Brisket is delicious. Anyone with even a passing like for the taste of smoked beef can agree with that. It’s good by itself, as a meal, on sandwiches, or processed into something else like corned beef or pastrami, to be used later.
But no matter what you do with it, at some stage you’re going to need to slice it up, and for that you’ll need a knife. But what kind of knife? That’s the question we’re going to answer today.
Our Top Choice
- Exceptional craftsmanship and design.
- Full tang for incredible robustness & quality.
- Easy to hold, easy to clean, easy to use.
- 100% SATISFACTION OR MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.
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Dalstrong Shadow Black Series
BEST CHOICE
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TUO Fiery Phoenix
RUNNER UP
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BLACK+DECKER Comfort Grip
VALUE CHOICE
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What Makes a Brisket Slicing Knife Good?
In essence all the same things that make any other knife good to go into one for brisket. The main thing is that rather than looking for an all purpose knife, you may want to specialize a bit.
A good brisket slicing knife should be robust, first and foremost. A relatively thick and long blade is absolutely necessary. About 9 inches is good for a shorter blade, while 12 inches is about the upper max I’d say is reasonable for something you’re supposed to be slicing or carving with.
Much like any blade, look at the quality of its materials. Steel is a must. Stainless steel at the least, while high carbon steels are generally preferred for manual knives. Likewise, the handle should be of a durable material, that is moisture and oil resistant; you never want a knife to slip in your hands.
Better materials mean a better knife, full stop. Everything else about a knife (so long as it doesn’t have some wacky design that make sit unusable for some purpose) can be changed or refined (using knife sharpener too), like its blade angle, to be whatever you prefer.
Manual or Electric?
This is somewhat up to personal preference, as there are pros and cons to the different knife types.
I personally prefer manual knives, as they’re more reliable. A manual knife needs no electricity to run, and can be used anywhere, from your home kitchen to the deepest woods in your summer cabin away from it all.
Manual knives also give you a bit more control on the shape of the slice you’re making, supporting a wider variety of angles than a manual knife.
But on the other hand, even a cheap electric knife takes a lot of effort off of bulk cutting, and provides one major advantage over a regular knife: consistency.
Electric knives are very good at cutting in one direction: straight down, where you’re pointing the force. This is perfect for getting uniform, relatively thin cuts for different purposes without needing to resort to something like a meat slicer.
As a final note, price consistency varies a lot when it comes to knives. A decent electric knife can be had for as little as $20, where I wouldn’t pay anything less than $35 or so for a good carbon steel knife, and wouldn’t balk too much at paying somewhere in the ball park of $100 for a really nice one.
Top 7 Best Knife for Slicing Brisket Reviews of 2022
1. Dalstrong Shadow Black Series – 9 inch Slicing Knife
Why you’ll love this:
Dalstrong makes by far some of the best knives on the market, and this is no exception. With excellent blade construction, a comfortable nonslip handle, and a stylish, modern design, it brings both form and function to the table and makes for an extremely satisfying cutting experience for brisket and beyond.
What We Liked
- Extremely high quality blade.
- Full tang construction for added durability.
- Strong hard, and flexible.
- Sharp and holds a great edge.
- Comfortable and non-slip handle.
- Lifetime warranty. Good price.
What We Didn’t Like
- Black coating presents minor issues when cleaning blood from the knife.
I really like this knife, not just for brisket, but for a wide variety of slicing purposes. It focuses on aesthetics a little too much for my taste, but its minor flaws don’t really detract from how high quality of a knife this is.
The handle at first looks like it would be uncomfortable, but it actually feels quite nice in the hand, with a great texture that is moisture wicking and non-slip. The G10 fiber resin material is also heat, cold, and moisture resistant for long term durability.
The blade is of similarly high quality, full tang with a 58+ Rockwell hardness rating born from its high carbon “super steel” construction which is further hardened with a nitrogen bath that increases both hardness and flexibility, averting the general rule that increased hardness adds to brittleness.
The final component is a titanium nitride coating that increases its corrosion resistance and overall durability. That in itself is good, but the minor flaw here is that it’s black, which makes it a bit more difficult to clean and see things stuck to it, while making it much more noticeable if it gets scratched or nicked.
But that’s really a minor gripe compared to all the other benefits of this knife. It’s even got a good price (nothing out of the ordinary for a high end knife) and a lifetime warranty against defects, making it a very safe buy.
2. TUO Fiery Phoenix Hollow-Ground 12 inch Slicer
Why you’ll love this:
The beautiful, pakkawood handle of this long knife pairs well with its Granton edged blade, providing easy, beautiful slicing with a minimum of fuss. If you’re cutting a large hunk of meat, this knife will provide everything you need and then some, and holds an exceptionally keen edge for cutting through even the toughest food.
What We Liked
- Great high quality German steel.
- Comfortable slip resistant ergonomic pakkawood handle.
- Great edge.
- Low price for such a quality blade.
What We Didn’t Like
- 15 degree blade edge is great, but can be difficult to maintain.
While I think Dalstrong’s knife above is excellent, and would be one of my top choices for knife in just about any situation, it is a bit short; roughly the length of your average chef’s knife or santoku knife, and may struggle cutting larger cuts of meat. Briskets can get quite large (though I tend to stick with smaller cuts), and for those purposes you want a good long carving and slicing knife. Enter: TUO’s “Fiery” meat knife.
It’s a solid foot long at the blade, and has a very nice and comfortable pakkawood handle. The indentations on the blade help prevent it from sticking, and it’s got a nice sharp tip to help transfer meat to a plate (though that may be hard with a some types of brisket, which can completely fall apart if cooked long enough).
The blade itself is quite good German steel, high carbon which takes and holds a wickedly sharp edge (15 degrees by default), and is perfect for slicing. However, It can require a lot of maintenance to keep a blade sharp long term which you may need to invest in an electric knife sharpener.
While it lacks a lot of the little extra touches that make the Dalstrong Black Series knives so good, it also comes in at half the price, making an exceptional high quality but budget friendly knife for many purposes.
3. BLACK+DECKER 9-Inch Electric Carving Knife
Why you’ll love this:
A medium bladed electric knife designed to save you time and energy, especially around the holidays. It practically glides through meat, particularly tough and otherwise hard to slice options using its two serrated, oscillating blades to saw through pretty much anything in seconds. Doubles as a light duty saw in a pinch.
What We Liked
- Very inexpensive.
- Great performance on meat.
- Easy to use.
- Comfortable in the hand.
- Lightweight.
What We Didn’t Like
- Can absorb heat too fast.
- Get very slippery when wet or oily.
This little electric knife may not look like much, but it packs a surprising punch.
I was never really a fan of electric carving knives in concept before I got this one a while back. I found them on the whole overpriced and unnecessary when a manual knife could often do a lot better, especially when it comes to bones and gristle.
I still stand by that last part; no reasonably priced electric knife I’ve ever looked at has been able to appreciably cut bones or joints in my experience. Still, even with that flaw, it can’t be denied how much easier it is to cut something that doesn’t have anything like that in it, and especially if you’re cooking a “dry” brisket that holds its shape a lot better than a much more tender option, this thing is a huge time saver. It can cut easy, uniform chunks out of anything like a brisket or ham (though you still need to be careful of the ham bone in the latter) and makes serving beautiful slices a snap; a far cry from the embarrassingly sloppy hunks I tend to cut out of a lot of larger foods.
It’s also quite cheap, and remains exceptionally easy to use, so makes the perfect addition to your kitchen if you already have a good set of manual knives for other purposes.
4. Saken 12 inch German Steel Slicing Carving Knife1472℉ Extreme Heat Resistant Grill Gloves
Why you’ll love this:
Another long, Granton edged blade with a lot to love about it. The rounded tip makes it excellent for cutting food that’s inside some kind of container, such as a roasting [an, without scratching the sides. Combined with its solid blade quality and professional look, it provides more than enough quality for such a surprisingly budget friendly knife.
What We Liked
- Excellent high carbon German steel blade.
- Comfortable and fatigue reducing non-slip handle.
- Great sharp 15 degree edge angle.
What We Didn’t Like
- Lack of a sharp point is a slight drop in versatility.
This is another great midrange slicing knife, with a quality blade and a very good handle.
It’s exceptionally comfortable in the hand compared to other options, and that’s really the great strength here. Combined with its sharpness it really cuts down on hand and wrist fatigue for long slicing sessions.
My main problem with it is its overall design. It’s a fairly standard slicing knife, and I admit I have somewhat of a bias against this common style. The rounded point, in my opinion, loses you a lot of versatility over a pointed knife. There’s a lot you can do with a piercing tip to your knife, and not having it provides such little benefit for my own needs that I tend to dock points for the design,
If you have a lot of space constraints and are concerned about puncturing or scratching a roasting pan or something it’s understandable, but in that case it seems like a shorter knife would serve you better regardless.
Still, that doesn’t stop the knife from being excellent quality overall, with a good German high carbon blade, a comfortable handle, and a great 12” length at a very reasonable price, so consider picking it up if it suits your fancy.
5. Hamilton Beach Electric Carving Knife
Why you’ll love it:
This electric knife has a lot to love, especially for the price. With a small, maneuverable blade it can be used for almost any purpose with ease, and brings more than enough power for any reasonable job. As an added bonus, it comes with a quite nice slicing fork for guiding the blades.
What we liked
- Waterproof and resistant to grease and oil.
- Neoprene exterior is safe for use around food.
What we didn’t like
- A bit hard to justify the price compared to a high quality manual knife.
This Hamilton Beach knife is in pretty much all ways better than the Black + Decker model above. The only rub is it’s also twice the expense, putting it at the same price range as the Saken and TUO knives above.
As mentioned, I’ll pretty much take a good manual knife over an electric knife any day; they’re more reliable and easier to use in a variety of situations.
While this is an excellent slicing knife, it, like all electric knives, hits a wall on how good it can perform. In terms of slicing brisket specifically, I’d put this one at about the same as the Black + Decker model, as just about any electric knife would do just as well.
Mind, this knife is pretty much guaranteed to last you longer, and performs better as a more general purpose electric knife (slicing bread with ease using its more rigid reciprocating blades) than that model, so if you like electric carving knives, this is a great example of its kind.
6. Victorinox 12 inch Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Slicing Knife
Why you’ll love it:
This may not be as pretty as the other similarly priced knives on this list, but it gets the job done just as well from Victorinox.
Everything about this knife is function over form. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it means it compares poorly to knives which, in my opinion, marry the two better. The knives we’ve already covered are highly functional knives which also look good as display pieces and feel good in the hand. This knife is more of a standard restaurant knife. It feels secure, but not overly comfortable, and is designed to be very easy to hold even in moist or slippery conditions.
What we liked
- Excellent nonslip handle.
- Great blade quality.
- Okay edge but can be sharpened to hold a better one.
- Easy to hold and use.
- Dishwasher safe (one of the few advantages of a lower carbon steel).
What we didn’t like
- A bit pricey; you pay extra for the etching.
The Granton edge is great for cutting sticky or moist foods as well as meats, and the overall quality of the blade is great. It holds an edge well and is made of high quality European steel, with a hefty 12” length.
About the only complaint I have in terms of function is its rounded tip, which I’ve already mentioned is not my favorite design choice on these kinds of knives. Everything else holds up extremely well, especially given it shares a similar midrange price to all but the Dalstrong knife above. The lack of a high carbon steel is also worrisome in a general sense. However, In instances where you’re done smoking a brisket and need a knife for the strict purpose of cutting the smoked meat, then the blade will be useful.
7. TUO 10 inch Black Hawk S Chef Knife
Why you’ll love it:
This is a great knife, and in many ways identical to TUO’s other offering here. It’s a high quality knife made from an excellent high carbon stainless steel that holds a great edge. The handle, rather than being made of pakkawood, is a more elegant, less showy, but far more durable G10 fiber glass.
What we liked
- High quality high carbon stainless steel blade holds a great edge and is very durable.
- Comfortable and highly durable handle.
- Good length.
- Beautiful etched wave pattern.
What we didn’t like
- A bit pricey; you pay extra for the etching.
The blade has a very nice wave pattern on it, and is overall beautiful while being highly effective, with a Granton edge for easy slicing and a comfortable length.
However, in terms of performance you’re getting pretty much the exact same knife as the Fiery series (plus a much better handle for long term durability, to be fair) at a significantly higher price, which is likely due to the etching.
This is still a great knife, but it could be hard to justify paying so much extra for a pretty pattern on the blade.
FINAL VERDICT
I’d be comfortable recommending any of these knives. While the Dalstrong Black series knife is the best in terms of raw quality, it’s also a fair bit more expensive than the others, so it’s easy to justify getting one of the TUO knives or the Saken or Victorinox options over it as viable manual knives in their own right.
Of the electric options, you have the choice between cheap and okay, or more expensive but better, giving you a bit of freedom there as well. In terms of slicing up brisket, these are the best on the market in my opinion.
Keeping Brisket Moist Before You Cut
You must keep your brisket moist during the cooking process. When the meat’s surface is damp, it attracts smoke, which combines with the fuel source gases and creates a sweet bark. On the other hand, if your brisket loses moisture during the cooking process, the result will be a dry and tough cut of meat.
Fortunately, there are several techniques you can adopt if you want to make sure your brisket is at its juicy and flavorful best when you serve it to friends and family.
Should You Inject Your Brisket for Easy Slicing
So why should you inject your brisket? Well, apart from adding flavour to your brisket, you will also get a juicy, plumper steak that will leave you leaking your fingers with each slice of the delicious meat!
