**The Art of Dealing with Brisket: Turning Every Cut to Gold**

When it comes to brisket, understanding its nuances is key to unlocking its full potential. In this article, we'll delve into the world of brisket and explore the various techniques required to bring out its unique characteristics.

**Understanding Brisket Structure**

Brisket is a cut of meat that consists of two main parts: the lean and the fatty sections. The lean section is typically tougher and requires more time to cook through, while the fatty section is tender and juicy. To maximize flavor and texture, it's essential to understand how to work with these different sections.

When dealing with brisket, it's crucial to identify the lean and fatty areas. The lean area will have a firmer texture and less marbling (fat distribution), while the fatty section will be softer and more tender. By recognizing these differences, you can adjust your cooking technique accordingly.

**Preparing Brisket for Chopping**

When preparing brisket for chopping, it's essential to take care of every detail. Start by removing any excess fat that may have accumulated on top of the meat. This will help prevent a greasy texture and ensure that the meat cooks evenly.

Next, slice the brisket against the grain (perpendicular to the muscle fibers) using a sharp knife. This will make it easier to cut through the meat and result in more tender slices. When slicing, work slowly and carefully to avoid tearing the meat.

**Creating a Perfect Chopped Beef Sandwich**

To create the perfect chopped beef sandwich, start by identifying the ideal portion size. A good rule of thumb is to aim for 4/3 pound portions. From this portion, chop the brisket into small pieces against the grain, making sure each piece is about 1 inch in length.

Using a bench scraper, chop the meat into uniform-sized chunks. This will ensure that every bite is consistent and flavorful. As you chop, mix in any remaining bark or fat from the edges of the brisket to distribute flavor evenly throughout.

**Maximizing Brisket Utilization**

One of the most efficient ways to use a whole brisket is to turn it into chopped beef. By slicing or chopping the meat against the grain, you can create tender, bite-sized pieces that are perfect for sandwiches.

To maximize utilization, identify every single part of the brisket, from the lean end to the fatty section. Each piece has its unique characteristics and flavor profile, making them valuable components of a well-rounded dish.

**Serving Brisket: Tips and Tricks**

When serving brisket, presentation is key. To create an impressive display, start by placing a few slices of the leanest meat on top of the tray or plate. This will provide a visual representation of the meat's texture and color.

For special occasions or events, consider creating smaller portions, such as bite-sized pieces or nuggets from the end of the lean section. These can be served as appetizers or treats to complement the main course.

**Tips for Creating Perfect Slices**

When slicing brisket, aim for slices that are around 1/4 inch thick. This will provide a nice balance between tenderness and flavor. To achieve this, use a sharp knife and slice against the grain (perpendicular to the muscle fibers).

One trick for achieving perfect slices is to rub your hand over the meat where it's greasy. This helps create a smooth texture and adds visual appeal.

**The Art of Brisket Serving: Variety is Key**

To showcase every part of the brisket, consider creating a tray with multiple sections. By layering different textures and flavors, you can provide customers with a unique culinary experience.

For example, include lean slices, fatty sections, and even nuggets from the end of the lean section. This will allow customers to taste the full range of flavors and textures that the brisket has to offer.

**Conclusion**

Brisket is a versatile cut of meat that requires attention to detail and understanding of its nuances. By recognizing the importance of texture, flavor, and presentation, you can unlock its full potential and create dishes that will impress even the most discerning palates. Whether you're a seasoned chef or an aspiring cook, remember that every cut of brisket has something unique to offer – it's up to you to find out what makes each piece special.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey what's going on guys my name is Joe Yim of Knox F barbecue and today I'm going to show you how to slice brisket like a pro so we spent all day cooking this brisket and also spent a couple hours resting it the last thing we want to do is mess this brisket up by slicing it incorrectly there's different ways that you can serve it different purposes whether they're slices or for Cho beef sandwiches and things like that I'm going to show how to use every single part of this brisket to maximize your portions okay this brisket is fully rusted it's sitting at 155 right now and this thing is ready to cut and before we get into cutting just going to talk about the knife that I'm going to be using today this is just a 12 in slicing knife or carving knife it's also a bread knife this one has the serration on it I personally like using a knife with serration because I think it helps kind of cut through the bark a little bit better and then afterwards the blade is long enough where we can get really nice clean slices out of your brisket usually when you're opening up a brisket out of butcher paper there's really not much to it but sometimes a paper does stick to each other so when you're doing so and you feel like it is just be very careful because if you're a little bit too aggressive you might end up kind of shredding your brisket so if you do feel a little slight tug on that paper just be a little more cautious in terms of shape it doesn't look that much different but the feel of it is a lot different than when we pull it off it doesn't have that like memory foam home pillow feel that we've been talking all day about in terms of like how your brisket should feel because after that long rest it's starting to kind of relax and we're getting back to that sliceable texture that we are looking for at this point so it should have a little bit more structure it's not as bendy as it was before it's tender but it's not super super soft this is the lean portion and this is the point this is where all like the fat and the marble section of the brisket is uh and then this portion right here is also where we took out the heel fat this is kind of like where the burn ends of a brisket comes from from a Texas style brisket there aren't really any burn ends typically in Texas style barbecue that's usually a Kansas City style barbecue type thing but I think over the years a lot of people who visit Texas always ask if they have burn ends so usually at restaurants Cutters kind of give them this portion if it's available First Slice that we're going to do is kind of right in the middle where the lean and the fatty kind of meet and generally if we trimmed it right it's typically right in the center right here so with this knife a lot of times you're taught to curl your fingers when you're slicing food or you're or you're cutting things with KN Fork but for this brisket because it is pretty delicate up top with all the fat and the bark I'm going to use the side of my thumb kind of as a gauge almost as like you would use like the top of your knuckles but because with a longer blade and we just want to make sure this is nice and even using the side of your thumb kind of helps that brisket not wobble quite as much when you're trying to slice through this and in the beginning we want to have a couple of short Strokes using the serration of a knife kind of break through the bark then you can use the entire length of the blade to make nice clean slices even after that long rest we still have quite a bit of juice kind of flowing out of this brisket you know definitely don't want to push down on it you don't want to squeeze all the moisture out of the brisket and with this brisket we see the smoke ring around it got that fat that's not like super super white it's got a little bit of that golden color that's giving us the idea that we rendered it properly with that little bit of high heat like we had towards the end of a cook so it's going to be a much sweeter flavor even though this brisket might be super super rich that extra little bit of smoke is going to bring a little bit of balance to an entire slice in the brisket so we're going to deal with slicing the lean first and right now we got a little bit of that point still attached to the top and it's perfectly fine uh but when we slice these leans we want probably a quar a little less than a/ quar of inch slices we want them kind of thin but thick enough to where they still have some structure and as you guys can see I'm using my thumb kind of as that gauge to give me the right and even thickness all the way across and have a nice pull all the way through maybe you cooked a little bit too hot and the edges are a little bit more crispy you can always kind of hold that top portion if it's a little flaky with your fingers back here so as you pull all that meat kind of comes together off that slice in the same way if I'm slicing the back end as a little shreddy or it's a little overcooked I can use my thumb as I pull down to make sure I get a nice clean slice the one thing that we don't want is it to shred so if you feel like you need to go a little bit slower in order to make sure that the slices are nice and clean just take your time you just want to make sure that your slices are nice and even if you get them to be super thick they might be a little bit too chewy um so getting that right thickness like think about like a slice that you want to put on a sandwich like if you're eating like a steak sandwich you want it to be thick enough where it has a little bit of structure and some chew to it but not so thick that like you're biting out a huge chunk of meat and then at the end of this portion of lean this is also kind of what some people like it's kind of like the burn end of the lean portion so we're going to leave this a little bit thicker on the end just cuz the slices are super small but as you can see the fat on the top is like really really caramelized and kind of golden and these are kind of like little nuggets and little Samplers that uh restaurants or or the Cutters will give uh customers in line so for these cut them into little blocks and cubes that way when you're feeding customers in line hopefully you'll give them a bite and they order pound and a half because it's so good so that's the deal so with all these slices just because we're cutting through the entire thing we want to make sure all the slices are right next to each other and keep them close as it gets cut it's going to dry out really quickly it's going to change color so as much as possible keep those slices right next to each other um just until you're ready to serve them now we're getting to the point and this is probably what everyone is looking for just because it has all that marbling has all that fat it has a little bit more texture it has a little more height so it looks a little bit bigger and better this is a portion where we lopped it off because that was that Mohawk that was sticking up um so there's not quite as much meat on this side so this kind of half to maybe 60% of the brisket like this is the prime portion right here this part's a little bit leaner so if you go to a barbecue restaurant and you ask for fatty or you ask for the point and they're trying to serve you this portion say I don't want that and give me another brisket because this is a lot of just a lot of fat and gristle the grain of the muscle is going to change so as we go up to this point the lean all the muscle fibers are going this way but as the muscle changes the grain of the muscle on the point is going to is going to change so we're going to twist this 90° so that we are actually cutting against the grain of the point muscles most people will say like my brisket was really really chewy and it usually has to do with like one it's a little undercooked or they're probably cutting the brisket the wrong way now with this portion we're going to cut these slices a little bit thicker the reason being there's a lot more fat and a lot more collagen kind of going on here and if you cut them really razor thin it's most likely going to fall apart while you're trying to cut it so this end portion is that burnt ends that everyone's looking for where has all the bark on the outside pretty much all the salt and pepper caked on there but then when you flip over to show the inside you got all that marbling speckled throughout and we know that we did a good job because you can kind of see the lines of fat running through the entire piece if you cook it too hot or if you've had this side of the briset too close to fire it almost will look like discolored and really really dark brown and that has to do with the fact that it was just overcooked and just beaten over the head with like too much heat during the cook while we're slicing these these slices are going to be a little bit thicker maybe slightly over a/4 inch slices you want to make sure that these have some structure when we're serving it to customers and this is the one that everyone is really looking for for this point we're looking for roughly about maybe half a pound per two slices and you know as you get used to cutting a lot this is what you're looking for on this Edge right here it's a little bit more dark red because that's where a lot of the smoke has collected that's where all the pepper and the salt has kind of caramelized with the fat on top and that's what some people call kind of like the sugar cookie in barbecue uh even though it's not sweet at all U it's like a Savory sugar cookie where all the flavors collected at this very end and as I kind of run my finger across here you can see how like none of the fibers are like breaking apart everything is held together there's marbling in between these really thick fibers within inside this brisket that's a perfectly perfectly cooked brisket Point again like we did with the lean we're going to try to keep these slices together uh because we don't want them oxidized because it's got this thick band of fat right down the middle it can tend to wobble a little bit as you start slicing uh which is why keeping this hand and on the side so you can press it down a little bit to get it some structure and as you slice trying to make sure your knife is straight because if you take a slight angle the brisket will get really thick towards the bottom and it will become a little bit more uneven and with this thick piece this pole strip is really important get a really nice clean slice at the bottom just so it doesn't shred as you're pulling through and right now we're getting close to that like we were saying earlier that 60% that's really good and now we're getting to a place where it's not bad it's just not the best that it can be um so when it gets to where we get to this Mohawk or this point that is a little bit taller some people will just flop it over and just cut off that portion because this is where all that marbled meat still exists it's still nice and juicy it still has a lot of same kind of muscle structure as the rest of the slices that we just cut and kind of like we did with the burn ends earlier these are also pieces that we can uh cut into chunks or sometimes some restaurants like to do it where instead of like big nuggets we'll do in these long kind of strips so they look more like slices and I think it looks a little bit better when you're serving to a customer if I feel like there's a lot of Maru a lot of fat I'll still serve it to a customer or I'll ask the customer hey would you be interested in this piece this Mohawk piece up top you know more people than not will love it just because it has that same sort of flavor profile as those burn ends we were talking about earlier so just to save this I'm going to push this against the rest of the brisket so we can keep this as moist as possible I'm going to put these burs at top to again not expose any of these slices uh to Air and this is the portion that we're talking about where it is the kind of 30% portion of that point muscle this is all lean brisket at the bottom with a big chunk of fat so usually if you are given this at a barbecue restaurant it's probably used for Chop brisket um just because there's not that much fat underneath uh and this portion right here is not great for slices so if you ever go to a barbecue restaurant and they're trying to serve you this please ask them to give you a new brisket so if I was on the Block at a barbecue restaurant and I had a piece like this and and it's perfect timing like a customer comes up and they don't actually want sliced brisket they want chopped and if I have this portion I think this makes for a really great chopped beef sandwich um just because the lean underneath here has been sitting underneath a point for a long time it's got some good structure it's got some moisture but it's not overly fatty so when we come to this point I'm just going to take my knife and very carefully take off that fat that's sitting on top then I'm going to turn it so that now I'm actually slicing against a grain of that lean like we did earlier and try to cut this really really thin because that way when we put this onto sandwiches or we chop this up the muscle fiber is a lot smaller and it makes it a lot easier for customers to eat it's the reason why I turn turned it is because now we're cutting against the muscle grain and now it's starting to break apart a little bit more and if I cut it same way that we did we get these really stretchy pieces that we can't really pull apart and that's because we're cutting with the grain of the muscle so it's really important to understand like what muscle you're cutting on the brisket because it's going to change and turn while you're cutting throughout the entire brisket all right so now that we have all these pieces kind of chopped up against the grain I'm going usually I'll take a portion where it's like a sandwich portion which is about4 third of a pound depending on where you go and now we're just going to take our bench scraper and we're just going to chop this up so once it's all chopped up now you kind of get these brisket chunks into reasonable sized portions you also kind of mix in a lot of that bark that was kind of sprinkled around the edges and now you kind of get it mixed all the way through and that little bit of fat that was sitting on top also gets mixed through so it's a really ni nice bite um but in order to maximize getting a good slices of lean good slices of your your fatty brisket and also taking these pieces that I wouldn't want to serice slices and turning into chopped beef is just another way to like we talked about earlier using the entire brisket in terms of trim now we're finding every single way to use our brisket once it's done cooking these are the nuggets from the very end of the lean this is what you would normally give to customers um you know as treats during the Line This is a lean bris that we're slicing just less than a/4 of an inch and this is the point that we slice a little bit thicker than a quar of an inch just because it needs a little bit more structure cuz all that marbling and fat that's in there these really thin slices are coming from the lean that's sitting right underneath that Mohawk just because it's a little bit leaner this is also the portion that I would serve as Cho brisket these chunks of the burn ends are coming off the very very top of the Mohawk that even though we can't get full slices these have all the marving and all the flavor that you would get from the moist end The Cho brisket is just from any part of the brisket that you can't serve a slice but if you chop it up and you get all that seasoning mixed through it makes for a great sandwich these are the burn end pieces that you would get on the very end of the moist end and this is probably a slice that most people are looking for now that I showed you guys how to slice this brisket I'm going to create a tray that I think kind of gives you the best parts of the brisket to feed to two or three people I'm going to take a couple of these lean slices and very centered these are usually my favorite lean slice to make and we're going to shingle them just a little bit so everyone can see that fat that we rendered in there uh and the grain of the muscle I like really getting the first three slices inside this point muscle where it's nice and fatty and Rich one of the tricks that you can use is take your hand where it's greasy and just kind of rub it so it looks really nice for customers and we'll shingle that and lay that across right here and just because we really like the customers or your family friends your feeding we're going to give them these nice F in chunks that everyone is looking for show them a little bit of the marbling a little bit of the bark just give all a variety of texture there to me is a perfect way to taste every single part of this brisket and my favorite bites throughout I'm so happy this came out good subscribe to our Channel and visit chefsteps.com for more tips recipes guides and tools to help you level up in the kitchen\n"