Hello! I have a new problem. (I searched the forum before posting here.) I'm smoking 50# of brisket for an event next weekend. After the hold, I would like to get it sliced for serving in about 30 minutes. I'm thinking you guys know that hand slicing brisket is quite a workout, so with that volume, should I consider renting a meat slicer? I do have an electric knife. I'm not sure I will have enough slicers on hand to process this amount, and I want my husband to still be happily married at the end of the evening.
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I wouldn't rent a slicer. The electric knife should work just fine. Brisket is very easy to slice, -
Good food id worth waiting forComment
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Check YouTube for "Brisket Slicing 101". All you need to know. Sharp knife is key!Comment
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Thanks, guys! Most of the consumers will be youth, so I'm sure the food will go fast. I'll definitely check out the youtube vid and have the electric knives on stand by. It's a big pile of meat to slice.Comment
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That is a lot of slicing. But even manually, You will be able to do that in a half hour. The electric slicer will be nice, but I don't think it would be totally necessary.Comment
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BBQueen, How often do You Get Tapped to Feed the Ravenous Mutts? If it is More than Once or Twice the the
Purchase of an Electric or Manual Slicer might be Justified! They will slice Veggies as Well! One suggestion You may
want have 2 or 3 Pair of Cut Resistant Gloves on Hand! Large Crowds and Large Quantities and Sharp? Knives make
for Bloody Fingers and Spoiled BBQ! Amazon has the Gloves I will try to Link for You, Not to Good at It!
Eat Well and Prosper! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan
Last edited by Danjohnston949; February 5, 2017, 09:22 AM.Comment
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Thanks, Danjohnston949 Appreciate the tip! I tend to do a lot of large volume food prep. That's how I ended up with the short sniper. I don't have time to smoke over several days to get finished with bigger projects. But I probably will end up getting a second smaller (much cheaper) unit so I can do a chicken or 4# of pastrami. I used to get confused about the guys that own multiple smokers, but now I get it!Comment
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If you have access to electricity, I'd use electric knives.Comment
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Are you serving at the end of a line or does the meat have to be out? It makes a big difference. If the meat has to be out and the line will be done in 30 minutes, a meat slicer may be the way to go. However, if you are at the end of a line and folks are being served, you are best with slicing by hand and serving as they come through the line for reasons running from the warmth of the meat and it's integrity. Are you serving burnt ends and chopped or just sliced? That makes a difference, as well. PaulstheRibList would be a good resource for this question.Comment
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I have an economical circular slicer. The issue with brisket on it is that the smaller blade can make things difficult. Thick slices for hot brisket work "OK" but not great. Cold brisket leftovers - much better. HorseDoctor & smokinfatties are right on.
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Electric knife might be helpful but I've got a couple of different electric "slicers" that would only shred a properly done brisket. One is pretty good sized and both are sharp. It's just that I don't think a brisket that will pass the "pull test" will slice well with a circular slicer.Comment
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Electric knife will work perfectly fine! And will speed things up. For brisket I just slice at the very end before serving, makes it a little harder if all your sides etc arent pre-prepped but I always get everything set up and then slice the brisket fresh!Comment
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Sounds like you will be best served with a few extra hands to do some slicing.
We have a slicer that we found on Craigslist. It's a Globe (good brand) but not for modern commercial applications (porcelain coated). We had it inspected and serviced at a place that services and restores professional equipment and they confirmed we got a good unit.
I would check out Restaurant auctions and such if you want to go that way (CL often has upcoming auction listings and restaurant equipment sell-offs). It will cost more than the $100 slicer you can get at Sears, but it will also be a workhorse.
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BBQueen you are going to have a blast! And, dude, I want a short sniper from Pitmaker! (Ok, I really want a long sniper...more cooking capacity - that is probably the pit I will be putting in the BarbecueFiretruck!)Originally posted by tbob4 View Post
In my experience, No Need for an Electric knife, unless you just want and prefer one for your use for this and other things. And I've never seen an electric slicer in a barbecue joint, so I'm guessing our hot briskets are a little too loose for the effective use of those, but I'm just guessing. Cutting up 5 briskets is some work, but it is quite doable and will take you about that half hour that Spinaker mentioned.
What you will need, are:
1.) From Sam's Club: A big, teflon cutting board, a pack of large foil pans and lids, and if you don't have chaffing dishes, then buy a cheap kit of the wire racks and fuel. I bought some pretty chaffers, but seem to prefer the wire ones, as they look more like Barbecue and are far simpler to transport and setup.
2.) Some of that sticky drawer liner roll they sell at Target/Walmart - cut a length of it and put it under the cutting board, but not sticking out from underneath it. Keeps the board very firmly in place.
3.) You will need some way to keep the sliced and lidded brisket pans warm for the few minutes between when you cut and they are served - a cambro, an oven, or put them back on your pit.
4.) If you are going to precut and have it ready to serve, I find it extremely useful to reassemble the sliced brisket in big sections, so that there are few cut surfaces exposed while the guests are waiting. I'll post a picture of a pan I've reassembled.
5.) You will greatly benefit from a Large Slicer Knife. I love my 14" Wusthof, affectionately named #theBrisketSword in these parts (https://goo.gl/ESgEhR). All my helpers/teammates and children know it by name. But Dexter sells one for cheap (https://goo.gl/BVBhKE and https://goo.gl/3tAQ7S), and so do the other knife makers like Mercer (https://goo.gl/AUmmbc) and Vitrionox (https://goo.gl/Et04zW). I have one of each of them to keep on the Food Trailer. I like the 14" over the 12, and the slight curvature in the Wusthof is great. It costs 3-4x the other knives, but I own 2 of the Wustof's, if that tells you what I think of it.
6.) Plan on capturing and preserving your Au Jus from your wraps, and put that in the bottom of each of the serving pans you put the slices in. Yes!!!
7.) I tend to separate point and flat once I get a few slices into the point when serving this way. If your brisket is quite tender, a less than purposeful hand will tear large slices and part of the awe of the presentation.
Cook those briskets perfectly!
Then slice, serve and wait for the raving thanks and reviews!
p.s. I didn't find quickly any perfect pictures of the setup I describe, maybe because I was still busy slicing the other briskets when the serving line was fresh and pretty. But these will give you and idea. And reveal the total Picture Hog that is #theBrisketSword
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PaulstheRibList Thank you for all that info! You're awesome! We'll see how this goes...We'll take some of everything and find out what works. Thanks to all you guys for your help!
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