Small Batch
Craft Meats
Small Batch
Craft Meats
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If you’re interested in reading what everyone has to say regarding ONE90’s solution-oriented approach to craft barbecue, you’ll find all of our media mentions and features here. So far, criticism of our smokehouse art has been hard to find.
The meat industry has faced some crazy price increases, and your famous Dallas brisket is feeling the squeeze. It doesn’t just start and end with corporate greed or COVID-19, but it’s an accumulation of conditions that hit at the same time. Packing plant shut-downs, labor cost changes, materials like feed and fertilizers have increased and meat shortages have blasted the industry. Our owner Kyle St. Clair was even featured on NBC DFW to discuss how North Texas Barbeque Restaurants Dealing with Rising Meat Prices.
Ranchers’ costs have risen, packing plants are behind and feed and fertilizer is impacting their profit margins, raising their costs by almost 15% - but it doesn’t stop there. Once the rancher gets the meat off to the packing plant, even more factors come into play. Here’s a great breakdown from the ranchers' cost perspective.
The White House claims the four major meat packing corporations tripled their net profit margins over the pandemic, but remember a profit margin is a percentage of revenue. Social distancing guidelines (though critical in the industry) and plant shutdowns mean meat packers can process less per hour than ever before. Butchers are backed up weeks or months, and ranchers can’t get their animals processed. All this comes together to hit the market with major shortages, while demand hasn’t changed.
Brisket, pre-pandemic, averaged $2/lb at direct wholesale pricing. Then everything hit, and we saw some real changes. Brisket prices more than tripled. Packing plants have mostly figured out the pandemic, mitigated the risks and reduced the chances of shut-downs or delays.
But here’s the kicker… when cooking brisket, 60% of the total weight coming from the butcher gets cooked off. For every pound smoked, we started with more than double.
The best cuts will always cost a bit more, and One90 is willing to pay for premium high-quality brisket. In general, brisket is sitting somewhere between $4 and $5/lb for now, but there have been some efforts to reduce corporate consolidation, the impact of Covid-19 and the supply shortages that have racked the industry. We have worked hard to keep costs down while providing premium cuts of beef. By finding and negotiating with new suppliers, we’ve actually managed to reduce the cost of our Dallas brisket to offset the costs that we’re seeing everywhere!
Here’s what we know - we aren’t going to cut down the quality. Every time you order from ONE90 Smoked Meats, it’s going to be that same Dallas brisket that’ll make the meal.
