Brisket is too Big? Help!

[VermontCharlie]

Hi! I am smoking my first whole packer- an almost 15 lb. prime packer from Costco, before trimming.  Only have done one before, just a flat that time.  I just realized this whole thing is about 2 or 3" longer then the size of the rack in my #2 smoker.  Not sure what to do about that.
Is this typical, or larger then average?  Should I just 'squeeze' it to try and compress it to a size that would fit?  Didn't think I'd really want it hitting up against the side racks, or walls.  I'm pretty sure I don't want to trim a couple of inches off the flat to cook separately on the rack, do I?
I couldn't find mention of this on the forums.  Maybe a good problem to have      too much brisket!  Thanks for any advice folks.

 

[Lipster]

Cut 'er in half. Put a temp probe in each half.
Done all the time.

 

[LarryD]

You can cut it in half.  Put the point fat cap down on the lower shelf and the flat fat cap up on the upper shelf.

You can also stuff the whole thing on one shelf diagonally.  It won't hurt anything to touch the sides of the smoker and it will shrink over the course of the smoke.

Some folks have folded them over to shorten them, but I've not tried that so I won't speak to it.

Search the posts on here and you'll find plenty of examples of handling this 'problem'. 

 

[Stevegardner]

I have folded the ends under. It cooks down considerably. I’d rather that than cutting it.

 

[EFGM]

Sure I’m too late here, but you can put a drink can or canned veg can under the middle (of course remove label) or it is just fine to cut in half. Many Do.
And as Larry said it won’t hurt for sides to touch.

 

[VermontCharlie]

Thanks for the replies.  I'd already cut it in half before the other recommendations showed up.  Put the point portion on the lower shelf as LarryD said, and it turned out wonderfully.  Next time maybe I'll try the beer can under the middle- can probably find one of those around     But, this method worked fine.  Thanks again!