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TLDR: This blog post explores the differences between prime and choice grade briskets through a blind taste test, revealing that prime briskets offer superior tenderness and flavor, justifying their higher price.

When it comes to beef, the distinction between prime and choice grade is well-known, but is it worth the extra cost? In this post, we will explore the differences between prime and choice briskets through a detailed cooking and blind taste test.

Understanding Beef Grades

Beef grades can be confusing, especially when it comes to briskets. The primary grades you will encounter in grocery stores are:

• Prime: The highest quality, known for its abundant marbling and tenderness.
• Choice: Slightly lower quality than prime, but still offers good flavor and tenderness.
• Select: Leaner than choice, with less marbling.

In addition to these, there are lesser-known grades like cutter and canner, which are not typically found in retail settings. The grading of beef is determined by several factors, including the amount and quality of fat, as well as the marbling within the muscle.

Preparing the Briskets

For our experiment, we will be working with one prime brisket and one choice brisket. The first step is to trim both briskets equally. While I am not a barbecue expert, I enjoy cooking in my backyard and have learned a few tricks along the way. All the trimmings will be saved for making delicious burgers later.

Trimming the Briskets

1. Trim the Prime Brisket: Start by removing excess fat while ensuring not to waste any meat. The trimmed fat will be saved for future use.
2. Trim the Choice Brisket: Repeat the same process for the choice brisket, ensuring both cuts are prepared in a similar manner.

At this stage, the two briskets look quite similar, but we will see how they differ once cooked.

Seasoning the Briskets

Next, we will season both briskets using the Holy Cow rub from Meat Church, applying a generous amount to each. No binder is used; instead, we let the natural juices of the meat help the seasoning adhere. After seasoning, both briskets will be placed in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to allow the salt to draw out moisture and enhance flavor.

Smoking the Briskets

We will be using a Traeger Woodridge Pro pellet grill with hickory pellets for smoking. Here’s the plan:

1. Set the Temperature: Preheat the smoker to 200°F.
2. Smoking Duration: Place the briskets on the top shelf for 12 hours, starting at 7 PM and checking them at 7 AM.
3. Wrapping: When the internal temperature reaches between 150°F and 160°F, wrap the briskets in butcher paper with a bit of beef tallow for added moisture.
4. Final Cooking: Continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 203°F.
5. Resting: Once done, let the briskets rest in a cooler for at least one hour before slicing.

The Taste Test

After resting, it’s time to slice and taste the briskets. The aroma is incredible as we pull them out of the cooler. We will slice the choice brisket first, followed by the prime brisket. Each brisket consists of two portions: the flat cut (leaner) and the point cut (juicier).

Blind Taste Test

To ensure an unbiased evaluation, I will conduct a blind taste test. My child will mix the plates so I won’t know which is which. Here’s how it goes:

• First Sample: The first brisket is tender and flavorful. I enjoy this one.
• Second Sample: The second brisket has a drier and tougher texture.

After tasting both, I conclude that the first brisket is the prime, and indeed, I prefer it over the choice brisket. The prime brisket's tenderness and flavor justify the additional cost.

Conclusion

In this taste test, the prime brisket proved to be superior in both tenderness and flavor, making it worth the extra money. If you’re considering which brisket to buy for your next barbecue, I recommend opting for prime. The difference is noticeable and enhances the overall dining experience. Thank you for joining me on this culinary adventure, and I hope you find this information helpful for your next brisket cook-off!

This video transcript presents Nate’s compelling personal journey with the carnivore diet, highlighting his transformation from a lifetime struggle with obesity, inflammation, and chronic pain to significant weight loss, improved health markers, and a renewed sense of vitality. Nate details his history of unhealthy eating habits from adolescence through adulthood, including substantial weight gain driven by fast food, carbs, and sugar. After years of yo-yo dieting—primarily low carb attempts—he discovered the carnivore diet through friends and online influencers around late 2023. Since starting the carnivore diet in December 2023, Nate has lost 57 pounds in roughly six months, reduced inflammation and pain, eliminated cravings for sugary foods, and improved key health metrics such as blood pressure, A1C, liver function, and kidney function without medication. He emphasizes the psychological shift the diet brought by breaking his addictive connection to carbs and sugars, allowing him to eat normal-sized meals and stay full longer. Nate also touches on practical realities like grocery budgets, meal variety, and family dynamics, including trying to influence his wife’s eating habits and raising active kids. His story underscores the diet’s impact on his physical abilities and quality of life, inspiring those interested to try the carnivore lifestyle with a gradual approach to minimize adjustment symptoms. He maintains an active YouTube channel sharing his ongoing progress and support for others on similar journeys.

Highlights

• 🥩 Nate lost 57 pounds in 175 days on the carnivore diet, after years of ineffective low-carb attempts.
• 💪 Chronic pain, inflammation, and sugar cravings disappeared, drastically improving daily quality of life.
• 🩺 Blood work shows improved markers: normalized blood pressure, liver and kidney functions, and excellent A1C.
• 🧠 The diet reprogrammed Nate’s relationship with food, eliminating emotional and addictive carb consumption.
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Family is a strong motivator—Nate wants to stay healthy and active for his four children.
• 🛒 Grocery bills stayed manageable despite eating mostly meat, as sides and snacks were eliminated.
• 🎥 Nate documents his journey on YouTube and Instagram, encouraging others to try carnivore with proper preparation. Key Insights
• 🍖 Carnivore diet effectiveness for rapid, sustainable weight loss: Nate’s experience suggests the diet’s all-meat approach leads to spontaneous calorie control—without hunger or cravings—facilitating steady weight loss where low-carb diets previously failed due to cheat days and carb dependence. This highlights carnivore as a tool for breaking habitual carb addiction.
• 🔥 Inflammation and chronic pain can be reversed with diet change: Nate’s report of waking up pain-free after years of inflammation showcases how eliminating processed carbs and sugars can reduce systemic inflammation, a common underlying factor in obesity-related pain and joint issues. This emphasizes diet’s role as a natural anti-inflammatory strategy.
• 🩸 Improved clinical health markers challenge conventional cholesterol narratives: Despite elevated LDL cholesterol, Nate’s favorable HDL-to-triglyceride ratio and other normal markers illustrate the nuanced understanding needed in interpreting cholesterol on carnivore diets, challenging mainstream fears around high LDL without context.
• 🧩 Psychological benefits and the mental shift in food relationships are crucial: Success wasn’t just physical; it involved changing how Nate perceived food—no longer driven by cravings or “just one cheat” leading to a relapse. This psychological reset is key for long-term dietary adherence and improved well-being.
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Family and life stage are powerful motivators for health transformation: Nate’s desire to be healthy for his kids, especially a young daughter, provided meaningful motivation to sustain lifestyle changes. This underscores the importance of personal values in adherence to rigorous diets.
• 🛒 Practicality of carnivore diets for families: Contrary to assumptions that meat-heavy diets are costly, Nate found grocery budgets comparable since he eliminated processed foods, snacks, and sides. This real-world insight is valuable for those hesitant about cost.
• 📈 Community and social support aid success: Nate’s engagement with online influencers and sharing his progress on social media show how community connection provides accountability and encouragement, which are crucial in pioneering dietary changes.

This transcript offers a comprehensive perspective on the carnivore diet as a transformative lifestyle change delivered through a relatable story of struggle, perseverance, and success. Nate’s detailed health improvements and lifestyle adaptations provide valuable practical and motivational information for anyone considering similar diet changes for weight loss, health, and well-being.

The Low Carb MD podcast episode features Valerie, a guest who shares her remarkable transformation after adopting the carnivore diet, which significantly improved her mental and physical health. Valerie’s journey began with lifelong struggles with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, anorexia, OCD, and self-harm, alongside chronic physical ailments like gut issues and osteoporosis. Conventional treatments and medications provided no relief and often worsened her condition. At age 45, Valerie discovered research about the link between nutrition and mental health and decided to try a ketogenic, then carnivore diet, emphasizing the intake of animal-based amino acids essential for brain function. Over months, she experienced a profound reduction in psychotic symptoms, including the disappearance of auditory hallucinations and cessation of self-harm behaviors.

The hosts, Brian and Tro, along with Valerie, highlight the shortcomings of conventional psychiatric care that often neglects nutrition’s crucial role, sometimes exacerbating conditions through processed foods and standard medications. The episode references the work of Chris Palmer and underscores the growing evidence supporting ketogenic and carnivore diets in alleviating severe psychiatric symptoms. Another guest recounts a similar health recovery after shifting from a restrictive vegan diet, plagued by oxalate toxicity and mental health decline, to a nutrient-dense, animal-based diet.

The conversation also addresses the skepticism and resistance from traditional medical professionals toward nutritional interventions, urging greater curiosity and openness in the medical community. Emphasis is placed on personal empowerment, holistic healing—including sleep, sunlight, exercise, and faith—and the necessity of individualized dietary experimentation. Ultimately, the episode delivers a powerful message of hope and empowerment, advocating for the transformative potential of targeted nutritional strategies in mental health recovery.

Highlights

• 🥩 Valerie’s carnivore diet reversed decades of severe mental illness and physical health problems.
• 💊 Traditional psychiatric treatments often failed Valerie, worsening her condition over 30+ years.
• 🧠 Nutrient-dense animal proteins support brain health and neurotransmitter function.
• 🔄 The ketogenic and carnivore diets may alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression.
• 🚫 Medical professionals often remain skeptical of nutrition-based mental health therapies.
• 🌞 Healing is holistic, involving diet, sleep, sunlight, exercise, and faith.
• 🔍 Personal experimentation is crucial to finding effective dietary interventions for mental wellness. Key Insights
• 🧬 Diet-Brain Connection is Critical: Valerie’s recovery highlights how specific nutrients, especially amino acids from animal products, directly influence neurotransmitter production and brain function. This underscores the need to integrate nutritional psychiatry into mainstream mental health care.
• 🔄 Limitations of Conventional Treatments: Despite decades of medication and therapy, Valerie’s mental health deteriorated, illustrating the limitations and potential harms of standard pharmaceuticals without addressing underlying nutritional deficiencies.
• 🥩 Ketogenic and Carnivore Diets as Therapeutic Tools: These diets, emphasizing minimal carbohydrates and high-quality animal fats and proteins, show promise in stabilizing mental health by reducing inflammation, regulating neurotransmitters, and improving gut health—all factors linked to psychiatric symptoms.
• 🤝 Holistic Approach Facilitates Sustainable Healing: Healing isn’t just about food; adequate sleep, regular exercise, sunlight exposure, and spiritual wellness create synergistic benefits, fostering overall resilience and recovery.
• 🧪 Importance of Individualized Nutrition: The story stresses that no one-size-fits-all solution exists, urging patients and clinicians to experiment carefully and personalize dietary choices to optimize mental and physical well-being.
• 🚫 Skepticism Limits Progress: The dismissive attitude of many medical professionals toward dietary approaches reflects a gap in medical education and a cultural reluctance that slows adoption of effective alternative therapies.
• 🌟 Empowerment Through Knowledge and Agency: Valerie’s journey exemplifies how gaining knowledge about diet’s role in health can empower patients to take control of their healing, offering hope where traditional medicine might have failed.

This episode underscores the transformative potential of nutrition in mental health recovery, advocating for increased awareness, openness, and patient-driven exploration of dietary strategies to complement or enhance conventional treatment approaches.

The passage provides a comprehensive overview of female fertility, reproductive health, and infertility treatments, intertwining biological fundamentals with clinical practices and emerging innovations. It begins by explaining the finite egg reserve women have—from about two million at birth to around 400,000 by puberty—and the hormonal mechanisms governing ovulation. The significance of preconception health, including conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and male fertility contributions, is emphasized to underline infertility as a couple’s issue. Detailed biological processes, such as fertilization and early embryo development, are explained, along with causes of miscarriages, notably genetic abnormalities.

Further, the text explores clinical diagnostics for infertility, including semen analysis for men and hysterosalpingography (HSG) for women, while recognizing increasing infertility trends linked to delayed childbearing, infections, and sperm quality decline. It discusses complications like ectopic pregnancies and elaborates on PCOS—its symptoms, hormonal irregularities, and treatments aimed at ovulation induction—highlighting lifestyle changes and medication like letrozole.

The passage then delves into assisted reproductive technologies (ART), contrasting less invasive intrauterine insemination (IUI) with in vitro fertilization (IVF). It discusses patient selection, procedural stages of IVF including egg retrieval, fertilization methods (conventional and ICSI), embryo culture, genetic testing, and embryo transfer. Success rates and costs are contextualized along with ethical considerations for genetic screening and donor egg use, urging early disclosure to offspring about biological origins.

Finally, the narrative addresses access disparities, lifestyle interventions for fertility enhancement, and advances in reproductive medicine—such as mitochondrial replacement and gamete creation from skin cells—illustrating an evolving, multifaceted domain requiring personalized, informed care.

Highlights

• 🥚 Women are born with a finite egg reserve that declines significantly by puberty, influencing fertility over time.
• 🧬 Genetic abnormalities are a leading cause of miscarriage, often unrelated to lifestyle factors.
• 🔄 PCOS affects 6-8% of women aged 15-30, causing irregular ovulation and is treatable with lifestyle changes and medication.
• 💉 IUI and IVF are primary infertility treatments, with success rates varying by age and cause of infertility.
• 🛠️ IVF involves hormone stimulation, egg retrieval, fertilization (conventional or ICSI), embryo culture, genetic testing, and transfer.
• 💰 IVF is costly, averaging $20,000 per cycle, with limited insurance coverage in many regions.
• 🚀 Emerging fertility advancements include genetic screening, egg freezing, and experimental therapies like rapamycin and mitochondrial replacement. Key Insights
• 🧪 Finite Egg Reserve and Reproductive Window: Women’s reproductive potential is biologically constrained by their limited egg supply, which diminishes progressively from birth to menopause. Understanding this decline underscores the importance of timing in family planning and fertility evaluations, especially for women delaying childbirth.
• ⚖️ Balanced Infertility Evaluation: Infertility is not solely a female issue; male factors contribute equally. Comprehensive assessments of both partners, including semen analysis and female reproductive imaging, are crucial for accurate diagnosis and tailored treatment. This holistic perspective prevents missed diagnoses and improves outcomes.
• 🔄 PCOS Complexity and Management: PCOS combines endocrine and metabolic disturbances, such as hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance, which complicate ovulation. Treatment prioritizes ovulation induction and symptom control via hormonal medications, with lifestyle modifications playing a key role in improving metabolic health and fertility.
• 🎯 Fertility Treatment Matching by Patient Profile: IUI offers a reasonable first-line treatment for younger women with ovulatory issues (e.g., PCOS) but shows limited success for unexplained infertility or advancing maternal age, where IVF often becomes necessary. Treatment success rates and pathways depend heavily on individualized factors, including age, diagnosis, and prior treatment history.
• 🥚 Advances in IVF Technology: IVF techniques have considerably advanced since the first 1978 case, incorporating genetic screening to select chromosomally normal embryos, improving implantation success and reducing miscarriage. Techniques such as ICSI address male infertility, while vitrification optimizes embryo preservation, expanding family-building options.
• 📊 Access and Cost Barriers: Despite technological progress, access to fertility care remains uneven, influenced by insurance policies, geographic location, and socioeconomic factors. Awareness campaigns and policy improvements are needed to bridge these gaps and ensure equitable treatment availability.
• 🔬 Future Directions in Fertility Science: Promising research areas include in vitro maturation of eggs, mitochondrial replacement therapy to enhance oocyte quality, and generating gametes from skin cells. Such innovations could revolutionize fertility treatment paradigms, but ethical, safety, and efficacy questions must be rigorously addressed before widespread clinical adoption.

This summary captures the multi-dimensional nature of female fertility and infertility treatments, elucidating biological fundamentals, clinical approaches, and future frontiers in reproductive medicine.

Dr. Rob Cyus, also known as the “carb addiction doc,” discusses the complexities of the carnivore diet, particularly when it “goes wrong” over time. While the carnivore diet is praised for its rapid benefits in improving insulin resistance, weight loss, reducing inflammation, and mitigating chronic diseases, prolonged adherence can result in metabolic issues in certain populations, primarily those genetically predisposed to insulin suppression. He differentiates between a strict pure carnivore diet (consisting only of animal products) and a carnivore-based diet (which may include small amounts of plant-derived foods like avocado and coffee). Dr. Cyus emphasizes that human nutritional biology is dynamic, and insulin plays a critical role in maintaining metabolic health. Long-term carnivore dieters can experience insulin suppression due to downregulation of GLP-1 hormone, leading to impaired glucose disposal, elevated blood sugar, triglycerides, testosterone reduction, muscle loss, and increased cardiovascular risk, particularly in a subgroup known as lean mass hyperresponders (LMHRs). He presents ethnogenetic differences in metabolic responses—Eskimo (obesogenic), equatorial (diabetogenic), and subtropical (healthiest) phenotypes—to explain varied risk profiles. Importantly, Dr. Cyus stresses regular monitoring of blood work and advanced cardiovascular testing (like CTA scans to detect soft plaque) for those on long-term carnivore diets. He suggests cautious reintroduction of pure carbohydrates (not plants) and the potential use of micro-dosed GLP-1 medication to restore insulin function in insulin-suppressed individuals. Overall, he advocates for a responsible carnivore approach with individualized monitoring to prevent long-term harm while enjoying the benefits of the diet.

Highlights

• 🥩 Carnivore diet offers rapid benefits for insulin resistance, weight loss, and inflammation reduction.
• ⚠️ Long-term pure carnivore diet may cause insulin suppression and metabolic disturbances in some people.
• 🧬 Genetic body types (Eskimo, equatorial, subtropical) influence individual response and cardiovascular risk.
• 🔬 Advanced cardiovascular imaging like CTA is crucial for detecting soft plaque in long-term carnivore dieters.
• 🍚 Reintroducing low-dose pure carbohydrates can help restore insulin function in insulin-suppressed individuals.
• 🩸 Monitoring blood work and hormone levels is essential for safely following a carnivore or carnivore-based diet.
• 💡 Insulin suppression leads to muscle loss, increased blood sugar, and higher cardiovascular risk despite high LDL. Key Insights
• 🔥 Insulin suppression as a metabolic inflection point: The carnivore diet initially improves insulin sensitivity but over time may push certain individuals into a state of insulin suppression due to downregulated GLP-1 signaling. This leads to impaired glucose disposal, increased blood sugar, and risk factors for cardiovascular disease despite continued dietary adherence. This dynamic illustrates that metabolic health is a moving target requiring ongoing assessment.
• 🧬 Ethnogenetic variation shapes diet outcomes: Dr. Cyus explains three major body types shaped by evolution—Eskimos with high insulin production and fat storage capacity, equatorial populations with low insulin capacity prone to blood sugar spikes and cardiovascular disease, and subtropical populations with more balanced metabolic and hormonal profiles. These differences profoundly affect how individuals tolerate a carnivore diet and their risk of complications, underscoring the need for personalized nutrition.
• 💔 High LDL is not the sole cardiovascular risk factor: The Feldman lean mass hyperresponder studies highlighted that LDL levels alone do not predict cardiovascular risk in carnivore dieters. Instead, rising soft (non-calcified) plaque detected by CTA scans and insulin/glucagon imbalance are key indicators. LDL must be interpreted contextually, especially when accompanied by signs of insulin suppression.
• 🥚 Distinguishing pure carnivore from carnivore-based diets aids flexibility: While pure carnivore excludes all plant foods, the carnivore-based approach allows limited plant foods (coffee, avocado) without losing benefits. This distinction provides more tailored options to prevent or correct metabolic side effects without abandoning the core benefits.
• 🍚 Controlled carb reintroduction is a therapeutic strategy: Slowly adding pure carbohydrate sources like milk, honey, or small amounts of starch can reactivate GLP-1 release and insulin signaling, restoring metabolic balance. This is supported by studies like Isabella Cooper’s work showing better insulin/glucagon dynamics and endurance performance in low-carb athletes who consume modest carbs.
• 📊 Comprehensive monitoring is critical: Beyond standard blood work, methods like extended oral glucose tolerance tests and CTA scans for soft plaque are vital for early detection of metabolic shifts and cardiovascular risk, especially in long-term carnivore followers. Personalized, expert interpretation of these tests enables timely interventions to prevent irreversible damage.
• ⚖️ Hormonal interplay affects muscle mass and overall health: Insulin regulates testosterone production through aromatase activity; suppression of insulin during extended carnivore diets can lower testosterone, causing muscle loss and fatigue despite high protein intake. This paradox leads to a vicious cycle of increased lean protein consumption worsening insulin suppression, highlighting the complexity of hormonal regulation under extreme diets.

Dr. Cyus urges carnivore dieters to balance enthusiasm with responsibility, monitoring their metabolic health closely and being open to dietary adjustments or medical interventions to maintain long-term wellness. His pragmatic approach blends scientific evidence with evolutionary biology and clinical experience to guide those seeking the benefits of carnivory while avoiding its pitfalls.

Summary

This video transcript revolves around a fascinating locksmith story shared at the Sava Safe Tech event, highlighting a unique challenge involving an antique safe from Portugal. The safe, originally installed in a 1940s Portuguese bank, had been converted into a humidor by its owner — a wealthy and charitable gentleman in the U.S. During a gathering, the humidor safe was accidentally locked, and the key went missing, prompting a desperate search. The locksmith, along with his partner, was called in to open the safe without damaging its intricately refinished facade and maintaining its historic value.

After determining that the high-security key lock and decorative lettered dials were integral parts of the locking mechanism, the locksmiths used drilling and an inspection scope to analyze the bolt work because no manuals or code existed for the rare safe. Ultimately, they discovered the dials, which the owner claimed were decorative, were actually functional, and spelled out the word “CUBA.” By manipulating the dials to the correct combination, they successfully opened the safe, finding the keys inside and realizing the safe had never truly been locked by the key mechanism. The story underscores the importance of exploring all possibilities in problem-solving, questioning customer assumptions, and preserving the integrity of valuable items through care and expertise. The locksmith ultimately replaced the lock with a modern high-security one, restored the safe’s exterior, and pleased the client.

Highlights 🔐 Antique 1940s Portuguese safe converted into a luxury humidor 🔑 Client accidentally locked the safe during a social event and lost the key 🕵️‍♂️ Locksmiths faced a rare, undocumented lock with no blueprints or templates 🔎 Use of drilling, inspection scopes, and skilled manipulation to open the safe 🔠 Decorative dials on the safe actually spelled “CUBA” and were part of the lock 🛠 Safe opened without visible damage; lock replaced with modern security system 🤝 Story highlights the value of expertise, patience, and challenging assumptions Key Insights 🔑 Historic safes present unique challenges: Working on antique safes with unknown mechanisms requires creative problem-solving and specialized tools, emphasizing the need for locksmiths to be versatile and adaptive rather than relying on manuals or databases. 🎯 Customer assumptions can mislead: The client was certain the dials were only decorative, which almost delayed the solution. This highlights how locksmiths must trust their instincts and verify all parts of a locking system rather than fully relying on client information. 🔍 Advanced surveillance and diagnostic tools are vital: Utilizing a scope and drilling at multiple angles allowed the locksmith to understand the lock’s internal structure without unnecessary damage—critical when dealing with valuable or irreplaceable items. 🧩 Patience and tactile skills trump technology at times: The locksmith’s ability to manipulate the dials physically and detect resistance led to the discovery of the true locking mechanism, proving that experience and “by-feel” skills remain important in a modern high-tech world. 🛡 Preserving integrity while repairing: The priority to not mark or damage the safe meant the locksmiths had to carefully patch the drilling hole and refit the escutcheon plate, demonstrating respect for the item’s historical and sentimental value. 🔄 Modern replacement enhances security: Installing a high-security block lock after opening maintained the safe’s functionality and offered better future servicing options, combining modern technology with historical preservation. 🌟 Trade stories inspire and teach: Sharing detailed service experiences not only inspires future locksmiths but educates customers and professionals about the complexities of the trade and the value of experienced craftsmanship.

This account blends technical locksmith expertise with a human story, emphasizing problem-solving, respect for craftsmanship, and continuous learning.