The Best Knives for Slicing Brisket, Tested & Reviewed

A person uses the Shun Premier Carving Knife & Meat Fork Set to cut brisket — Photo:
Food & Wine / Jason Horn

A whole brisket is one of the most impressive dishes you can break out for a dinner party or holiday celebration. Whether perfectly smoked as a Texas-style barbecue or an oven-braised pot roast for a winter warm-up, this big cut of beef is versatile, eye-catching, and feeds a crowd.

To evenly slice slabs of tender brisket, you'll need the right tools. Yes, any old blade can serve the purpose, but a long, extra-sharp knife is key to easy slicing. Using the results of our many previous tests and expert advice, we assembled a list of 14 candidates for the best knives for slicing brisket. And then I put them to the test in my kitchen with a head-to-head slice-off.

To take on the challenge of cooking a whole brisket — and serving it properly — we recommend these six best brisket knives. Now fire up the smoker, chill your favorite pint glass, and let’s get to slicing.

Our Top Picks

Best Overall:

The Cooking Guild Nomad Series Brisket Slicing Knife at Amazon $120

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Best Value:

SALE

Dexter-Russell 12-inch Slicer at Amazon ~~$40~~ $31

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Best Splurge:

Shun Carving Knife & Meat Fork Set at Amazon $330

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Best Set:

SALE

Messermeister Avanta Kullenschliff Carving Set at Amazon ~~$60~~ $50

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Best Electric:

SALE

BLACK+DECKER Electric Knife at Amazon ~~$25~~ $20

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Best Long Blade:

SALE

Wüsthof 14-Inch Hollow Edge Brisket Knife at Amazon ~~$170~~ $128

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Best Overall

The Cooking Guild Nomad Series Brisket Slicing Knife

PHOTO: Amazon

$120 at Amazon

Pros

This unique knife is as eye-catching as it is sharp.

Cons

It requires extra care and attention when washing.

If you're going to the trouble and expense of cooking a whole brisket, you should make a production out of it. Gather friends and family around your backyard grilling setup to watch as you shave off the tender, delicious slices to order. The Cooking Guild's Nomad Series slicer is ideal for showing off, with a huge curving blade that looks a little like a sword, a wood-epoxy handle that stands out in any kitchen, and a decorative mountain pattern stamped on the top of the blade.

I was concerned that this knife might be all about looks, but testing absolutely changed my mind. The Nomad Series is incredibly sharp, and long enough to slice across an entire brisket in one go. It's fairly light for its size and balanced slightly toward the blade end, which feels like it wants to pull itself right through whatever you're cutting. With cold brisket, I just had to push straight down to make a clean cut through fat and meat.

This knife stood out in both performance and design in testing, at a price that's almost exactly average — you really couldn't ask for more. My main issue was with washing. The mountain pattern in the blade held onto grease and needed extra scrubbing, while the sharpness and large size made scrubbing unwieldy. I wound up slicing off a few chunks of my sponge before I started using a safer technique: Lay the knife flat on a cutting board inside the sink to clean one side of the blade at a time.

Blade Length: 12 inches | Blade Material: Stainless steel | Total Length: 16.5 inches | Weight: 8.6 ounces | Handle Materials: Burl wood, epoxy

Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn

Best Value

Dexter-Russell 12-inch Slicer

PHOTO: Amazon

Orig. $40 $31 at Amazon

Pros

This low-cost knife offers great grip and smooth, controlled slicing.

Cons

The serrated blade isn't standard for brisket, and its looks are very basic.

It might not look like anything special, but this Dexter-Russell slicer delivers where it matters — actual slicing. The white plastic handle has a subtly bumpy texture that's easy to grip dry, wet, or greasy; it would not rotate in my hand at all, even when I tried to twist the end of the blade.

This knife is serrated, a trait more common in bread knives than meat slicers, but the subtle scalloped shape makes it suitable for either purpose. The blade is narrow, so I could make accurate thin slices without shredding any meat. However, I found that the serrations had trouble fully separating slices against the cutting board. It's a fairly minor problem, but I had to saw back and forth to get through the last few fibers of meat.

Nonetheless, the Dexter-Russell is a great value. It was the cheapest non-electric knife in my tests and outperformed models that cost much more.

Blade Length: 12 inches | Blade Material: Carbon steel | Total Length: 17.4 inches | Weight: 5.4 ounces | Handle Material: Polypropylene

Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn

Best Splurge

Shun Carving Knife & Meat Fork Set

Shun Premier Carving Knife & Meat Fork Set

PHOTO: Sur la table

$330 at Amazon $330 at Williams-Sonoma $330 at Sur La Table

Pros

This blade slices meat like a hot knife through butter, and looks gorgeous doing so.

Cons

It's very expensive, and fatty cuts stuck to the blade.

Japanese knives are renowned as some of the best in the world not only for their cutting performance but also for their pure craftsmanship and beauty. Shun's carving set scores high on all three counts. I love the rippled pattern in Shun's blades, created by folding the steel over and over, along with the dimpled texture hand-hammered into this model. Created using a technique called tsuchime, the bumps make each blade unique and serve the same practical anti-sticking purpose as a Granton edge.

In testing, this razor-sharp knife slid straight through the hot brisket, needing only two or three strokes to remove paper-thin slices despite its comparatively short length. It feels lovely to hold and is balanced near-perfectly between the handle and blade. I like how the heel makes a 90-degree angle where it meets the handle, giving your knuckles a safe place to rest for an extra-secure grip. With cold meat, however, dense and fatty slices got stuck; the tsuchime texture wasn't as effective here.

This Shun set is great for brisket, or as a generalist on turkey, lamb, and more — it's one of our favorite carving knives overall. It does, however, cost a lot of money; it was the priciest model I tested by more than $100. The included meat fork with a matching handle is a nice benefit, but it's not any more effective than any other meat fork and can't justify much of the price increase. If you can spare the dough, though, the slicer will work wonderfully and instantly become the prettiest knife in your knife block.

Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn

Best Set

Messermeister Avanta Kullenschliff Carving Set

Messermeister Avanta 2-Piece Pakkawood Kullenschliff Carving Set

PHOTO: Amazon

Orig. $60 $50 at Amazon $60 at Walmart $60 at Ace Hardware

Pros

This fine German knife offers incredible sharpness at a budget price and throws in a carving fork to boot.

Cons

It's short and needed several strokes to slice through a whole brisket.

The Messermeister Avanta Kullenschliff set looks much more expensive than it is. Its Pakkawood handle and Granton edge are features you usually see only in pricier knives, and I found the blade just as sharp as the rest of the top finishers. The handle felt solid in my hand even when greasy, and the pointed end of the blade helped make accurate slices every time. The knife is easily worth two or three times its cost, and that's not even considering the included meat fork.

The shortcoming of the Avanta is that it's...short. The blade is only eight inches long, so I had to slice back and forth quite a bit to get through a whole brisket. (Good thing I had that meat fork to hold the thing in place!) I also have a little bit of a construction concern: There's a noticeable ridge between the tang and the handle that could potentially catch bits of food or start rusting and deterioration. I didn't have any trouble during my tests — this knife wiped clean easily — but I worry about it in the longer term.

Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Dana Fouchia

Best Electric

BLACK+DECKER Electric Knife

BLACK+DECKER 9-Inch Electric Carving Knife

PHOTO: Walmart

Orig. $25 $20 at Amazon $20 at Wayfair $20 at Walmart

Pros

This inexpensive electric knife made surprisingly clean slices with minimal shredding.

Cons

It had a lot of trouble with chilled brisket.

My expectations for the electric knives in this test were not high. When I was a kid, I witnessed the absolute destruction of a few Thanksgiving turkeys and Passover briskets at the hands of a dull model whose blades didn't slice so much as shred and mash.

I'm pleased to report that Black & Decker's model changed my mind, making clean and smooth cuts through fresh-from-the-oven brisket. The reciprocating blades did the slicing on their own, and even with a thin slice they managed not to tear apart the meat too badly. The handles of all three electric knives I tested were rather bulky, but this one was the most comfortable to hold. With cold brisket, though, my results were not so great. The motorized blades didn't slice well, and I had to saw the knife back and forth to make progress.

The fact is that an electric knife is unlikely to be an everyday tool in most households. It's the kind of thing you'll only break out once or twice a year for special occasion meals. Thankfully, the Black & Decker version is priced for just such a purpose; you're almost sure to spend more on a single brisket than you will on this knife.

Blade Length: 7 inches | Blade Material: Stainless steel | Total Length: 18 inches | Weight: 17.3 ounces

Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn

Best Long Blade

Wüsthof 14-Inch Hollow Edge Brisket Knife

Wüsthof Gourmet 14-Inch Hollow Edge Brisket Knife

PHOTO: Amazon

Orig. $170 $128 at Amazon View on Wusthof.com

Pros

This extra-long slicer still offers plenty of control thanks to its perfect weight balance.

Cons

The handle gets slippery in greasy hands.

For a big piece of meat, a big knife is a good choice. This Wüsthof was the longest in my test, and its 14-inch blade cleaved through the entire brisket in one cut. Despite its size, it's well-balanced, and the narrow, flexible blade gave me plenty of control to make thin, precise slices. If you find yourself hosting a neighborhood barbecue and need to slice brisket for hours, this is the knife you want to cut down on effort. It's pricier than average, though certainly reasonable for its quality.

I'm not as big a fan of the Wüsthof handle, however. The smooth surface became fairly slippery when greasy, and I wasn't able to keep as good a grip as with wood or textured plastic. The blade's large surface area was also something of a disadvantage as it stuck to cold brisket and I had a hard time drawing it through the dense meat. It's going to be a pain to clean in a small kitchen sink, too: It fits awkwardly even in my extra-wide model.

Blade Length: 14 inches | Blade Material: Stainless steel | Total Length: 19.5 inches | Weight: 7 ounces | Handle Material: Plastic

Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn
Food & Wine / Jason Horn

My Favorite Brisket Knives

The top finisher in my testing was The Cooking Guild Nomad Series Brisket Slicing Knife. This hefty blade pairs a gorgeous design with incredible sharpness, and you'll be excited to show it off. For a less expensive solution, the Dexter-Russell 12-Inch Slicer isn't as sleek or eye-catching, but it can handle brisket, bread, turkey, or whatever else you can throw at it.

How I Tested Brisket Knives

Three electric knives and three slicers with a pan of sliced brisket — Food & Wine / Jason Horn

Based on the results of previous knife tests and extensive research, we chose 14 brisket slicers to test side-by-side, including 11 manual knives and three electric models. I cooked two whole briskets from Snake River Farms, using our delicious and comparatively simple holiday beef brisket recipe from meat master Dr. Bruce Aidells, and then got to slicing.

Hot slicing test: I sliced half of each brisket fresh out of the oven, using each knife to cut one half-inch slice and a second slice as thin as possible. I noted how easily each blade went through the meat, how evenly it sliced, and how well I could control the width of the slice without shredding.
Cold slicing test: I refrigerated the leftovers overnight, then repeated the same pair of slicing tests using cold brisket. The denser texture and solidified fat gave very different results than hot meat. It also highlighted whether slices stuck to the sides of the blades or not.
Grip test: Before starting the slicing tests, I held each knife to rate its comfort and weight balance. I also twisted the end of the blade to see how well I could maintain my grip. I repeated the test after slicing, with greasy and slippery hands.
Cleaning: After each set of slicing tests, I washed the knives following their care instructions. (The blades for all three electric knives were dishwasher-safe, but everything else was hand-wash-only.) I noted the ease and safety of maneuvering each blade in the sink, and if any handle or blade textures held on to grease and needed extra attention.

I kept the knives' retail prices hidden until I completed all the other tests and then revealed them at the end to consider the value. At the time of testing, the models ranged from $19 to $330, with an average of $104.

A pan of sliced brisket, dirty cutting board, and tub of slicer knives — Food & Wine / Jason Horn

Factors to Consider

Blade Design

Any brisket-slicing knife should be long, sharp, and straight, but there are some subtle differences between models that affect performance. One of these is a serrated versus a flat blade. A serrated knife's scalloped edges help "bite" into whatever you're slicing to start a clean cut. This design is especially common in bread knives to break through hard crust, and a serrated slicer can be versatile for bread and meat. But serrations aren't exactly necessary if you're only slicing tender brisket, and serrated blades have to be a bit thicker than flat ones, giving you less precision.

Many slicer models feature a series of divots along the side of the blade, known as a Granton edge. This creates air pockets to keep food — especially dense, moist items like brisket — from sticking as you slice. It's a helpful feature but the manufacturing process is more complicated, making Granton-edge knives more expensive. Especially deep divots can hold on to grease, making some Granton edges more difficult to clean as well.

Seven brisket slicing knives lines up on a wooden cutting board — Food & Wine / Jason Horn

Handle

When slicing a large, somewhat delicate item like a brisket, you want a really good grip on your knife handle. Some models accomplish this with a rough-textured material, others with a secure-holding shape, and a few with both. The handle material and design affect cleanability, too; rivets and joints are prone to hold onto food bits, while a smooth surface is easier to wipe off. Everybody holds their knife slightly differently and the ideal handle shape for you might vary, but keep in mind that smooth plastic and circular handles give the slipperiest grip.

Balance

The weight balance of a brisket slicer is also important for performance. You want the weight of the blade to be similar to the weight of the handle when you grip the knife — if either end feels like it's pulling itself down strongly, you'll have less control. Good balance gives you maximum accuracy in slicing as well as maximum safety protection against the blade slipping.

Manual vs. Electric

To supercharge your brisket-slicing power, you can choose an electric carving knife. Most of these have a pair of serrated blades that move back and forth against each other to saw through brisket, whole birds, roasts, or any other item that needs slicing.

The downside of an electric knife is that its inaccurate blades can tear the meat, making for uneven or fully shredded slices. If you have arthritis, carpal tunnel, or any other issues with grip or arm strength, an electric knife could be a good option. It's also an excellent solution to slicing lots and lots of brisket at once — if you're opening an underground barbecue spot in your backyard, say, or have a large family.

A person uses the Cuisinart Electric Knife to slice meat — Food & Wine / Jason Horn

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you slice a brisket?

“It’s important to slice against the grain of the meat,” says Greg Peters, executive chef at Houston’s Georgia James Steakhouse. Brisket is made up of long muscle fibers that can be chewy unless you cut them into short, tender sections.

However, Peters explains, “slicing against the grain is interesting with a brisket because there are two parts to the cut: the flat and the point.” The rectangular flat is leaner than the triangular point, and their grains don't line up. (And confusingly, a supermarket's "whole brisket" might include one or both parts.)

If you do cook a brisket with point and flat together, Peters recommends cutting it in half at the fatty layer where the two sections meet. You'll have to rotate one piece by about 90 degrees to slice both properly against the grain. The optimal thickness depends on how you plan to eat the brisket, but Peters likes quarter-inch slices.
Do I need a special knife to slice brisket?

Any kind of sharp knife should be able to cut tender brisket, whether that's a serrated bread knife, a carving knife, or just a standard chef's knife. But knives designed specifically for brisket are extra-long and extra-thin, with a little bit of flex for the most control, accuracy, and ability to make thin slices that still hold together. If you're a frequent barbecuer or brisket-braiser, you might want a special knife for just the one cut. Otherwise, a multi-use slicer is fine.
What’s the difference between a meat slicer and a carving knife?

There's a lot of overlap between the two styles of knife, which are both used to cut up large pieces of meat. But the difference is the tip of the blade: A carving knife narrows to a point, while a slicer typically has the same width along the whole blade, sometimes with a rounded end. The pointy tip of a carving knife helps maneuver around joints and bones in a whole bird, leg of lamb, or rib roast, while a straight slicer allows for delicate cuts through boneless meats.

Other Brisket Knives I Tested

Strong Contenders

Cuisinart Electric Knife Set ($50 at Amazon)

A slightly more expensive version of the electric slicer, Cuisinart's version has a tall pair of blades that glided right through a thick slice of hot brisket and did better than the other two electric models on cold brisket. It wasn't super-comfortable to hold, though, and it's double the price of the Black & Decker above.

A person slices meat using the Shogun Series ELITE Slicing & Carving Knife — Food & Wine / Jason Horn

Dalstrong Shogun Series Elite Slicing & Carving Knife ($151 at Amazon)

A classic round-tipped flat slicer with a Granton edge, Dalstrong's knife offers middle-of-the-road performance at a middle-of-the-road price. I liked the feel and balance in my hand, but it needed more strokes to get through the brisket than I would have liked. The handle also got quite slippery when greasy.

Kyoku Gin Series Brisket Slicing Knife ($105 at Amazon)

This knife has a similar design to the Dalstrong Shogun Series, though it's a bit heavier and sliced more effectively. It's a good deal at this price, but I didn't love the insecure rounded handle, or that cold meat stuck to the blade pretty badly despite its Granton edge.

The Victorinox Wood Salmon Knife on a wooden cutting board — Food & Wine / Jason Horn

Victorinox Wood Salmon Knife ($109 at Victorinox)

Despite the name, this is not a fish fillet knife; it's meant for cutting cooked or cured salmon into thin slices for serving (or topping a bagel). It's basically a brisket knife in miniature, with a blade that's shaped the same but shorter in both length and height. I loved the feel of this blade in my hand, and the shallow Granton edge divots made it a snap to clean. It ran into trouble when I tried to slice especially fatty sections, however. It didn't have the sharpness or weight to carry through without a lot of sawing.

What Didn't Make the List

Among the rest of the knives I tested, there weren't any true disasters. They all did an okay job for their price points but were outperformed by competitors. These include knives from Cutluxe, Zwilling Henckels, and Proctor Silex.

Our Expertise

This article was written Food & Wine senior writer Jason Horn. He's been writing about food and drinks for nearly 20 years, covering everything from the bars of Antarctica for Playboy to the molecule in asparagus that makes your pee smell funny for Serious Eats. He did all the testing and photography for this story personally, cooking and slicing more than 20 pounds of brisket over four messy and delicious days.
Summer Rylander wrote a previous version of this story and spoke to multiple experts for their advice, including chef Greg Peters. She's a freelance food writer who's been published in Allrecipes, Travel & Leisure, Salon, and more, and she's an avid fermentation fan who loves home-baked sourdough bread.

Originally written by

Summer Rylander