HOUSTON — With the Houston Rodeo cook-off coming up, you may be craving some juicy, tender brisket, but be prepared to pay more for it at local restaurants and grocery stores.
Pitmaster Russell Roegels teaches at Texas A&M's Camp Brisket and he's run Roegels Barbecue for decades. He said brisket prices have been creeping up in recent years.
“Well, the market has been driven up just by people wanting brisket for one and the drought that we've had over the past year," Roegels explains. "Brisket has gone up just on the retail side about $1.20 a pound, which is about 30%.”
Choice brisket at the supermarket is about $4.20 compared to $3 a year ago. Today, Trimmed prime Brisket is about $6.75 a pound.
The price increase is leaving some customers with a bad taste in their mouth.
“Some people say they are priced out of the market. Some people can't afford the brisket anymore, but we try to give them other options," Roegels said. "The way we do that on our menu is we put our cheaper options up top, and people read down. So hopefully they'll find something that they want within their price range, before they hit the high-dollar item."
That would be his slow-cooked brisket at $32 a pound.
Even with the higher prices, brisket will continue to be a staple on menus in the Lone Star State.
“This is Texas and people are still going to eat brisket no matter what it costs," Roegels said.