the edge.

Here's what it looked like when we got home.


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Overall, it had a very good taste that was about 95% as good as a good Austin, TX brisket. A little too much celery salt on the outside, but other than that, it had good texture, wasn't dry, and had the right amount of smokiness.

Didn't need any sauce with it, so I can't comment on any sauce they may have offered.

I'd have to say it I'll have to do a head-to-head test with some brisket from Smoque. It might actually be better.

I was astonished to find WF's brisket to be much better than just about every barbecue joint in Austin proper. It's not infused with the same level of smoke and flavour of the Lockhart/Luling joints, but it's beefiness really shines. The extent of trimming they do to those briskets is a little disturbing though (you gotta keep on eye on 'em - don't go wandering).

Of course, I'm an idiot to have even tried it with Lockhart/Luling only a 30min drive from my house.

True, it's better to go to Luling for the real deal, but you can't argue with being able to get it at WF 365 days a year til 9pm.

And for those of us now living MUCH farther up I-35, it's our little taste of home.

tatterdemalion wrote:I was astonished to find WF's brisket to be much better than just about every barbecue joint in Austin proper.

LTH,

Bought a pound of smoked brisket, couple of rolls and a bag of Kettle Salt & Vinegar chips at the Peterson Whole Foods.



A good example of Texas style brisket from a Southern Pride smoker, similar in many ways to Smoque.

Far as the Whole Foods on Peterson's brisket being "better than just about every barbecue joint in Austin proper" I find that somewhat implausible, but I have not eaten in all that many Austin BBQ joints.

I have, however, had the pleasure of the following Texas BBQ joints, some multiple times over the course of years, and, with the exception of Goode of which I am ambivalent about, Whole Foods smoked brisket is not in the same league.

Cooper's (Llano)
Louie Mueller's (Taylor)
Black's (Lockhart)
Kreuz (Lockhart)
Southside Market (Elgin)
Meyer's (Elgin)
Salt Lick (Driftwood)
Otto's (Houston)
William's Smokehouse (Houston)
Thelma's (Houston)
Goode and Company (Houston)

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv,

I always found Otto's to be a bit dry.
Goode's (the original on Kirby in Houston) I liked when I requested the extra fatty portion of the brisket.

The other "temples" of 'cue you mention should be better. What I think we're saying is that compared to the average barbecue place in Austin and Houston (Luthers, Miller's, poke-e-jo's, don's, green mesquite, and countless others), the WF brisket holds its own.

The Wall St Journal had a good article in their wine tastings section about how the atmosphere of the winery will always make a wine taste better when you're at the winery vs at home. I believe there's some of that with barbecue as well. Between the atmosphere of the classic bbq joints down in TX, as well as the good side dishes, it's tough to get something up here that will taste as completely satisfying (taste with the eyes, ears, nose as well as mouth).

G Wiv wrote:Far as the Whole Foods on Peterson's brisket being "better than just about every barbecue joint in Austin proper" I find that somewhat implausible, but I have not eaten in all that many Austin BBQ joints.

I have, however, had the pleasure of the following Texas BBQ joints, some multiple times over the course of years, and, with the exception of Goode of which I am ambivalent about, Whole Foods smoked brisket is not in the same league.

Gary,

I meant to say that the brisket at Whole Foods Austin (not Peterson) is better than most of the barbecue joints in Austin proper. Places like Green Mesquite, Rudy's, Artz, Ruby's, Bill Miller, etc etc, and even Ironworks on occasion (nice beef ribs though). I do think Sam's has a better brisket (but their mutton is the real reason to go there).

I haven't been to the Houston places you mention, or the Elgin places yet, but I completely agree that WF is not even in the same league as the other places in Lockhart, Luling, Llano. The thing is, none of the places in Austin proper are even in the same league, but in that little league, WF's is at least batting better than the others.

Nab

Edit Note: I have not tried every barbecue joint in Austin, so it's possible (maybe even probable) that there is some better brisket to be had.

Made a visit to WF today to try the brisket. I was pleasantly surprised. All in all as the professor points out, very similar to Smoque, maybe a little better. Certainly cheaper (which is quite a strange thing to say about anything at WF) and no lines. I also got a nice slab of spares for $12. Not what I expected from this chain. Go figure.

Having been experimenting with a Cookshack as of late and in the process of buying a Southern Pride for our deli, I believe strongly electric/gas smokers can put out very good 'cue. I'm still getting a feel for brisket, but have had good results:

http://portlandfood.org/index.php?s=&sh ... st&p=53229



The most important thing I've decided is the freshness of the BBQ. Second is the skill (and care) of the pitmaster. There's a much broader range of good FRESH brisket, ribs, and pulled pork than re-heated. You can't even fairly compare two places if you're not comparing fresh v fresh.

In general, though, I think if it can be sliced as thinly as it is there, it's not cooked enough, despite what gets handed in at KCBS events and what gets served as brisket in KC.

extramsg:

I started out using a Cookshack, which I later upgraded to a Southern Pride. I finally graduated to a Klose log burner about 10 years ago. I agree with all of the factors you cite, but have come to believe that the best smoked meats, by far, come from a live fire (small and hot - no smoldering) carefully managed. For a commercial establishment, this is easier said than done.

The best commercial brisket I have ever had (Danny's in Carlsbad, NM) is made in a J&R Oyler Pit. Something you may want to look at if it's not too late.

Bill/SFNM

I've looked at the J&Rs and tasted stuff from them. Several places around here use them commercially. Our supplier carries Southern Pride so that makes it easier and I've talked to several people who've been very satisfied with the workhorse nature of them.

I think the big advantage for a stick burner is that you can start stuff off really hot (as in, 400 degrees) like the do in Central Texas and then move them to somehwere cooler to finish, producing a better bark. Also, places in Central Texas that do things like Smitty's below, do have fresh smoke constantly moving past. But then again, there's a lot of wood wasted. We have a place here, Podnah's, that uses all wood only in a constant full burn, not smoldering, like they do in Texas. It's the best in town for brisket and pulled pork, but a large percentage of that is that at dinner it's always fresh. There are some places using other methods here in town that almost always have it re-heated, but because of some recent research, I've been able to have it fresh, and it's not nearly as far off in quality. (I wish some of these "pitmasters" would learn to feel the meat rather than just going by time or temperature.)

We picked up some brisket at WF on sunday around 3pm. It was a bit on the dry side, but had really good flavor and a nice exterior. I wouldn't say it's as good as Smoque, at least not based on this sample. I was impressed by this new WF and their smoked meats/sausage area. Will definitely be back to try the brisket again.

I was at the store again on Saturday around 2, and it looked like they were just down to the last quarter of their brisket. That part definitely looked drier.

Like others have said, with any brisket , it really makes a huge difference if it is fresh or has been sitting out a while. I guess that's one reason why the big barbecue places taste good, is their high turnover of their meat.

tex888 wrote:I was at the store again on Saturday around 2, and it looked like they were just down to the last quarter of their brisket. That part definitely looked drier.

Like others have said, with any brisket , it really makes a huge difference if it is fresh or has been sitting out a while. I guess that's one reason why the big barbecue places taste good, is their high turnover of their meat.

True - however as has already been noted they have a tendency (at least at the Cicero store) to trim these things so bare of fat as to make even Jack Spratt cringe. If you aren't able to help direct the initial trimming (by being there when a new one is brought out or requesting same) and tell the attendant that you would prefer some fat remain then even relatively "fresh" brisket will be a bit dry-ish. That problem is of course exacerbated the longer that aggressively trimmed brisket sits. While I was chatting with the guy about my preference he indicated I was probably one of the 1% that felt that way (a somewhat different 1% club than Sonny Barger's, though I'll bet that we both like our brisket not so lean).

Make sure to let your preference be known, even if it's too late to have any effect on the meat already out. Perhaps eventually enough demand might be registered that they'll figure a way to offer both "normal" and "ultra-friggin'-lean" brisket, the latter no doubt served with sprouts.

Been using WF on Peterson for brisket. Pretty good and convenient. Stopped 2 weeks ago. Swore I'd never go back.
The mope cutting the brisket needs to find another place to stay out of the cold.
Tried Mariano's, Ravenswood & Lawrence. 4-5 of their new stores have a Texas Smoke section. Juicy, tasty and cut as you want. The FLAT with minimal fat. The fat is trimmed on request so you get a LB of brisket for your $$$ 13.00.
Give it a try.

Wally Wade