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Brisket Co-Op Sells 2,500 Pounds of Beef in 48 Hours

By Mathew Katz | May 4, 2012 7:21am
Chopped-up brisket prepared by Daniel Delaney, who hopes to create a 'brisket club' to perfect his recipe.
Chopped-up brisket prepared by Daniel Delaney, who hopes to create a 'brisket club' to perfect his recipe.
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Daniel Delaney

NEW YORK — There are going to be a lot of full stomachs this summer.

Brisketlab, the underground smoked meat club run by barbecue-loving foodie Daniel Delaney, sold out of 2,500 pounds of meat in less than two days.

The club allowed members to sign up for a share of brisket cooked in Delaney's 18-foot smoker, which they can cash in at brisket parties being held throughout the summer.

Members could buy shares at $25 a pound, meaning that Brisketlab raked in roughly $62,500.

"I'm still in shock," wrote Delaney in an email on Wednesday to the 4,300 "brisketeers" that made the cut, with the headline "A Meaty Promise."

"This is a start that most fledgling food entrepreneurs could only dream of."

The Brisketlab dream began after Brooklynite Delaney, 26, frustrated by the lack of authentic Texas barbecue in New York City, bought a $6,000 18-foot-long smoker and towed it, along with a truck full of special post oak wood, up from the Lone Star State.

For each party, Delaney plans to cook roughly 2,000 pounds of beef — the smoker's maximum capacity — for his thousands of meat-loving fans.

Members can opt to reserve as much or as little of a share of beef as they want at each party and go to as many parties as they have the meat for. Delaney has committed to using feedback from his legions of beefeaters to constantly improve his recipe.

Brisketlab first started generating buzz last week, when thousands of people signed up online for a pre-registration list. The floodgates opened on May 1, with a live countdown of how much meat is left on Brisketlab's home page.

Now that registration is over, Delaney said he has to move the smoker to Brooklyn, schedule the events and, most importantly, work on his brisket recipe.

"We've got a great summer ahead of us," Delaney wrote. "I hope you're as hungry as I am."