Best Knife for Slicing Brisket in 2021 – Experts Recommendation for Carving & BBQ Knife
Is there anything better than a brisket you spent all day cooking and smoking. You got the seasoning just right, the smell is divine, and all you have to do now is cut it. Simple, right? Well, believe it or not, no. Brisket is a work of art, and would you trust your work of art to some dull knife that tears all the delicate fibers and lets the juices out.
A good knife is a difference between a served brisket that provides you and your guests all the flavors and juices you spent hours working on, and a slab of unappetizing meat. Which is why we're going to discuss the best knife for slicing brisket. Because as you may well know from our other articles, there are tools for just about everything barbecue related. So, why not pick up a good brisket knife for the next time you have a brisket?
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Our Top 7 Picks of Knives for Slicing and Trimming Brisket:
Note: The above links will take you to additional information, current prices, and reviews on Amazon.
The Top 7 Best Knives for Slicing Brisket Reviews
Our first pick is this lovely knife from TUO, as part of their Fiery Series. TUO is a well known and recognized brand, and always delivers quality products. This of course extends to their knives, and this knife is no slouch. The length of the blade is twelve inches long and features a very lovely Pakkawood handle. The grip is ergonomic, and it feels very good in the hand.
The blade is made of HC German steel, which means that this steel isn't one that's going to break on you anytime soon. As well as being a high-quality blade, you'll be surprised to know it's also coated in a non-stick solution, and the divots in the blade assist with the knife splitting the brisket and not tearing it. This way, you won't lose the juices or tear the meat!
So with great ergonomic grip, and a fantastically sharp and strong blade, you'll be able to carve briskets as well as everything else you can imagine!
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The runner-up for us is this knife from Mercer, another leading name-brand when it comes to kitchen knives and other necessities in your kitchen. Much like TUO, you can trust in a knife from Mercer. The length of the blade is fourteen inches, and the grip is quite ergonomic being made of a mixture of Santoprene and Polypropylene for the best grip possible. There are even finger-molds for an improved grip!
The blade is made from Japanese steel, and crafted to the highest standards as possible. The blade is stainless steel, rust and corrosion resistant, and the divots running across the blade allows you to get precision cuts.
You might not think this means much, but being able to get the right cut of your brisket can easily save the texture, taste, and juices of your brisket.
Fantastic ergonomic grip with a nice and long knife make the Mercer a touch knife to beat!
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Sometimes, you need the best knife money can buy. One that's as much of a statement as it is a useful knife. If that is what you're looking for when it comes to the best knives for slicing brisket or the best knife to trim a brisket, look no further than Dalstrong. This is the knife that'll be a stunning showcase piece, although you're going to have to pay a hefty price.
The blade is twelve inches long, and the handle is a special mixture that's impervious to heat, grease, sweat, and is very sturdy in the hand. The blade itself is of Japanese steel that's been vacuum treated, and precision-engineered to be about as sharp as possible. Just about every single part of this knife has been designed, looked over, improved, and perfected.
This knife is as sharp as you would expect and slices through a brisket like a hot knife through butter. This is one of the absolute best carving knife on the market, which explains the high price-point.
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Another great knife on our list is from Zelite. As you might expect from a list like ours, the knives we pick for carving and trimming briskets are of only the most exceptional quality. And the Zelite is certainly in that department. The first thing we noticed was the grip had a nice, bulbous protrusion and makes it very comfortable to hold. The composition also makes it resistant to grease, sweat, etc.
The blade is twelve inches long and is constructed of fine German steel and crafted to have a very fine and sharp edge. What this means, as you likely guessed already, is that the blade will cut through the brisket without tearing the meat or losing any of the juices. Best of all, the blade is non-stick so no need to worry about the fibers getting tangled on the blade! Those little divots really help!
With excellent craftsmanship, the entire knife is solid and is sharp right out of the box, which we might add is a really nice box. A great knife for you brisket cutting and trimming, or cutting and trimming other dishes!
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Another excellent knife on our list, this Victorinox knife won't disappoint. A twelve-inch long stainless steel crafted blade is married to a Fibrox Pro handle. This knife won't slip from your hand, and will slice right through any brisket. Of course, Victorinox has been around since the 19th century, and each blade is crafted in Switzerland.
Unfortunately, the reason why this knife landed at number five and not higher is due to it being an exceptionally crafted blade but one that isn't exactly stand out compared to other knives on our lists. Which means this is going to be the knife for you if you just need a carving knife without any bells and whistles.
If you want an affordable, high-quality blade that'll last, the Victorinox is going to be an excellent choice for you!
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Coming on our list once again is Dalstrong and this remarkable, although rather confusing, knife. This looks much more like a weapon for a science-fiction video game than something you'd use for carving a brisket. The idea behind this knife was to make not only the best knife for trimming brisket but also a knife that looks menacing, masculine, and sinister.
Somewhat overkill for just a knife you'd use for carving, but DALSTRONG does have a range of knives and other assorted utensils in this same style. The knife is twelve inches long and crafted of the best steel that's been treated and reinforced. The grip is made of fiber-resin and is impervious to heat and water. You also get a lovely sheath for this knife, which adds plenty of value and showmanship when you carve your brisket.
DALSTRONG always seeks to provide the best blades on the market, even if their designs may be somewhat overkilling.
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The last on our list is rather unassuming, looking more like a knife you'd use to cut bread than one for briskets. But don't discount this Dexter-Russell blade just yet, at least not until you see what it can do! At twelve inches long, like many proper carving knives, the blade is married to a textured polypropylene grip. Easy to hold, and easy to handle!
The blade is crafted out of high-quality stainless steel, and is stain resistant although it isn't non-stick which is a shame. The jagged teeth at the bottom of the knife are surprisingly handy at cutting through a brisket without tearing the meat either. Something you wouldn't expect with a knife of this type.
With an affordable price, and made in America, this is the knife you'd want as a go-to carving knife!
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What Kind Of Knife Do You Use To Cut Brisket?
In theory, at least, any sort of knife can be used to cut a brisket. As we stated at the start of this article, using any sort of knife isn't that good of an idea. Think for a minute about angel food cake, don't worry we have a conclusion with this analogy. Angel food cake is very light, and very delicate, so using any knife just won't do. Other knives will cut, not slice, the cake and squish it in the process.
The same is true of your brisket. A regular knife will cut the meat buy tearing the small fibers holding the entire slab of meat together. This leaves the meat rather "mushy" as the fibers are damaged and squished down. In turn, squishing the fibers and the meat releases all the juices early, and leaves the meat rather dull and dry. Not rich, juicy, and savory like you'd want.
This is why the knives we listed as much different than a carving knife you're familiar with. In fact, you might say they don't really look like traditional knives at all, more like paddleboards. This design is on purpose, of course, as this style of a knife can easily cut through a brisket and keep the fibers intact. The little notches on the knives help with cutting and making sure the meat doesn't stick.
To recap why a brisket knife is important:
Can You Use A Bread Knife To Cut Brisket?
Yes and no. As we mentioned above, any knife can be used to cut a brisket but that doesn't mean they should be used. And this includes a bread knife. A bread knife, as a very quick recap, is a knife with teeth-like edges at the bottom. The Dexter-Russel knife we listed is a good example of what a bread knife will look like.
Bread knives are designed for carving, not slicing. Bread tends to be much thicker than cooked meat, even a brisket that's been seasoned and cooked to perfection. A knife used for cutting bread needs to handle the tougher fibers of the bread as opposed to the fibers of the meat. Not to mention, for precision cutting of bread the knife needs to carve.
So while you can use a bread knife to pull double-duty, it's recommended you get a knife specifically for your brisket and keep your bread knives for your bread.
How to Take Care Of Your Slicing Knife?
Caring for your brisket knives are simple, but require some extra steps. For starters, you need to sharpen and hone your knife regularly. We've written several articles on sharpening and honing knives, which you can read about here. If you're in a hurry, to quickly explain the difference between honing and sharpening, honing is where you realign the blade and sharpening is removing excess material on the knife to create a new sharp edge.
Because of how thin the edge is on your brisket knife, which is done on purpose it's not an oversight by the craftsmen, it's very easy for the blade to dull and become mangled after just one or two uses. Which is why investing in a sharpener for your knife, and more to that end, all the knives you own, is a great idea if not actually required.
Want to know what sharpeners we think are the best? You're in luck, as we've covered our pick for the best electric and manual knife sharpeners on the market. Now, for the amount of times you should hone and sharpen, you'll always want to hone your knife first. Never sharpen first, as this can eventually eat away at your blade. Sharpen only every two-or-three months, or if your blade really needs a sharpening.
Now that you have the basics of how you need to hone and sharpen your blade, and we recommend looking at our other articles on how to properly pull this off, let's look at cleaning your knife. You might think you can throw it in the dishwasher and be done with it, right? Well, no. Never try to clean your brisket knife in a dishwasher. Because of the high heat and detergent, your brisket knife will become mangled and ruined.
To prevent this, use only lukewarm water and regular dish soap for cleaning purposes. Make sure you dry the knife yourself, and not let it air dry as this can easily tarnish the blade no matter how exceptionally crafted it is. Finally, when you're not using your knife, make sure to leave it in the sheath. This will protect the blade from the elements and keep the blade stable and aligned.
So to quickly recap on how you need to care for your knife:
What Is The Difference Between A Carving And A Slicing Knife?
So, what is the difference between a carving knife and a slicing knife? We've discussed why you want a slicing knife over a carving knife, but let's delve deeper into the differences. A slicing knife uses a thin and flexible blade, hence why the knives on our list have a distinctive paddleboard shape unlike a conventional knife.
Despite their unorthodox design, these knives are just as sharp as other conventional ones. Due to their design, they can cut through the fibers of meat while the flexibility allows the blade more room to cut through the meat without damaging the meat. This might seem counter-intuitive, as, after all, you're cutting the meat so why worry about damaging it? "Damaged" meat has a completely different texture, and flavor, than one that's undamaged.
So a much thinner blade that's flexible allows the blade to separate the meat and keep it still tasting, and looking, good! As for a carving knife, keep in mind the bread knives we talked about along with the Dexter-Russell knife from our list. These blades are long and have jagged "teeth" at the bottom. Why these "teeth"? To cut through tougher meat and fibers.
Remember what we said about bread? Bread is thicker than meat, and some meats are thicker than bread. Basically, much tougher foods like bread, cooked meats, vegetables, etc need a carving knife to properly cut through the tougher fibers and skin. Of course, there is a risk of ruining the texture and taste of the food, so carving knives are typically used when the food in question isn't going to be harmed.
Finally, there is what's called the trimming knife. This strange, angled blade is for trimming fat off your brisket. This blade, like the carving and slicing, all need to be sharpened, honed, and clean like any other blade. Some care needs to be taken due to the very sharp edges, and the flexibility and rigidness of the slicing and carving knives respectively.
In summary of the differences between a carving and slicing knife are,
Conclusion:
This concludes our article on knives for slicing brisket. Briskets are wonderful to make, but need to be prepared in a delicate manner least they lose their taste and juices. The best knife for slicing brisket, in our opinion, is the TUO Cutlery Slicing Carving Knife. While a bit pricey, it's a rugged and masterfully designed blade. We also highly recommend anyone of the other six on our list if the TUO doesn't cut it for you.
Brisket knives, much like the brisket itself, are somewhat finicky and what works for one knife/food doesn't always work for the brisket and brisket knife. With their paddleboard shape, and some even being non-stick, they excel at cutting through brisket and softer foods, but not much else. You might wonder why you'd need to invest in such a knife, but trust us, you'll want one.
Even if you don't use it for brisket, these knives are great for fruits, vegetables like tomatoes, cakes, and softer fish and meats. It may be a niche knife, but you'll certainly want one!