Preparing a brisket the right way is the first step to a delicious delicacy. Yet, a wrong move can waste all your cooking or grilling efforts. Therefore knowing how to cut a brisket the right way is essential. So, how do you cut a brisket?
The best way to cut brisket is by slicing it into sizable pieces, which makes it easy to eat. You need to know that the method you use to slice your brisket can affect its tenderness. Cut your brisket against the grain at 90 degrees, and when you reach a point where the grain changes, rotate the brisket and cut across 90 degrees.
There is more to that; cutting a brisket is a procedure. Thus, you need to know the essential steps to follow to cut a brisket perfectly. This article explains the best techniques you should apply. Keep reading for more details.
How to Cut a Whole Brisket
The main idea we are putting across here is to cut a whole cooked brisket perfectly. With the following steps, you will realize it is not rocket science as you may have thought. It would help to have a cutting board that can hold a whole brisket and a brisket knife. Here is how to do it:
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Step 1: Rest your Brisket on the Board
Once you get your brisket out of the grill, place it on the board and leave it to rest for some minutes. Allowing your brisket to rest is essential as it redistributes the juice throughout the meat, enhancing its flavor. If you slice it immediately, you take it off the grill; it will lose moisture quickly.
Step 2: Get the Right Brisket Knife
While your brisket is resting, you should look for the best brisket knife. The right brisket knife is described to be long, serrated, and sharp, which makes it easy to cut the whole meat at once. The edges should be serrated to help saw through the tough meat parts. Also, you should find a knife with the right weight for your hand.
Step 3: Find the Meat Grain
The direction in which you cut is essential. It is advisable to always cut against the grain. Brisket is made up of two parts, sometimes making cutting tricky. Meat grain is the actual alignment of its muscle fibers. When the meat is intact, these muscle fibers are always solid and chewy, and if you do not cut against the grain, the fibers will remain intact, thus making it difficult to chew. Cutting against the grain breaks down the muscle fibers making every slice of the meat tender and easy to chew.
How do you find the grain? Before you cook your meat, cut the flat’s corner, making it easy to see the grain. The corner will help you find the direction of the grain after cooking and when slicing your brisket.
Step 4: Cut your Brisket Firmly and Gently
If you hadn’t trimmed the excess fats from the brisket’s side, trim the fat. Remember, you are cutting the brisket against the grain starting from the flat at 90 degrees. When you reach the middle of your brisket, you will find two layers of muscles (cut point); you stop cutting when you reach here because that shows the grain direction change. Rotate your meat and then cut at 90 degrees against the grain.
Step 5: Collect the Burnt Ends
The burnt ends are commonly known as the meat candy, they are tasty, and thus you should not let them go to waste. The burnt ends have a lot of juicy flavors, and they are tender because they are not separated from the other meat. Cut these burnt ends into chunks, serve them with the rest, or reserve them as a special treat.
How to Cut a Brisket Against the Grain
As mentioned earlier, cutting your brisket against the grain is always essential. Now you should learn how to do it. It is a straightforward and precise process requiring only a brisket, a knife, and a cutting board.
The following steps are the way to go:
Step 1: Lay your brisket on the cutting board, then hold it down using your non-dominant hand. Most people use their left hand. Keep the knife in your dominant hand. Ensure that you are holding the meat strong enough that it doesn’t move while cutting but only moves when you want it to.
Step 2: A brisket has two main parts, the point and flat. Use your left hand to press the point in circles and move it slowly so you can feel the separation line between the two where the point and flat meet is the first place to cut as it is the same line that separates each grain. While you cut against the grain, the two parts should be separated and sliced individually.
Step 3: Slice the flat piece into small slices of about a quarter inch each. The fibers will move in corresponding directions, so make sure you cut against the grain.
Step 4: Cut the point in half to see the grains. Start cutting opposite from the first cut. Move one-half of the point is 90 degrees, then slice the same way you sliced the flat. Ensure you leave some bark in each slice because it contains the most juice.
How to Cut a Beef Brisket
Cutting a beef brisket should never stress you at any cost. The right tools and steps are the way to achieve a well-sliced, juicy beef brisket. Here are the steps to follow:
- Separate the point from the flat
- If you had not trimmed the extra fat from your beef brisket before you cooked it, then you should do so before you cut
- Remove the overcooked tip
- Correctly slice the flat of your beef brisket
- Slice the point against the grain
These steps will result in juicy slices of beef brisket ready to serve. Cutting against the grain is crucial because it ensures your meat is tender and less chewy.
How to cut a Corned Beef Brisket
A corned beef brisket contains large grains of salt called corns. It is not much different from the normal beef brisket. The following three steps will help you cut your corned beef brisket perfectly:
- Leave the corned beef brisket on a cutting board for about ten or fifteen minutes to ensure the juice is not lost.
- Place the flat side facing down. This will make it easy for you to see the grain. You can also choose to cut off the excess fat from your brisket. Focus on the flat and point cut, where the flat is lean, and the point cut is fat with connective tissue.
- Cut against the muscle fibers or grain. You need a carving knife for this to slice your meat against the grain to ensure that you end up with tender slices.
Conclusion
Cutting a brisket is not tricky, but even the slightest mistake can ruin all the efforts you used to cook one. Hence, you should understand the steps to cut a brisket correctly; the main thing to always master is cutting a brisket against the grain. The type of knife you choose sometimes determines how you will cut the brisket, therefore, invest in the best brisket knife and keep the steps above at your fingertips.
Courtney is a professional grilling enthusiast who has spent a good portion of his life grilling and exploring different methods and techniques for preparing delicious meals. As he always says, creativity is key to preparing sumptuous meals.