Brisket Sandwich- Chopped or Sliced?

Trucky1008 · May 6, 2011

I started vending a few weeks back and so far things have gone well. It's a small venue which is fine since I'd rather take it slowly so I don't get overwhelmed. As part of my menu I serve a brisket sandwich. I've been slicing the brisket and then cutting the slices in thirds thinking it would be easier to pile on the bun. I find myself spending a lot of time trying to stack the pieces of brisket on the bun. I'm thinking there's got to be a better way, maybe serving it chopped.

If you vend brisket sandwiches are you serving it sliced or chopped? What do you feel are the advantages of serving chopped versus sliced? Also, I pre-cook my meat a day in advance and re-heat on site. How well does this work for chopped brisket? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Jacked UP BBQ · May 6, 2011

Chopped is the only way to go. Re heat with some broth covered tight and you will have a great product.

chachahut · May 6, 2011

Agree with Jacked Up - chopped brisket sammies. Advantage is it looks WAY bigger for the same portion size.

Trucky1008 · May 6, 2011

Thanks for the feedback! Am I gonna need a cleaver to chop up brisket or can this be accomplished using a chef's knife?

Cook · May 6, 2011

You can chop properly cooked pork and brisket with a knife. I use a cleaver, but that's just because I grew up with one. Either will work.

Trucky1008 · May 6, 2011

Cook said:
You can chop properly cooked pork and brisket with a knife. I use a cleaver, but that's just because I grew up with one. Either will work.

Thanks, I'll be chopping up some brisket today. I appreciate the feedback.

PorkQPine · May 6, 2011

Chopped brisket or chopped beef? If it is chopped you might as well use a cheaper cut of meat and do chopped beef.

Paulie · May 6, 2011

For what it's worth, as a consumer, I'd rather be getting sliced brisket when I order a brisket sandwich. If you're going to chop, use something cheaper and sell chopped or pulled beef as mentioned above.

Cook · May 6, 2011

Beef isn't beef. Not all beef tastes like brisket.

When I've done "chopped brisket" in the past, I used select graded meat. Once chopped it was splashed with a little sauce for moisture and seasoning. Marketed as "BBQ Beef" it was a big seller.

Brisket worked fine for me...and was cheap.

BlueHowler · May 6, 2011

Paulie said:
For what it's worth, as a consumer, I'd rather be getting sliced brisket when I order a brisket sandwich. If you're going to chop, use something cheaper and sell chopped or pulled beef as mentioned above.

I feel the same way about brisket sandwiches. I want it to be sliced very thin not chopped. That said I have had some tasty chopped brisket sandwiches but I'd never serve one myself.

Learnin Querve · May 6, 2011

My first question before ordering a brisket sandwich is "Is it sliced or chopped?" If it's chopped, I pass...

I think you're overthinking it with slicing it into thirds. fold it over and serve.

Chris

chachahut · May 7, 2011

Curious as to why you prefer sliced over chopped brisket. We recently switched to chopping & have seen sales go up considerably. Could just be a bunch of yankees not knowing better.

HawgNationBBQ · May 7, 2011

Always sliced.

chachahut · May 7, 2011

Why always sliced, Michael?

Vince B · May 7, 2011

Chopped or sliced I could really care less. I will agree with the reheating with some broth or steaming it so to speak. I don't know what it is but my brisket always seems dry when I reheat it. A few weeks ago I tried something new for reheating and it was awesome. I almost would have bet it was not my dry old brisket. For lunches I use a Tupperware style dish that has three sections. Its nice for reheating and keeping stuff separated. Well I decided after reading all this broth talk to try something new. I put a couple of splashes of water in the part of the container with the sliced/chopped brisket. Then reheated it in the microwave. I have to tell you it did something to my brisket that I was like....Damn that was good! The next time I make brisket at home for the family I think I'm going to use my steamer pot to warm it back up and see how it does!

Trucky1008 · May 7, 2011

I tried chopped for my vending gig today and it went fine, but I wasn't impressed. To be honest I really didn't chop it, it was more like cubed. For those of you that chop are you chopping it down to a shredded consistency like pulled pork, or is it more like cubed?

I think I'm going to do a combination of both chopped and sliced, chopped will go on the BBQ Nachos and sliced for the sammies. I appreciate all the feedback.

kurtsara · May 7, 2011

I prefer sliced also, at least you can see that it is brisket

Bama Q · May 7, 2011

Sliced, my hair might be gray.I still got teeth, I might go Chopped in a few Years

Learnin Querve · May 7, 2011

chachahut said:
Curious as to why you prefer sliced over chopped brisket. We recently switched to chopping & have seen sales go up considerably. Could just be a bunch of yankees not knowing better.

Two reasons: One is appearance. Opening a sandwich to lay on a pickle, or some thin sliced onion, or maybe a dab of sauce, and seeing those lovely slices satisfies the eye.

The other is texture. Chopped doesn't have the resistance or "bite through" for lack of a better term. Call it chew factor, mouth feel.

Ideally, IMO, a brisket sandwich is served with the brisket slices laid open face across 2 slices of white bread, with another single slice of bread on top and you eat it with a fork.

Chris

Dallas Dan · May 8, 2011

When I home smoke and serve a brisket, I always slice the flat and chop the point.

Brisket Sandwich- Chopped or Sliced?

is Blowin Smoke!

Babbling Farker

chachahut

Guest

is Blowin Smoke!

Babbling Farker

is Blowin Smoke!

PorkQPine

Guest

Got Wood.

Babbling Farker

BlueHowler

Guest

Full Fledged Farker

chachahut

Guest

Take a breath!

chachahut

Guest

is one Smokin' Farker

is Blowin Smoke!

is one Smokin' Farker

Knows what a fatty is.

Full Fledged Farker

is one Smokin' Farker

Similar threads