packer wont fit in my smoker. What are my options?

[gotbags-10]

My racks are only 14 inches wide and all the packers I can find are bigger than that. So that being said do I cut the point from the flat and smoke seperatly? I know this seems to be a big no-no on the site as you lose a lot of moisture. The other thing i would think is cut a little off each end to make it fit. I did see on here once a guy cut 3/4 of the way through on the flat and folded it over on top of the remaining portion of the flat. Not sure what works best in this situation.

 

[SmokinAl]

Yes, separate the point from the flat & they will both fit.

I know a lot of guys leave them intact & separate them after smoking, but I separate them first.

IMHO you get more smoke to the flat that way.

I also trim off all the fat & silver skin.

I place the fat on a rack above the brisket so it drips on it the whole smoke. 

Here's a photo of one done that way, this is the flat. You can see how juicy it is.

 

[alblancher]

You have the option of either trimming both ends or separating the point from the flat.  Or just buying flats.   I like to separate when the packer has cooked enough to allow me to pull the point off the flat not having to do to much surgery to get them apart but you won't be able to do that.   Only thing I do different from the other Al is I leave about 1/4 inch fat after trimming and just discard the trimmed fat.  I am sure his way will work great for you, just offering an alternative

 

[gotbags-10]

looks like i will seperate them then. I'd hate to trim some off if the other way will work, plus like Al said if i can get some added smoke as well.

 

[arnie]

I occasionally have a packer that is a touch too long for my 14 X 18 grills.

If it barely touches the sides I go with it because it will shrink as it cooks

If it is so big it can’t be stuffed in diagonally I will fold the point over slightly leaving the fat cap out.

This option seems to give the meat a more uniform thickness and a little more even cook

 

[jstanford]

Just cut it in half and send a half to me :) just sayin'

 

[Bearcarver]

Many guys separate first, and many after, but since your smoker won't allow the whole thing at once without cutting something off, it looks to me like SmokinAl's way would be best for you. Give her a try. Plus I like his way of putting the fat trimmings on the rack above it. He does that with his Awesome Hams too!!!!

Also find a couple good posts about "Burnt Ends", and check that out too!!!

Bear

 

[roller]

I had one that would not fit last weekend and I just cut some of the end off and smoked it seperate...They both tasted the same...