A brisket is two muscles stacked on each other, and the market prices them as two different things. The flat is the long, lean muscle, the point is the fatty one on top, and a packer brisket is both together. On a quote sheet, "brisket" can mean products whose prices differ by 65 percent or more, so getting the spec wrong can cost more than getting the timing wrong.
The anatomy
The brisket is the breast section of the steer, and it holds two muscles.
The flat, the deep pectoral (pectoralis profundus), is long, lean and even. It slices cleanly against the grain, which is what corned beef, pastrami and deli slicing need. It is the presentation half of the cut.
The point, the superficial pectoral (pectoralis superficialis, which the USDA spec calls the web muscle), sits on top of one end of the flat. It is thicker, fattier and more marbled, and the trade often calls it the deckle. It renders well under long heat, which is why it becomes burnt ends, but it does not slice into even portions.
The packer brisket is both muscles still together, the way barbecue cooks buy it.
What USDA actually prints
Two brisket items print on the daily Choice cuts report, and knowing which is which is the whole game.
| Item on the report | IMPS | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Brisket, deckle-off, boneless | 120 | Both muscles, with the deckle (the hard fat and rib meat on the inside) removed |
| Brisket, point/off, boneless | 120A | The flat alone, point removed |
The IMPS 100 spec is explicit about which muscle is which: item 120A, the flat cut, "shall consist only of the M. pectoralis profundi," and item 120B, the point cut, "shall consist only of the M. pectoralis superficialis (web muscle)." The 120B point has no daily USDA price line, which makes the point the harder half of the brisket to price.
The deckle-off brisket (120) is the whole-cut item, the closest USDA line to what a barbecue buyer means by a packer brisket. It is also the volume line: in 2025, Choice whole briskets traded about 20 times the flat's pounds.
Trade language does not help here. "Deckle" means the point muscle in some rooms and the hard fat on the inside in others, and the spec book uses it for the fat. "Packer" is a customer word, not a spec word. When a quote says brisket, ask which IMPS number and whether the point is on or off.
The premium is large and it has never gone away
On every one of the 6,111 days both items printed, April 2001 to October 2026, the flat traded above the whole brisket. Not most days. Every day.
The size of the gap stands out too. Year by year, the flat's average premium over the whole brisket ran between about 65 and 91 percent, in every year from 2001 through 2026.
| Year | Whole brisket 120 | Flat 120A | Flat premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 268c/lb | 481c/lb | +79% |
| 2020 | 250c/lb | 448c/lb | +79% |
| 2025 | 418c/lb | 714c/lb | +71% |
| 2026 (to Oct 14) | 468c/lb | 782c/lb | +67% |
Why the gap is built in, not a market mood
The premium does not mean the flat tastes better. It is yield arithmetic plus buyers who have no substitute.
Yield. Pulling the point off to make a flat leaves a much lighter piece, and the point and trim that come off sell for much less. The flat's price has to carry the labor plus the lost value on everything removed. Any cut fabricated down to its best muscle carries the same math, which is why a strip loin costs more per pound than the loin it came from.
Demand. The flat's buyers need one even, sliceable muscle: corned beef and pastrami programs, deli slicing, retail flat packs. They have no substitute for it. The point goes to barbecue and grind, which both have alternatives.
How a buyer uses this
Match the spec before you compare a quote to a USDA print. Check a whole-brisket offer against the flat's print and an ordinary price looks like a steal. Check a flat offer against the whole-brisket print and a fair price looks like a rip-off.
If you buy for a barbecue program, the deckle-off whole brisket (120) is your line: the cheaper one, with far more volume behind it. If you buy for corned beef, pastrami or deli slicing, the flat (120A) is your line. Budget for a premium that has held in every year of a quarter century of prints.
For when brisket prices move through the year, the brisket prices by month article covers the calendar, measured against the cutout.