"JakBQuik" > wrote in message >...
> "salchichon" > wrote in message
> om...
> >i q'ed a 6 lb brisket yesterday. the label on the cryovac just said
> > it was a brisket; nothing about it being just the flat or anything
> > like that.
> >
> > i've recently been having trouble correctly slicing brisket after
> > cooking. i read about the different grains and how to seperate the
> > the point from the flat before slicing. this was the article i went
> > by (http://www.cbbqa.com/faq/10-2-1.html scroll down to the Jim
> > McGrath entry about 3/4 of the way down the page).
> >
> > when i started to slice off the point, it became quickly obvious there
> > was no change in the direction of the grain throughout this cut of
> > brisket, and no apearant division between a flat and point section. i
> > mangled the slicing again.
> >
> > so what cut of brisket did i have? was the point already trimmed off
> > and the lable didn't reflect that? did i miss the dividing layer of
> > fat between the point and flat? how can i tell when buying if there's
> > a point and flat in tact?
> >
> > with this brisket, i should have just strated slicing against the
> > grain at one end and gone all the way to the other end to get nice
> > presentable slices.
> >
> > your thoughts please...
> >
> > scott
>
> Scott, I think you had just the flat there. A packer cut brisket from a
> full grown cow or steer will be at least 10-17 lbs. Was one side
> very.....and I mean VERY fatty? If so, that was the point. If not, all you
> had was the flat.

yea john, there was a VERY thick layer of fat on what i'd call the
bottom side. look at the other posts here though. most everyone says
i had just a flat. you say i had just the point.

> The flat is a dream to carve, like you said, just identify the direction of
> the grain and slice across it all the way down. The point is more
> problematic, with several layers of meat interspersed with layers of fat.
>
> You'll learn to tell intact briskets from trimmed flats in no time. In the
> meantime, just have fun.

maybe i should ask the butcher in the meat dept too!!!


> John in Austin