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Brisket being sliced on a cutting board.
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5 from 4 votes

How to Slice Brisket

Slicing a brisket is a huge part of having the perfect smoked brisket experience. Knowing how to slice a brisket correctly will give you tender, melt in your mouth, smoked meat. I’ll teach you all the tips and tricks to make you look like a brisket pro!
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: How to Slice Brisket
Servings: 1 sliced brisket
Author: Susie Bulloch (heygrillhey.com)

Equipment

  • Large cutting board
  • Sharp knife

Ingredients

  • 1 smoked brisket

Instructions

  • Prep the brisket for slicing. Set your brisket on a large cutting board with the point toward your non-dominant hand (that's left for me). This hand will be responsible for moving meat around and feeling things out and your dominant hand will be on knife duty. Obviously this will be the opposite if you are a lefty. I try not to confuse the two during the process or I end up with a slippery knife.
  • Locate where the point and flat meet. Start by placing your left hand on the point of the brisket and pressing gently. You can feel how tender your brisket is! It should feel like meaty butter. If you move your left hand in a small, circular motion you can start to feel where a small layer of fat separates the flat from the point.
  • Make the first cut. Where the point comes down to meet the flat is where you want to make your first slice. This is the dividing line, so to speak, where the grain of the meat changes. Since you always want to be slicing against the grain of your brisket, is important to have these two pieces separate and sliced differently.
  • Slice the flat. Move your attention to the flat, and using long, smooth strokes, cut it into 1/4 inch slices (about the width of a no. 2 pencil.) The muscle of the flat all runs the same direction, so it is pretty simple to get beautifully uniform slices that all run the same direction. Always cut against the grain! Just make sure that each piece gets a good piece of the delicious seasoned bark while you slice and you're good to go!
  • Slice the point in half. Now head over to the point. I start by slicing it in half in the opposite direction of your initial cut. This cut will show you the grain of your brisket and also gives you that magical ah-ha moment where you get to see the "money shot" from all of your time and dedication. You can pick up this beautiful piece of perfectly smoked meat that is just dripping with juices and, I swear, the pride and joy is tangible. Don't deny yourself this moment by rushing through and just slicing all of that brisket up in a hurry! Savor the slicing process, it can be pretty fun.
  • Slice the point. Grab one half of the point, and turn it 90 degrees. Working your way to the outside from the middle, slice in 1/4 inch slices. Again, make sure each slice has some of the magic bark on top of it. Some people who slice brisket will remove the entire point from the flat and then proceed to slice the whole flat in uniform pieces. The problem with this approach is that there is no bark on the part of the flat that was under the point! The bark is arguably the best part of the brisket where all of the savory, smoky, flavor lives. Everybody deserves a piece of bark. Don't hack off the point. Ok?
  • Serve and enjoy. Get your meat hand on the other half of the point and proceed with the slicing as you did with the first half of the point. By now, your whole brisket should be beautifully sliced and ready to serve. Find your very best friend and give them the end pieces (or save them for yourself) and let everybody else choose for themselves what part of the brisket they want.