How to Cut Beef Brisket

Beef brisket, which was once thought to be delicious only when pureed, is now considered by many to be the best meat for grilling and smoking (not to mention salted beef brisket is also delicious). , how to cut the perfect slices of beef brisket is not an easy task. Follow these steps and you’ll be cutting beef brisket professionally in no time.

Table of Contents

Get to know Beef Brisket

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Identify the different parts of beef brisket. A beef brisket is made up of two muscle parts, the fat part and the meat part. These two parts are separated by a thick layer of white fat (which is where one muscle bundle ends and another begins). Much of the fat also has its own grain and looks different from the grain of the meat. This distinction is important to note, especially if this is your first time cutting beef brisket.

Fatty part : This part is also known as ‘silver music’ or ‘cow dandruff’. This is the fatty part of the beef breast, and it looks like there is a lot of fat interspersed (that is, there are many layers of fat mixed with the meat).
Meat : This part has less fat and as you can see, it is also usually flatter than the fatty part.
Fat rim : One side of the beef brisket is surrounded by a ‘fat rim’, and barbecue aficionados often argue about this rim. Some people think that the fat rim should be placed on the grill, others think it should be on the top. But whichever way you choose, this rim of fat needs to be toasted.

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Know the popular way to prepare beef brisket. This type of meat is often used to grill, smoke or to cook salted beef with potatoes. The English word ‘beef breast’ comes from an Old Norse word meaning ‘cartilage’. The oldest documented preparation of beef brisket is salted beef. Old World people (the world before America was discovered) marinated beef brisket in salt crystals, then left it in a cool place and in the dark. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Prepare and cook your beef brisket. Decide what you want to make with this meat. Here are a few great ideas ^{[2] X Research Sources} :

Smoked beef brisket. This is one of the most classic ways to prepare beef brisket. This method takes a lot of work and time (12 hours of smoking) but it will pay off well.
Roast beef brisket. If you like beef brisket, this is the simplest way to prepare, but still delicious.
Make salted beef. Take a recipe from an ancient cookbook and salt the beef. Use salted beef with potatoes or make it into minced salt beef (delicious).
Awaken the Texas within you. Texas is where the art of making beef brisket was developed and shaped throughout the United States (so you can see grilling restaurants popping up in specialized areas of the city).

Cut Beef Brisket

Place the beef brisket on a cutting board. You should look over the meat and place it on a cutting board with the ‘fat rim’ side facing up.

Start cutting the meat. You should cut across the grain, cutting through the meat first (the part that is separate from the fatty part). Cut across the grain by placing your knife perpendicular to the grain. When you cut in, keep the knife in this direction to loosen the muscle lines. Doing so will definitely make the meat softer and easier to chew. Conversely, the muscle lines will be preserved if you cut the meat along the grain and the result will be very tough. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Make sure you stop cutting where the grain changes direction.

Stop cutting at the splicing layer. This is actually a thick layer of fat that separates the meat from the fat part. It’s okay if you don’t know what the joint looks like, you’ll feel it when you cut through it because it’s tougher than the other parts.

Cut off most of the fat. Reposition your knife to cut across the grain of the fatty portion. Make sure you’re still slicing through the fibers at a right angle to keep the meat tender. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

You don’t have to divide the brisket into two portions. Each slice of meat can include fibers in both parts, it is important that you stop at the joint so that you can correct the direction of the knife.

Divide the slices of meat into “fat-free” and “fatty” cuts. Because fat is not evenly distributed in beef brisket, some slices will have more fat than others. Those slices of meat are called “fatty” meat, and are usually beefier, tastier cuts of beef.

Advice

Always keep an eye on the direction of the grain. If you cut the beef brisket in a hurry or carelessly, the result will be pieces of meat that are dangling and difficult to chew.
If you do not marinate the meat, you can place the meat with the fat rim on top when cooking. If the meat is marinated, it should be processed with the fat rim on the bottom. If it is on top, this layer of fat will not penetrate the meat, but it will just flow through the sides and wash away the marinade.
Some barbecue aficionados really like to cut the beef brisket along the grain and result in tougher cuts of beef. This idea is only really good when you marinate the beef brisket first so that the meat is tender enough to be easily chewed. Particularly, salted beef always requires cutting the meat across the grain in any situation.

Things You Need

Beef brisket
A sharp knife
Chopping board

Steps

Get to know Beef Brisket

Cut Beef Brisket

Advice

Things You Need

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