When I lived in the valley, I would get my briskets at Smart and Final. Their inventory moved fast because lots of local restaurants shopped there. They got their briskets from Harris Ranch which is darn good red meat. I would always have the guy bring out a case and I would grab one I liked.
I would then toss it in the back of the fridge for 3 weeks to wet age my Select graded treasure. I would never have any problems until this morning........
My alarm goes off at midnight and I stumble downstairs and take the brisket out of the fridge and cut open the cryovac packaging.........
The smell would have knocked a buzzard off of crap wagon.
Why did this happen, I only had this brisket for a week and a half?
I know why. The sell by date on the package means diddly-squat. The kill/package date is the date that matters. You can go 30-45 days safely as long as the cryovac
packaging is air tight.
Mine was. I figure the brisket I got at Wal-mart might have been setting out a while to be purchased while I got them closer to the kill/package date at Smart and Final. I did not think about that when I made my purchase.
I kept the brisket in our bar fridge that is never opened so I know I was at a constant 32-34 degrees. I simply bought a older brisket at a store where briskets do not normally sell that fast.
I might have wasted 50 bucks, but I felt this little stumble I had should be shared with all of you...............