Thank you everyone for the replies. I figured as much... Not sure if I'll
be able to find anyone around these parts that sell whole packer cuts or
not. I know someone mentioned Walmart, but the one here has never had
anything besides corned beef brisket.

Something else has me wondering too... the brisket that I am able to get...
am I taking it to too high a temp then? I've been told(and so far, like I
said, the tenderness is definitely there) that I need to get it to the
185-190 range for the collagen to break down and get the tenderness I'm
looking for. With the trimmed brisket I'm getting, if I take it to say 165
or so, would that be close to the same tenderness but possibly keep it from
being so dry? Or am I just basically out of luck with what I'm able to get?

I do think there's a butcher shop about 20miles from me(actually close to my
home town) that butcher's their own beef, meaning I should be able to get
them to cut whatever I want, period... that just might be my next move...

Thanks again!!
"43fan" > wrote in message
et...
> Ok... so I've tried three different ways of doing my brisket, all of which
> have resulted in extremely tender, very tasty... but also dry meat at the
> end... I know sauce is not used in the purist world, but I've ended up
> having to use sauce, something light mind you, to give a touch of moisture
> back when eating it...
>
> I've kept the temp around the 225-250 mark for the whole cook, I've
> started high(around 300) and then finished low and I've started low and
> then finished high. Same result all three times.. tender, tasty and DRY!
> grrrrrrr (not sandstorm dry mind you, but not juicy either)
>
> Anyway... the problem is, IMO... I'm not buying brisket! Well, REAL
> brisket that is.. I have yet to find what everyone here(and most other
> places I read as well) calls a "packer cut" brisket. The largest I've
> found period is the one I did this past weekend, and it was 6.7lb. At
> most, a little less than 1/4" of fat on top, and not the entire brisket
> was covered with fat, about 1/3 of it on one end was strictly meat, no fat
> at all... and, very little marbling.
>
> This has to be it, doesn't it? When I mention brisket to any of the
> places I buy from, they always tell me "no, they're not that big".. etc,
> etc... The last one I bought was in the vacu-pack still, but they have to
> be getting just flats, and trimmed ones at that, don't they?
>
> I really think I need to find a good, lotsa fat full brisket that I can
> trim down the way I want, as well as I'll have to cut it in at least two
> pieces to fit in the GOSM, but I think then and only then am I gonna get
> the result I'm looking for. Mind you, no one has complained about it at
> all, but then we're not talking BBQ experts here that are doing the
> tasting. *g*
>
> Actually, this last brisket got me my first "commercial" job for next
> weekend should I choose to do it... there's a horseshoe tournament on
> Sunday, and the guy that's holding it tasted my brisket yesterday(yes,
> with sauce) and asked me what I could do for the tourney. I told him
> probably pulled pork would be best, so he said to just do it up and give
> him the bill. I figure I'll just charge him for the cost of everything
> and see how everyone likes it... heck, who knows, maybe pull a few other
> "paying" gigs outta that one. *shrug*
>
>
>
>