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Pitmasters have been NOT wet aging briskets for generations and turned out delicious product.  I'm not sold on it. 

But lots of the modern pitmasters seem to believe in it.  To each his own.

But as with all things, decisions don't exist in a vacuum. They must always be balanced against economics.

Let's say you're Aaron Franklin. I don't know if he ages his briskets or not. But if he does, he has to have fridge space for 3+ weeks of unused brisket sitting there. He has to float the cost of all that brisket 3 extra weeks and carry that inventory. He has to look at the advantage of the aging vs the premium he'll get from customers for the quality of his brisket, and whether it's worth it. If it's a miniscule advantage, he might choose not to do it, NOT because it doesn't make the product better, but because it doesn't do so to the extent that is economically justifiable. 

Now let's say you're a competition pitmaster. The number of briskets you're holding as inventory is much smaller, so all the refrigeration costs are much lower. You're looking not for revenue, but for trophies--and bragging rights. A miniscule advantage may be worth it if it's the difference between finishing 2nd and 5th. If you think it gives you an edge, it's worth it.

For me, I don't know if it makes a difference. But the idea that it *might* improve the product, and the knowledge that it doesn't diminish it, makes me start looking for brisket 3-4 weeks in advance of when I'm planning to use one. Not being in Texas (and BTW I got to go to HEB in San Antonio--and I'm jealous) I might not see a brisket that's the right size/shape/marbling 3-4 weeks in advance. But I start looking because I know that if it sits in the fridge over that time, it'll potentially be even better than if I find one 1 week before. And if I don't see one? It's not enough of a difference-maker IMHO to worry about. I look the next week. The idea of wet-aging brisket gives me the flexibility to start looking for meat before I would have ordinarily done so, because prior to hearing about it I thought that brisket was like most other meat--have to use it or freeze it pretty quickly after you take it home. 

Whether you choose to wet age or not depends a lot on who you are, what problem you're solving for, and what constraints you live under.

I don't have a "belief" on whether wet aging is great or not. If everything aligns for me schedule-wise, I'll do it. But it's not a hill I'm going to die on that it's some insane difference-maker.

I hear this a lot from folks who usually have never had a $200 bottle.  I used to do a blind tasting with wines ranging from $5 ti $100 with folks.  Many were surprised at how good the latter wine was.  It really doesn't require some unusual experience or palette to discriminate.

I have had very expensive wine many times. I have a friend who is a vinophile who always breaking open some fine wine just can't tell.

Maybe a blind taste test might prove different.

But as with all things, decisions don't exist in a vacuum. They must always be balanced against economics.

Let's say you're Aaron Franklin. I don't know if he ages his briskets or not. But if he does, he has to have fridge space for 3+ weeks of unused brisket sitting there. He has to float the cost of all that brisket 3 extra weeks and carry that inventory. He has to look at the advantage of the aging vs the premium he'll get from customers for the quality of his brisket, and whether it's worth it. If it's a miniscule advantage, he might choose not to do it, NOT because it doesn't make the product better, but because it doesn't do so to the extent that is economically justifiable.

Now let's say you're a competition pitmaster. The number of briskets you're holding as inventory is much smaller, so all the refrigeration costs are much lower. You're looking not for revenue, but for trophies--and bragging rights. A miniscule advantage may be worth it if it's the difference between finishing 2nd and 5th. If you think it gives you an edge, it's worth it.

For me, I don't know if it makes a difference. But the idea that it *might* improve the product, and the knowledge that it doesn't diminish it, makes me start looking for brisket 3-4 weeks in advance of when I'm planning to use one. Not being in Texas (and BTW I got to go to HEB in San Antonio--and I'm jealous) I might not see a brisket that's the right size/shape/marbling 3-4 weeks in advance. But I start looking because I know that if it sits in the fridge over that time, it'll potentially be even better than if I find one 1 week before. And if I don't see one? It's not enough of a difference-maker IMHO to worry about. I look the next week. The idea of wet-aging brisket gives me the flexibility to start looking for meat before I would have ordinarily done so, because prior to hearing about it I thought that brisket was like most other meat--have to use it or freeze it pretty quickly after you take it home.

Whether you choose to wet age or not depends a lot on who you are, what problem you're solving for, and what constraints you live under.

I don't have a "belief" on whether wet aging is great or not. If everything aligns for me schedule-wise, I'll do it. But it's not a hill I'm going to die on that it's some insane difference-maker.

Oh I understand all this.  I've mentioned that I grew up in the BBQ business right?  My parents owned a BBQ restaurant from the time I was 6 until I was 16, and I worked pretty much every job in the joint.

Aaron Franklin does wet age his product, and it does increase the price.  I was slow-playing all of that a bit, intentionally, because brisket prices have become outrageous at the "premier" places.  He's also using prime brisket, which is completely unnecessary.  I have personally run a blind taste test on my family and friends 2x over, with a prime brisket vs. a select/ungraded brisket, prepared and cooked exactly the same way.

Wanna guess how many folks could tell the difference?  Yeah, you got it.

Anyway, if Aaron is buying and holding meat for 2-3 weeks at a time, that's an unbelievable amount of refrigerator space.  He sells almost 11,000 lbs per week.

And yes, HEB is awesome.  

Any wine lover would be remised to not go here at least one time.

Premium Steaks in Tampa | Largest Wine Collection | Bern's Steak House (bernssteakhouse.com)
Premium Steaks in Tampa | Largest Wine Collection | Bern's Steak House (bernssteakhouse.com)

BSH-Wine-List-July-2023-web.pdf (bernssteakhouse.com)

The whole proce:value thing is always interesting, to me.  Take airline tickets, Delta One to France is something around $6,000.  Economy can be $1,200, Comfort Plus around $1,500.  Then they have "Premium" around $2,200.  We were in "Delta One" once, a flight to Seattle where we got upgraded and the plane was fitted with that as first class.  It's pretty neat, we played with the seats for much of the trip, but $6K?  Nope.

And travel has a lot of those price points, hotels, rental cars, tours ...  my wife doesn't like a hotel room that isn't really clean, so that means we avoid "motel 6" etc.  I'm looking at a hotel in Tokyo for two nights, one is $650 a night, but it's centrally located, and I have enough points for it fortunately.  Probably use taxis to get there from airport.

I don't mind using MARTA to get to the airport, my wife is not a fan, but she will tag along.  A cab is fixed at $35 from here to there.  Our friend usually drives us (and we him).  MARTA is one dollar, and a walk a bit less than a mile.

Restaurants.  Most of us here can fix pretty good dinners, there is no reason to dine out really, except some of us may enjoy the experience at times.  I can get two nice steaks at the butchers for $35, my wife just got a large flat iron at Kroger for $28, enough for four people.  If we go to STK or Bones or wherever, it'll be over $100 for two of us, plus maybe $65 for wine.  We don't do that often at all, I can fix steak reasonably well myself.  

I can't really do BBQ, and it's not so expensive, two of us can dine at Fox Bros. for maybe $50 if we have a beer.

Then of course there is store brand vs branded product, beans, laundry detergent, shampoo, toilet paper.  A good thing is "we" usually have choices and personal preferences and some latitude hopefully in spending.

I've saved a lot of money over the past 40 years by going less expensive on these things

I've "earned" the right to splurge a little more on some of the finer things that I enjoy.
It's just reminding myself to do it and break the habit

I lean to going to seafood restaurants if I'm near the coast.  I'm still looking for one that doesn't just buy frozen fish from Sysco et al. even in Florida.

They used to be dime a dozen.

And great.