Anyone have luck smoking a brisket a day ahead and reheating?

[itcsburnett]

I have the patio legend and need to smoke a 7# flat as well as 7# of pork belly. It doesnt look like it would all fit and the temps are different.
I had the idea of smoking the brisket on Saturday, cooling it in a cooler of ice and then bringing it back to 106 IT either in the oven at 170. Meathead disapproves (id be serving leftovers )
But wondered if anyone had real life experience.

 

[Pacman]

I think a number of us have had success vacuum sealing and then reheating in the bag in hot water. Yes, most of us have done it for leftovers, but I've not been disappointed with the product. I've done it with brisket and homemade pastrami.

 

[Jim6820]

What @Pacman said.

 

[SmokeZilla]

I have had some luck with overnight staging. You need a dedicated oven that can maintain ~155F. You also need to put a water bowl in the chamber to keep some moisture in the protein. I prefer to double wrap tightly with peach paper but others have reported good results using the heavy duty foil. One problem you may have is the bark getting soft after about 10 hours. Fortunately, I have a pizza oven that can hold the proper temps but I have heard of people using their home ovens and setting it on 165F. Good luck.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Given that choice, I'd probably reheat the pork belly. Lots more fat and will probably be indiscernible from 1st round cooking.

 

[BigDan]

Ive held in a cooler for up to 7 hours now with internal still being right at 160. Gotta have a damn good cooler and packed full of hot towels from the dryer though.
Believe it or not best results have been from my RT Icer cooler. Bought it on sale and was a damn good purchase.
Phenomenal for holding hot. Cold is decent.

I have rewarmed vac sealed as others though and its still good.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I've held brisket in my 3-4 tray Cambro. It's a little big for it, but better than my coolers, and I stuff in some bath towels above and below. Cambro makes a single tray food holder that would be ideal but it's pricey. IMO, the best briskets I make are held in a cooler for at least a few hours.

 

[BigDan]

I've held brisket in my 3-4 tray Cambro. It's a little big for it, but better than my coolers, and I stuff in some bath towels above and below. Cambro makes a single tray food holder that would be ideal but it's pricey. IMO, the best briskets I make are held in a cooler for at least a few hours.

How long have you held in your cambro? I have one but haven’t tried it yet.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

How long have you held in your cambro? I have one but haven’t tried it yet.

I haven't gone past about 4 hours. But I'm sure longer will be fine.

 

[Jim6820]

I’ve easily gone four hours in a quality padded, soft insulated bag with spaces filled by heated towels. What came out of the smoker at about 200F IT was 165F after four hours. I think it easily could have gone another two hours and stayed well above the 140F danger zone.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Someone, either on this forum or TVWBB, held one overnight. I don't recall the cooler type, but I do remember it was still very warm. I wouldn't think you need to be too worried about a brisket that was cooked to over 200F and covered in smoke, getting into a bacteria growth issue in less than a couple days. Especially since it's going from pit to cooler fully wrapped, with no exposure to outside air.

 

[itcsburnett]

Someone, either on this forum or TVWBB, held one overnight. I don't recall the cooler type, but I do remember it was still very warm. I wouldn't think you need to be too worried about a brisket that was cooked to over 200F and covered in smoke, getting into a bacteria growth issue in less than a couple days. Especially since it's going from pit to cooler fully wrapped, with no exposure to outside air.

Im not sure that sounds safe, at least not without a remote meat probe where I could verify it was always above the 140 danger zone

 

[itcsburnett]

Given that choice, I'd probably reheat the pork belly. Lots more fat and will probably be indiscernible from 1st round cooking.

This turned out to be the plan! Just finished the initial smoke. 3 hours @285*
Tomorrow they get cubed, go into foil pan with some sweet BBQ, honey and maple syrup. I'll heat them on the gasser for an hour or so to get set the sauce and get them a bit more crispy.

QUESTION: I had a new foil liner for the drip cup, any reason NOT to save that black liquid gold for cooking? I always save my bacon fat... and what is a pork belly??

 

[Maule Guy]

I get a bit worried about meats being kept at or below 140F for any length of time. They stop being a meal and become a growth medium.

I have one of those Sous Vide (sp?) "sticks" and like Pacman suggested vacuum pack the finished meat or put it in a large enough zip lock with the air driven out then put it in the fridge. Totally submerge the package in warm water with a Sous Vide stick set to your preferred serving temp for however long it takes to heat it to the core.

It's gonna take awhile to come to heat. I have reheated 1/2 leg of lamb that way and it works well.

 

[TheRicker]

Given that choice, I'd probably reheat the pork belly. Lots more fat and will probably be indiscernible from 1st round cooking.

Agree wholeheartedly.

 

[Motodad1776]

I get a bit worried about meats being kept at or below 140F for any length of time. They stop being a meal and become a growth medium.

I have one of those Sous Vide (sp?) "sticks" and like Pacman suggested vacuum pack the finished meat or put it in a large enough zip lock with the air driven out then put it in the fridge. Totally submerge the package in warm water with a Sous Vide stick set to your preferred serving temp for however long it takes to heat it to the core.

It's gonna take awhile to come to heat. I have reheated 1/2 leg of lamb that way and it works well.

I don't believe the science is settled on that, but many for some reason still worry over "practically" nothing in this regard. Kind of like folks still changing their car oil at 3k mile intervals and wasting perfectly good/effective oil, when the OEM says much longer intervals in the owners/service manuals, in particular with the many excellent synthetic oils. We become programmed over time to believe a certain way, even if enough data/evidence tells another story.......creatures of habit I reckon.

 

[2Wheeler]

I have the patio legend and need to smoke a 7# flat as well as 7# of pork belly. It doesnt look like it would all fit and the temps are different.
I had the idea of smoking the brisket on Saturday, cooling it in a cooler of ice and then bringing it back to 106 IT either in the oven at 170. Meathead disapproves (id be serving leftovers )
But wondered if anyone had real life experience.

My wife’s annual Memorial Day Meat Fest demands that I have to cook the brisket ahead because you can’t accurately predict when it’s finished. Reheating has never been an issue for me.