What's the difference?


 
A packer is a whole brisket which has been trimmed for packing, i.e., the deckle (a thin strip of fatty meat that runs along the inside of the cut) has been removed. A packer is made up of the point--the somewhat bulbous end of the roast--and the flat, the flatter other end. There is a vein of fat that joins the two.
 
Chris, you truly amaze me sometimes! I looked onder cooking topics, but I did not see that. Thanks!
So, Kevin, if you get a packer, that fatty strip is cut out, correct? Also, how is that labeled on the packaging?
 
Chris, with his ability to provide lots of well-layed-out useful information and ideas, is what makes this the best Q board on the Net.

The deckle is cut off. It is, essentially, what connects the brisket to the bone. (Note than a few people use the term 'deckle'--incorrectly--to mean the same as 'point'. They are two different things.)

The vein of fat that separates the point and flat is, of course, not removed before packaging. Many people who cook packers separate the flat from the point when they remove the brisket from the cooker and return the point to the grate for further cooking (it's fattier) while the flat rests. (I don't. I simply freeze the point for storage and use it for braised dishes--like chili, among other things.)

Retail packages vary in labelling. 'Beef brisket, deckle-off, boneless' is the standard NAMP label but one sees 'Whole beef brisket', 'Whole packer brisket' (redundant though it is), 'Beef brisket, whole' and the like.

Some cooks do not care for the point end much so instead buy flats, as untrimmed as possible.
 
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