Published 19 May 2026 · Last updated 17 October 2026 · By Ben Austen · Affiliate disclosure
If you want a whole brisket in the UK, with the flat and the point together, go to a butcher. I’ve checked the supermarkets and you can’t get brisket cut American style there, but the local butchers I use told me they can get one in. I haven’t bought or cooked a whole brisket yet. The only online butcher I’ve ordered from is HG Walter, and I cooked my way through one delivery of their meat in August and September, although there was no brisket in it. Everything I say about the other three comes from their own websites in October 2026. On 17 October the cheapest whole brisket at each of these four ranged from £69 for 3 kg to £149.50 for 6.5 kg.
The four picks
Tick Compare on any two or more to see them side by side.
The one I’ve used Tested
HG Walter
The only online butcher I’ve ordered from. I haven’t had their brisket, but the meat I cooked from them was good.
- Whole piece, 6.5 kg
- Grass-fed Aberdeen Angus and Hereford
- Delivered fresh, £40 minimum order
Best big British brisket Researched
Grid Iron Meat
A British native-breed brisket with the flat and the point, trimmed by the butcher.
- 5.5–6 kg
- Sent fresh, not frozen
- Free delivery on orders over £70
Best smaller brisket Researched
Swaledale
A whole packer cut from a Yorkshire Dales butcher, and the 4 kg is about the size I’d go for.
- 3 kg or 4 kg
- Sent fresh, never frozen
- £3 delivery, £80 minimum order
Best for picking your size Researched
Bromfields
A packer cut brisket in three weight bands, from 4 kg up to 7 kg.
- 4–5 kg, 5–6 kg or 6–7 kg
- About £15–£19 a kilo
- Also sells flat and bone-in brisket
Key takeaways
- I haven’t found a UK supermarket that sells a whole brisket cut American style, and I’ve checked. Ask a local butcher, or order one online.
- HG Walter is the online butcher I’ve used. I haven’t had their brisket, but the meat was good, the service was great, and their whole piece is 6.5 kg for £149.50.
- A decent-sized whole brisket is probably £100 to £120 or more. On 17 October the cheapest whole brisket at each of these four ran from £69 for 3 kg to £149.50 for 6.5 kg.
- Get a bigger one if you can, because it’s a bit more forgiving. I’d go for about 4 kg.
- For a Saturday cook I’d want it arriving on the Thursday, which gives you a day to sort it out if something’s wrong.
- I’d rather it came fresh, but frozen is fine for a long low-and-slow cook.
- If a whole brisket is too much money, chuck is a cheaper first step, and I don’t think you need to pay extra for Wagyu.
At a glance: whole brisket from four UK butchers
| Butcher | Whole brisket | Price | Per kilo | Fresh or frozen | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HG Walter | 6.5 kg | £149.50 | £23 | Fresh | £8.50 under £70, £40 minimum |
| Grid Iron Meat | 5.5–6 kg | £125 | £21–£23 | Fresh, not frozen | Free over £70 |
| Swaledale | 3 kg or 4 kg | £69 or £90 | £22.50–£23 | Fresh, never frozen | £3, £80 minimum |
| Bromfields | 4–5, 5–6 or 6–7 kg | £74.95–£110.95 | £15–£19 | Not checked | Not checked |
The online butcher I’ve used: HG Walter
HG Walter is the only online butcher I’ve ordered from. My order came in August and I cooked my way through it over August and September: the diced chuck went into burnt ends, the streaky bacon into bacon jam and the mince into a chilli, and I did the belly and the bone-in pork loin in September. The meat was good, the service was great, and I’d recommend them. There was no brisket in that order, so I haven’t had theirs.
Their whole piece is 6.5 kg for £149.50, about £23 a kilo, with the point and the flat together, and they describe the beef as grass-fed Aberdeen Angus and Hereford. They’ll also sell the flat on its own from 1 kg, or the point from 1.5 kg. HG Walter has been going since 1972, from a shop in Barons Court in London, and it delivers fresh across the UK apart from the Highlands and Islands. Delivery is £8.50 on an order under £70, the minimum order is £40, and if you order before midday you can have it the next day. I paid for my order myself, but it went through my sister Kate’s trade account rather than their website.
Best big British brisket: Grid Iron Meat
Grid Iron Meat’s whole brisket is 5.5 to 6 kg for £125, which works out at about £21 to £23 a kilo. They call it a full British native-breed brisket with both the flat and the point, trimmed by the butcher. You can also buy the point or the flat on its own, at 3 kg for £69 each, and they label the point “not a whole packer”. Grid Iron has a section for BBQ, smoking and grilling, sells dry-aged beef, rare-breed pork and Yorkshire lamb, and sends it fresh, not frozen, with free delivery to mainland UK on orders over £70.
Best smaller brisket: Swaledale
Swaledale is a whole-carcass butcher in the Yorkshire Dales, working with about 30 farms that keep native breeds. Its whole smoking brisket is a packer cut in two sizes, 3 kg for £69 or 4 kg for £90, and the 4 kg is about the size I’d go for. Swaledale always sends its meat fresh, never frozen. Delivery is £3 by DPD and you can pick your day, including the next day, but the minimum order is £80, so the 3 kg on its own won’t get you there.
Best for picking your size: Bromfields
Bromfields sells a packer cut brisket in three weight bands: 4 to 5 kg for £74.95, 5 to 6 kg for £92.95 and 6 to 7 kg for £110.95. That’s about £15 to £19 a kilo, depending on where in the band yours lands. It’s the one to look at if you want to choose the size, whether that’s the 4 kg I’d go for or something bigger. They also sell a bone-in Welsh beef brisket and a flat cut, both from 2 kg.
Your local butcher, and Costco
I asked the local butchers I buy from, and they can get a whole brisket in. Ask for the flat and the point together. I’d also just say American style. If there isn’t a good butcher near you, you can buy brisket online from any of the four above, and the same goes for most other BBQ meat.
I haven’t looked for brisket at Costco myself, but I’ve seen people on Reddit buying it and talking about it, so you can get it there. I’m not sure it’ll always be in.
How to tell if it’s a whole brisket
A whole brisket, sometimes called a packer brisket or a full packer brisket, is the flat and the point together. Butchers also sell each half on its own, so check the listing says both. A point end or a flat on its own isn’t a whole brisket, however big it is, and a rolled brisket joint isn’t one either. If the listing doesn’t say flat and point, ask before you order.
How to choose a whole brisket
- Size. Get a bigger one if you can, because it’s a bit more forgiving. I’d go for about 4 kg.
- Timing. For a Saturday cook I’d want it arriving on the Thursday, which gives you a day to sort it out if something’s wrong. I wouldn’t order much further ahead than that, because you don’t want the meat to spoil. I have done a big batch before and frozen a load of it.
- Fresh or frozen. HG Walter, Swaledale and Grid Iron all send it fresh. I’d rather it came fresh, but frozen is fine for a long low-and-slow cook.
- Budget. A decent-sized whole brisket is probably £100 to £120 or more. If that’s too much, chuck is a cheaper first step: I used 2 kg of diced chuck, which is £22 a kilo on HG Walter’s website, for my burnt ends.
- The cook. I haven’t cooked a whole brisket yet, and I will at some point. My beef low-and-slow so far has been beef short ribs and the chuck burnt ends, both on my Big Green Egg Large. If you haven’t done a long cook yet, I’d get a fire you trust first. On long cooks I use a ThermoPro TP20, and on a cut this expensive I’d rather know exactly where it is than find out when I slice it.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a whole brisket cost?
A decent-sized one is probably £100 to £120 or more. On 17 October 2026 the cheapest whole brisket at each of these four ran from £69 for 3 kg at Swaledale to £149.50 for 6.5 kg at HG Walter.
Which supermarkets sell brisket?
I haven’t found a supermarket that sells a whole brisket cut American style, and I’ve checked. For a whole one, go to a butcher, local or online.
Why is brisket so expensive in the UK?
Good meat is expensive, especially beef and lamb.
Can you buy brisket at Costco UK?
I haven’t looked myself, but I’ve seen people on Reddit buying it and talking about it, so you can. I’m not sure it’ll always be there.
Do I need Wagyu brisket?
I don’t think you need Wagyu for a long low-and-slow cook, so I wouldn’t pay extra for it.
Sources & method
- My own order from HG Walter, August 2026, cooked in August and September 2026.
- HG Walter, Grid Iron Meat, Swaledale and Bromfields: their own product listings and prices as they stood on 17 October 2026.
- Delivery terms for HG Walter, Swaledale and Grid Iron Meat: their own websites, October 2026.
- The local butchers I buy from, who I asked myself.
- Costco: people buying it and talking about it on Reddit.
Disclosure
I paid for my HG Walter order myself, through my sister Kate’s trade account. Kate holds the account and contributes to this site. Nobody sent me any meat, and nobody at any of these butchers has seen this before you have. None of the links here are affiliate links, so nothing here earns a commission.
Final verdict
If you want a whole brisket, start with HG Walter. It’s the only online butcher I’ve used, the meat was good and the service was great, and their whole piece is 6.5 kg for £149.50. If you want to spend less, Bromfields is the cheapest per kilo, and Swaledale’s 4 kg is about the size I’d go for. And if there’s a good butcher near you, ask for the flat and the point together, American style.