One Idaho ranch, one Nashville butcher shop. No marketplace, no middleman — here is what we order and what it costs.
Good barbecue starts at the counter, not the pit. These are the two businesses we buy from: a family ranch in Idaho that raises American Wagyu, and a Nashville butcher shop that buys whole animals from farms it will name and dry-ages the beef itself. Both ship frozen to the door, both sell their own meat, and neither of them is a marketplace.
| # | Pick | The cook | Size & grade | Price | Buy direct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wagyu XL BrisketSnake River Farms | The showpiece packer | 20-22 lb, SRF Black® American Wagyu | $229.00 | Snake River Farms → |
| 2 | Half BrisketPorter Road | Brisket for four, on a weekend | About 6.5 lb, dry-aged | $125.00 | Porter Road → |
| 3 | Kurobuta Pork ShoulderSnake River Farms | Pulled pork for a party | About 17 lb bone-in, Kurobuta (Berkshire) | $129.00 | Snake River Farms → |
| 4 | Dino RibsPorter Road | Beef ribs, the Texas showstopper | About 6 lb plate ribs, dry-aged | $127.00 | Porter Road → |
| 5 | Wagyu Plate Short RibsSnake River Farms | Beef ribs with the marbling turned up | 3 bones, about 6 lb, SRF Black® | $159.00 | Snake River Farms → |
| 6 | Quarter Pork ButtPorter Road | Weeknight pulled pork | About 2.25 lb, pasture-raised | $23.00 | Porter Road → |
Prices checked 5 August 2026 against each merchant's own store, in US dollars, before shipping and tax. They move — the merchant's page is the final word.
The brisket the competition teams cook. The marbling buys you a margin for error no Choice packer gives you — it survives a stall you handled badly. Trim it yourself and the point makes burnt ends for a second meal.
The most useful cut on this desk. Half the packer means an 8-hour cook instead of 14 and a fridge you can still close — the way to learn brisket without gambling a full one every attempt.
Cut on the Japanese break, so you get butt, picnic, shank and collar in one piece — far more meat than a US-break butt. Kurobuta fat renders sweeter than commodity pork and it forgives a long, hot finish.
Three bones of brisket-grade beef with a handle on it. Salt, pepper, 250°F, pull at probe-tender around 203°F — the least technical way to serve something people photograph.
The same cut as the dino ribs with American Wagyu marbling behind it. Richer than most people expect — one bone per person is a full plate, so buy for the table, not the appetite.
Twenty-three dollars and four or five hours to a tray of pulled pork. The cut we point beginners at: cheap enough that a ruined cook costs nothing, and it teaches you the stall on a schedule you can stay awake for.
The competition circuit's brisket. Snake River Farms raises American Wagyu in Idaho and sells it straight off its own dock — the marbling grade you get on the box (SRF Black, SRF Gold) is the same one the Grand Champion teams are cooking.
Buy direct at Snake River Farms →A real butcher shop that ships. Porter Road buys whole animals from farms it names, dry-ages its beef, and breaks everything in its own Kentucky facility — so you can buy a half brisket or a quarter pork butt instead of being forced into twenty pounds.
Buy direct at Porter Road →Direct desk. Every button here goes straight to the business that makes or butchers the thing — never Amazon, never a marketplace reseller. If you buy through one of these links the site earns a commission from that business at no extra cost to you. It buys us nothing on this page: the ranking is what we cook with.
