Proper Brisket Slicing

tpack

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  1. Stampede
If you are slicing your brisket the direction of the Yellow lines , you are correct. If you are slicing the direction of the Black lines you are not doing it correctly. I like to remove most of the fat between the point and flat prior to cooking and then separate the two muscles before slicing. Most of the time I make burnt ends out of the point and never actually slice it. The grain in this brisket it easy to see and you always need to slice across the grain. Hope this helps.


IMG_1984_LI.jpg
 
Good tip. The black slices could be worse-if left black lines were at a right angle to the left yellow lines.
 
It’s difficult to see the grain after the bark is on there. You can cut the corner off on the flat so you know the angle when you bring it out to slice.
 
It’s difficult to see the grain after the bark is on there. You can cut the corner off on the flat so you know the angle when you bring it out to slice.
Another tip...take a picture of it on your phone after trimming and before the rub. Then you can reference it after the cook
 
Another tip. I used it today. Insert a toothpick into it going with the grain.
 
If you are slicing your brisket the direction of the Yellow lines , you are correct. If you are slicing the direction of the Black lines you are not doing it correctly. I like to remove most of the fat between the point and flat prior to cooking and then separate the two muscles before slicing. Most of the time I make burnt ends out of the point and never actually slice it. The grain in this brisket it easy to see and you always need to slice across the grain. Hope this helps.


View attachment 10250
Good demo pic. I'm trying to get up the courage to do another brisket. Just two of us, so want to do either a flat or small packer. Problem with small packer is that the flat is often too thin. Trouble with flat is that the butchers charge about double for separating and trimming. Since I have two children that live nearby and have smokers, I will buy a packer with a nice thick flat, separate the point, and either freeze it, or pass on to one of my kids. ??
 
Good demo pic. I'm trying to get up the courage to do another brisket. Just two of us, so want to do either a flat or small packer. Problem with small packer is that the flat is often too thin. Trouble with flat is that the butchers charge about double for separating and trimming. Since I have two children that live nearby and have smokers, I will buy a packer with a nice thick flat, separate the point, and either freeze it, or pass on to one of my kids. ??
I know the feeling. I think my next smoke will be chuck roast unless I get a great deal on a brisket.
 
I know the feeling. I think my next smoke will be chuck roast unless I get a great deal on a brisket.
One of my favorite ways to do chuck roast is to cut it into roughly 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" chunks, rub liberally with coarse kosher salt and 16 mesh pepper, set on a stainless cooling rack and smoke at 225 until they probe tender. Spray with straight ACV a couple times along the way to really get that smoke to cling to the meat and develop the bark.

Cutting them gives more surface area for rub and smoke = more flavor. This method also reduces the cook time.
 
One of my favorite ways to do chuck roast is to cut it into roughly 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" chunks, rub liberally with coarse kosher salt and 16 mesh pepper, set on a stainless cooling rack and smoke at 225 until they probe tender.

Cutting them gives more surface area for rub and smoke = more flavor.
Thanks, sounds great!
 
Good demo pic. I'm trying to get up the courage to do another brisket. Just two of us, so want to do either a flat or small packer. Problem with small packer is that the flat is often too thin. Trouble with flat is that the butchers charge about double for separating and trimming. Since I have two children that live nearby and have smokers, I will buy a packer with a nice thick flat, separate the point, and either freeze it, or pass on to one of my kids. ??
Just the two of us here too. I always just do the full packer. Same amount of work and the leftovers are great. Even after vac pac and freezing.
 
I like to remove most of the fat between the point and flat prior to cooking and then separate the two muscles before slicing.
I've been trimming the Point off of the Flat and Smoking them separately (as two Roasts) for a while now
A lot of great Barb B Que with a lot less Fat to deal with

Just the two of us here too. I always just do the full packer. Same amount of work and the leftovers are great. Even after vac pac and freezing.
Same here
Asked the question; "How do YOU "reheat" your BBQ ?" a while back
https://www.recteqforum.com/threads/how-do-you-reheat-your-bbq.3070/
So Momma warms the Leftover Meal (in Bag) in a Pan of "Simmering" Water
Comes out "just" as good as day one

We buy those (3 to a Pack) Sirloin Roasts from Costco (the ones about the size of a Nerf Football) and Smoke them at 240 for a few hours
They are a "relatively" cheap alternative
 
Ya don't need no teef to eat my beef.

Just kiddin. But, when a flat is cooked tender, it will pull apart by hand. Slicing perfectly 90 degrees across the grain is ideal, but I can't tell much difference up to +/- 45 degrees from the ideal angle on slices up to 1/4" thick. As the slices get thicker, I can start to tell, not by the toughness of the chew, but by the longer grains of meat on the pallet.

With meats that have more chew, it becomes more and more important to cut closer to 90 degrees to control the chew effect. You can slice a tough piece of meat at the ideal angle (90 degrees), but if the slices are thicker, the chew increases, just the same as if cutting further and further from the ideal angle.

An example is tritip, which is a sirloin cut, typically cooked like a steak. I try to cut it within +/- 10 to 15 degrees of ideal, and just as importantly, I try to keep the slice thickness consistent at around 1/8". This controls the chew. I get a lot of positive comments on how tender my tritip is by people that buy from the same source as I buy my tritip and they ask how I tenderize it (I don't). But, when I get served their tritip, they hack it all up with large variation in thickness, some pieces like wedges with parts up to 3/4" thick, etc.. Slicing is about controlling the experience. I think that's the point of the OP.

So use one of these...keep it razor sharp...
61joEBVM9nL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


...and slice consistently, in a manner that gives you the chew you want.
20200426_085235.jpg
 
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One thing that kind of confuses me.... I've watched countless YouTube videos on Brisket slicing, they always start with the Flat, and get about halfway down the brisket, then turn the "Point" 90 degrees and start slicing it that way... But aren't those "point" slices half flat, half point, which would mean on thicker point slices, the flat isn't sliced in the correct direction..... ?
 
One thing that kind of confuses me.... I've watched countless YouTube videos on Brisket slicing, they always start with the Flat, and get about halfway down the brisket, then turn the "Point" 90 degrees and start slicing it that way... But aren't those "point" slices half flat, half point, which would mean on thicker point slices, the flat isn't sliced in the correct direction..... ?

Seems like a compromise would be best, by splitting the difference of the two angles and slicing slightly thinner.
 
One thing that kind of confuses me.... I've watched countless YouTube videos on Brisket slicing, they always start with the Flat, and get about halfway down the brisket, then turn the "Point" 90 degrees and start slicing it that way... But aren't those "point" slices half flat, half point, which would mean on thicker point slices, the flat isn't sliced in the correct direction..... ?
That is exactly why I separate the point and flat prior to slicing. I have gotten to where I freeze the point and make burnt ends another day. Its it just me and my wife so I slice the flat and package it for several more meals. I vacuum seal enough for the 2 of us and drop it in 180 degree water for about 20 minutes
 

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