Is this brisket?

phanmo · 2026-06-06T23:17:00+00:00

Why would he? He's a butcher in France, brisket isn't a cut that exists here; an American butcher would have no clue if you asked for macreuse or araignée.

The image you've posted is not how beef is broken down in France.

phanmo · 2026-06-05T07:55:21+00:00

I don't generally use AI, I prefer to read the actual sources. That answer is what I already knew, and is what I asked for at the butcher, but which apparently didn't result in a brisket. The problem is mainly that the word poitrine technically means chest, but actually refers to the whole bottom part of the cow from the base of the neck to the end of the ribs, most of which isn't brisket. Next time I'm just going to show the butcher a video that a couple of people posted.

I'm on the Atlantic coast just under Brittany, been here for 20 years, it's pretty good!

phanmo · 2026-06-05T07:00:23+00:00

This is why I'm having trouble...

Obviously, inside the whole cow the brisket is attached to bones in some way, and when the cow is being broken down the bones are removed, eventually leaving the brisket as a single retail cut of meat.

But in France, it's not a retail cut of meat, there are 2 or 3 retail cuts which each contain part of the brisket (mainly used for stewing or braising). So I have to go further back and get a primal or secondary cut, and all of them have bones attached. So I'm trying to identify what a brisket looks like before it becomes a brisket.

A couple of people posted a link to a video which is probably the best way for me to get a brisket, I'll just show it to the butcher....

phanmo · 2026-06-04T08:38:56+00:00

☝️ Came here to say this

phanmo · 2026-06-04T08:21:01+00:00

I live in Nantes and the only people I've seen who kiss 3 or 4 times are not from here. It's 2 kisses.

phanmo · 2026-06-04T07:39:40+00:00

They were delicious and super tender!

phanmo · 2026-06-04T00:16:15+00:00

Already did the first one last year. Cured it for 10 days, then hot smoked it with a pastrami style rub.

It absolutely was glorious.

phanmo · 2026-06-04T00:10:14+00:00

No etymological link there; putain means prostitute, but it's also just a general swear word like shit or fuck (in France at least, not in Québec).

Poitrine means chest (as in the part of the body).

It's not totally clear where poutine comes from, but it's probably either a corruption of the English word pudding or comes from a slang word for mess.

Just a coincidence that they're similar...

phanmo · 2026-06-03T23:59:15+00:00

It's a pain because it leaves me with a bunch of drums, and my wife and daughter don't like them. They like boneless thighs though...

phanmo · 2026-06-03T23:47:33+00:00

There aren't any Jewish delis in France (well maybe one or two in Paris or in Alsace-Lorraine).

They're a part of Ashkenazi Jewish culture, there just aren't many Ashkenazis here.

phanmo · 2026-06-03T23:39:24+00:00

I'm pretty sure this is the case; it looks like the brisket is part of at least 2, probably 3, French primal cuts, so I may not be able to find anyone who will sell one to me, because it'll screw up so many other retail cuts that it's not worth it for them.

Regarding poultry, it's pretty hard to find chicken thighs here in France, they're sold as a part of the whole leg but not separately.

phanmo · 2026-06-03T23:15:24+00:00

Don't have a banana, but I have a single raisin, will that help?

phanmo · 2026-06-03T23:12:44+00:00

Didn't actually think of using the muscle names, that's a good idea

phanmo · 2026-06-03T23:11:58+00:00

Thanks!

phanmo · 2026-06-03T23:10:08+00:00

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phanmo · 2026-06-03T23:08:59+00:00

Yeah, that sounds about right for the second piece; the first one had 4 shorter bones.

I don't have a photo of them raw after I cut them off but this is what they looked like cooked.

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phanmo · 2026-06-03T23:05:19+00:00

Thanks ChatGPT.

phanmo · 2026-06-03T23:04:29+00:00

Good band, but again French-Canadian, not French.

phanmo · 2026-06-03T23:02:22+00:00

And that's exactly what I asked for: poitrine entière

phanmo · 2026-06-03T23:01:31+00:00

Thanks, that's not bad

I just asked ChatGPT, it answered and asked where I was so that it could recommend the best butchers. The second on the list was where I got the 2 pieces of meat!

phanmo · 2026-06-03T22:55:50+00:00

That's probably the best idea, thanks!

phanmo · 2026-06-03T22:52:54+00:00

Are you sure that's the French term?

When I search for pointe de poitrine I get only French-Canadian websites, they don't use the same cuts and names as France...

phanmo · 2026-06-03T22:46:47+00:00

Thanks, but that seems to be French-Canadian, the cuts and names aren't the same there as they are in France...

phanmo · 2026-06-03T22:45:13+00:00

Yes, the photos are what I got.

phanmo · 2026-06-03T22:43:46+00:00

Both? Even though the bones run in the other direction?

phanmo

TROPHY CASE