Knife Suggestions

[jpowell]

I need knife suggestions.
I'm still new to smoking and my first brisket helped highlight my lack of correct cutlery...I had a really hard time both trimming the fat on the brisket as well as slicing it for serving. 
What knives should I be looking for to add in my LazyQ-ing?

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[SconnieQ]

For slicing cooked brisket, I prefer an electric knife. Now that I've seen Franklin use an electric knife to slice brisket for competition, I'm no longer afraid to admit it. I also have a Victorinox 12-Inch Granton Edge Slicing Knife, but I prefer the electric knife. The electric knife also works great for slicing poultry breast, leaves a little skin on each piece, instead of the skin sliding around and tearing like with a regular knife. Not that the skin is very edible on smoked poultry, but for roast poultry the electric works well. Also works well for cutting delicate breads and cakes without crushing, or crusty breads, or slicing something like pecan pie, cuts right through the nuts. For trimming the fat, I just use a standard boning knife with a stiff blade.

[Grampy]

I use an electric knife also to slice brisket.

[old sarge]

I have a set of Old Hickory knives and some from Radco that I keep strictly for outdoor cooking. Neither are expensive. The Old Hickpry have walnut handles and the grease from meats gives a nice patina to the handles. The Radco can be slippery so I prefer the Old Hickory.

[jcboxlot]

Electric knife for slicing, works great on turkey and large white.   

Cutco makes a long serrated, buy used on ebay, you can always return them for sharpening or replacement.

[SconnieQ]

Electric knife is my choice for slicing all meats. That being said, you sound like you are interested in upgrading other knives for trimming fat and general usage. If you want a really affordable, high quality blade, then I would consider the Victorinox Forschner Cutlery with fibrox handle. I think if you do a little research, you will find that the quality of the steel in the blade far surpasses anything else in that price range. And the fibrox handle is nice and grippy. The handle is light, and might feel unbalanced if your are used to a heavy handle and are a professional chef, but for most home cooks, it's just fine. Keep in mind Victorinox Forschner Cutlery blades are 15 degrees, so if you plan to buy an electric or hand sharpener for them, you need to purchase an "Asian" knife sharpener. Asian knives are sharpened to 15 degrees. Western knives are 22 degrees. Standard knife sharpeners do not have the right angle for Victorinox Forschner Cutlery. Chef's Choice makes many fine electric and hand sharpeners for a variety of knives. Not that you have to worry about that much for a while if you are purchasing new knives, but they might breathe new life into your old ones. My 2 cents.

[jpowell]

Any particular electric knife suggestions?  (i.e. buy this model or make sure it has X) :-)

[SconnieQ]

Any particular electric knife suggestions?  (i.e. buy this model or make sure it has X) :-)

I have the Cuisinart CEK-40. But I probably could have gotten by just fine with a Black & Decker, Hamilton Beach, or Oster. My Cuisinart came with a wood storage block, which I ended up discarding. I mean really, who is going to display the electric knife on their counter? And the block didn't make sense in a drawer. It came with two blades, one for breads and one for meats. Mostly I just use the meat blade, which also works fine for bread, so I don't think you really need two blades. I am happy with the performance of it though.

Some things to watch for would be that you want stainless steel, dishwasher-safe blades (they all pretty much have that). And keep an eye on the blade length. Some of the cheaper ones have shorter blades, and you want at least a standard length blade. I measured my Cuisinart, and the blade is about 7.5 inches. A little longer than that (like 9") would be nice, but not 100% necessary. I'm not a big fan of cordless for these types of things. You have to keep them charged up for an occasional use, and those batteries don't last forever. Your best bet is to read reviews on amazon. I don't think you have to spend a lot of money to get something that will do a decent job of slicing brisket and turkey.

[DivotMaker]

I'm a big fan of the Victorinox 12-Inch Granton Edge Slicing Knife.  If you keep it sharp (the WorkSharp sharpener is a must-have, in my opinion, for ALL of your knives), you can slice very thin slices, very cleanly. 

I have an Oster electric knife that also does a good job, but I prefer the Victorinox slicer....just me, no right or wrong answers!  I just like the smoothness the slicer knife gives over the electric (all that vibration leaves a rougher surface).

Doesn't hurt to have both in the arsenal!  Each have their advantages, and both are pretty affordable.

[jpowell]

Thanks folks! Added the Vic slicing knife to my amazon wishlist https://smile.amazon.com/Victorinox-12-Inch-Granton-Slicing-Fibrox/dp/B0000CFDB9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480475307&sr=8-1&keywords=Victorinox+12-Inch+Granton+Edge+Slicing+Knife
Will check out some electrics as well.

So a rigid boning knife for fat trimming?  Blade length?

[SconnieQ]

Thanks folks! Added the Vic slicing knife to my amazon wishlist https://smile.amazon.com/Victorinox-12-Inch-Granton-Slicing-Fibrox/dp/B0000CFDB9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480475307&sr=8-1&keywords=Victorinox+12-Inch+Granton+Edge+Slicing+Knife
Will check out some electrics as well.

So a rigid boning knife for fat trimming?  Blade length?

That's the slicing knife I have. As to fat trimming, I am most comfortable with a boning knife... that's the best knife I have for the job anyway. My boning knife is a 30-year old Henckels, about 6" blade. There are links below for a 6" boning knife, or you might want to consider the 8" breaking knife (although the 6" boning knife would be better specifically for trimming brisket). I wouldn't go any longer than 8". Franklin uses a narrow curved boning knife (looks like about 6 or 7 inches), even less expensive brand than the Victorinox.

Victorinox Boning Knife
Victorinox Breaking Knife

You can look at other brands on Amazon too, but I think the Victorinox give you the best quality for the price. They might not be flashy looking, but they work great.

Here's a video of Franklin trimming a brisket. I don't trim as much off as he does. He also talks about his knife a little. And notice as he's trimming the brisket the knife has a white handle, then it has a black handle, then a white handle again, then a black handle...then in the end when he's putting the rub on, you can see both knives on the table. I'm not sure why he uses two.

BBQ with Franklin: The Brisket

[jpowell]

Yup, I watched all of Franklin's brisket videos when I did my first brisket
Forgot that he did mention the knife he uses. Thanks for the links!

[Meatball]

I believe the knives that Franklin uses are the Dexter Russell line, looks like the Sani Safe line. I have used these for years and are good quality and pricing. They hold an edge well. There boning knives are excellent.

[SconnieQ]

I believe the knives that Franklin uses are the Dexter Russell line, looks like the Sani Safe line. I have used these for years and are good quality and pricing. They hold an edge well. There boning knives are excellent.

I think you are right about Franklin using Dexter Russell for trimming. Like Victorinox, not very sexy looking, but plenty of bang for the buck.

[Meatball]

Like you said...  plenty of bang for the buck. Plenty of great deals on shopping sites for both brands. Good knives without breaking the bank .