Dumb Question of the Day: How to tell if you have a full packer or just the flat....


 
JeffB

JeffB

TVWBB Pro
I noticed yesterday that my local grocery actually does carry briskets much to my delight, but for the love of God I could not tell if what I was holding was a full packer or just the flat.

I thought I knew what to look for (2 muscles separated by layer of thick hard fat), but these briskets are sealed in cryovac so it was not as easy as I was expecting. I want to say yes, they are full packers, for 2 reasons: (1) they sell just the flats separately in much smaller packages, and these are much larger, and (2) when laid flat, half of this brisket is taller than the other half, as you would expect to see if you have a full packer with the point end taller than the flat end.

So, short of asking the butcher and feeling silly, do they regularly label briskets in a way that makes it clear what you are getting in the sealed plastic?

Thanks, and smoke on! :wsm:
 
It has been my experience (not an expert by any means) that the label will say "Brisket Flat" for a flat only, but the full packer will only say Brisket. Also, as you said, it will be larger and one end will be noticeably thicker on the point end. My local Sam's usually has both in the same spot in the cooler. There will be a noticeable difference in the price per pound with the flat being higher. If you have a Sam's you may be able to compare the two for "educational" purposes.
 
jfortson said:
It has been my experience (not an expert by any means) that the label will say "Brisket Flat" for a flat only, but the full packer will only say Brisket. Also, as you said, it will be larger and one end will be noticeably thicker on the point end. My local Sam's usually has both in the same spot in the cooler. There will be a noticeable difference in the price per pound with the flat being higher. If you have a Sam's you may be able to compare the two for "educational" purposes.
Click to expand...

I agree. While I'm not sure I've seen flats and packers in the same store at the same time, I have seen a significant difference in the price (with flats being almost 2x the packer in one instance). Also I have seen a few flats not explicitly called out as flats, but this was at the one store where I've never seen a packer so they may have just been lazy when doing labels that day.
 
It can be a little confusing. I've gotten one labelled flat that has some point left on it. Generally the flats are pretty trimmed, no fat cap etc.
 
The way they label cuts by region, supermarkets who knows what the proper name is anymore.
Your original gut feeling was right, that's a packer.

Tim
 
You should also be able to tell by price. A full packer in cryovac will be less expensive per pound generally speaking, than the flat, because more butchering work has been done to the flat.
 
JeffB said:
I noticed yesterday that my local grocery actually does carry briskets much to my delight, but for the love of God I could not tell if what I was holding was a full packer or just the flat.

I thought I knew what to look for (2 muscles separated by layer of thick hard fat), but these briskets are sealed in cryovac so it was not as easy as I was expecting. I want to say yes, they are full packers, for 2 reasons: (1) they sell just the flats separately in much smaller packages, and these are much larger, and (2) when laid flat, half of this brisket is taller than the other half, as you would expect to see if you have a full packer with the point end taller than the flat end.
So, short of asking the butcher and feeling silly, do they regularly label briskets in a way that makes it clear what you are getting in the sealed plastic?

Thanks, and smoke on! :wsm:
Click to expand...

It's a whole brisket
 
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