There is no barbeque without brisket. Unfortunately, novice barbecuer or folks who do not eat beef or pork might not know if brisket comes from a cow or pig.
In addition to this, new cuts of meat seem to be often surfacing, so it is difficult to keep up with which cut belongs to which animal.
Nevertheless, there’s no judgment if you do not know where brisket comes from. Luckily, we will be exploring in-depth where brisket comes from.
Contents
Is Brisket Beef or Pork?
Typically, brisket refers to beef. Brisket is sourced from the breast portion of a steer. There are 2 briskets on each animal.
What Is a Steer?
When male calves are born, they are deemed bull calves. When the calves are between 3-6 months old, they are neutered. If the calf is not neutered, they are called bulls.
Steers are neutered to tame them and prevent them from reproducing.
In addition to this, the decreased testosterone also enhances the marbling and tenderness of the beef.
Meat from cows is not the best for beef brisket. Most people use the term cow to refer to cows, steers, and heifers.
Nonetheless, the term cow refers to a female animal that has given birth.
Can Brisket Come From a Pig?
A new kind of brisket has emerged on the BBQ scene within the past few years called pork brisket.
Butchers are very unique; they have a special way of inventing and marketing new cuts of meat: hence the name pork brisket.
Although new things usually catch steam after some time, pork brisket has not become popular.
It is unlikely that you will find pork brisket in the grocery store or restaurant.
However, you can find pork brisket in specialty butcher online vendors.
What Is Pork Brisket?
Pork brisket is similar to beef brisket, except it is pork. Pork brisket consists of two pieces, including a lean and fatty end.
However, the lean end of pork brisket is fabricated from the belly. Therefore, it is very fatty.
The point end of pork brisket comes from the picnic or the shoulder cut. The picnic is not as desirable as the Boston Butt.
Pork brisket is very different from brisket. The flat portion of the brisket has a minuscule amount of fat, while the point contains a healthy portion of marbling.
Pork brisket can weigh between 1-4 pounds. However, the average brisket can range from 8-20 pounds.
Pork brisket cannot be used interchangeably with beef brisket. Not only are there drastic weight differences, but there are also flavor and fat differences.
Final Thoughts
The concept of whether brisket is beef or pork is similar to ribs. Most people always assume that pork ribs are the only type of ribs, but there are pork ribs, lamb ribs, and beef ribs.
In the same way, people assume that brisket comes from beef.
However, brisket can also come from pork. The issue is that we’ve been fabricating brisket from beef for so long that we only associate brisket with beef; if it does not come from a steer, it is not brisket.
I have been smoking and grilling meat from an early age and enjoy sharing my knowledge and expertise through the hundreds of articles I have written about BBQ. I hope to make everyone’s BBQ journey that little bit easier.