It turns out the healthiest part of your plate of barbecue might not be the sliced onions.
Texas A&M's Agrilife Research agency recently said every Texan's favorite barbecued meat — beef brisket — contains high levels of oleic acid, which helps boost humans' levels of good cholesterol. And is, you know, therefore, accordingly, "healthy."
Relatively speaking.
While the cut has more oleic acid than the flank or beef plate, olive oil and other vegetable oils are nearly entirely composed of the acid and have similar beneficial health effects. That is to say, whatever boost in health you’re getting from that slice of brisket could probably be achieved by a tablespoon of olive oil.
The man behind the research, Dr. Stephen Smith, mostly uses his finding to tout the benefits of using more brisket trims to produce ground beef (in place of flank or plate).
Unsurprisingly, cattle that are fed "high-concentrated diets for a long period," like Japanese Black cattle (which produce American Wagyu beef), have higher levels of oleic acid. Smith has previously used his research to advocate for a rich diet for cattle.
A presentation of research intended to tout the “healthfulness of beef,” ended in Smith’s assurance, “Ground beef is not going to kill you.”
Good to hear. Better to eat.