I have noticed that Woollies and our local Supa IGA are now stocking fresh beef brisket at $15.40 and $15.00 per kg respectively in comparison to $8.00 per kg for uncooked corned beef.
Charging almost double the price per kg for fresh beef brisket in comparison to corned beef is ridiculous, especially considering that it has no processing costs unlike corned beef.
One can even buy Coles leg ham portions for $11.00 per kg which have cost much more to process than a piece of raw beef.
Undoubtedly it has happened due to Aussies following the US in slow cooking it on the BBQ.
Just like lamb shanks, pork belly, chicken thigh fillets, ox tail and many other formerly cheap cuts of meat that gained in popularity, it is obviously a conscious decision to milk consumers for the absolute maximun amount of money they can possibly extract.
If demand is higher and supplies are about the same, this places upwards pressure on the price.
In Tassie, fresh beef brisket is ~$14/kg at supermarkets and butchers. Collusion/price fixing?
In Brisbane at the Inala butcher, we were paying around $9/kg.
Beef brisket is a great fit for slow cooking as it doesn’t tend to dry out like other cuts.
Corned beef while can be made from beef brisket as well as other cuts is possibly far more popular and the higher supply suppresses prices. The high salt content of corned beef also gives it a longer shelf life and potentially less waste than traditional fresh meat packaging (with exception possibly of vacuum sealing).
Give me fresh beef brisket any day over corned beef.
It is not just one way traffic regarding us adopting US food ideas Fred @Fred123 . McCafe was started in Australia and picked up by the US McDonald’s stores.
Also there are a number of Australian themed restaurants and bars in the US serving meat pies and snags to the Yanks . I wonder what they would make of a South Aussie Pie Floater . An enterprising Aussie could make a killing there . Regarding our sausages they would not be able to be sold in the US as is . They must confirm to US regulations re meat content and fillings .
Exactly. If the demand for fresh beef brisket is higher, then meat could be simply sold fresh instead of corning.
It would still be more profitable if sold at the same price as there are no processing costs.
I was in business for myself for almost my entire working life and never found it necessary to sell a less expensive costing product for much higher than a more expensive costing product.
Does the corned beef packet say it is brisket? If not how do you know it is the same cut and not a cheaper one? I don’t see how we can determine what the costs are for these products so the question of profit margin is hard to resolve.
If it is a matter of demand for some cuts rising as @phb suggests why is it improper to raise prices? It may be that if the price to the customer had not gone up the retailer would not be able to buy the product in the market and the alternative would be to have none for sale. Once again we don’t know what is going on behind the scenes. Lacking that kind of information I see no reason to jump to conclusions about the reason for the apparent price anomaly.
Brisket comes from the breast (ribs) of the body (cut runs up to the neck) and is a very tough meat, Silverside is from the inside rear leg. The eye of the Silverside is a very tender piece of meat and in the US and now here Pastrami is made from that eye. if the eye is removed the remaining piece of the Silverside is generally used for mincing etc and not corned. Silverside because of it’s origins off the beast is much less fatty and less “tough” than Brisket. Both generally require longer and slower cooking than many other cuts of beef. Both may be corned or not corned but if sold corned both may often be referred to as silverside.
