Where does the brisket come from on a cow?

Not everybody realizes this, but the brisket is the cow’s breast or chest muscle.

This is the muscle that they use to push themselves off the ground and they weigh like 2,000 pounds so this muscle is tough.  It is a very hard, strong muscle as far as meat goes.  And, the more this muscle gets used…the harder it is to cook..the harder it is to break down. But so it's important that we allow this this muscle tissue to really, really break down and not be so tough.

Oddly, some people will ask if there is a difference between a left brisket and a right brisket. Perhaps there is some story floating around the Internet about how cows use their left arm to get up…so the right breast is more tender.  

I can tell you right now…no one has ever walked into Crossbuck BBQ trying to sell a case of just right or left briskets.  If there were truly a difference, I am sure brisket suppliers would be trying to get a higher price for one side or the other.

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