Brisket cook Freeze Reheat Advice

STPLE

Well-known member
Messages
45
Grill(s) owned
  1. Bull
I would love some advice from those that have done something like this before.

I’m going to cook two full packer briskets on the RT700 this weekend. Let them rest, cool down, etc. like I was going to eat them that day. I plan on freezing them fully cooked and whole (not sliced). I have a few 5 gallon zip lock bags that I am going to freeze them in. Next week I was going to take them up to Michigan for vacation and reheat them in the oven (like the Aaron Franklin) video. My plan is to put them in the oven at 225 till the briskets are about 165 and tender.
I wrap typically in butcher paper - obviously I’ll unwrap them before I freeze them. I am planning on trying to keep the leftover juice in the butcher paper - freezing that and putting that on the briskets in the oven. I’ve had some success freezing pulled pork (saving the fat and recooking that into when I heat it up).

Any advice on this plan would be welcome. Anyone have experience cooking/freezing/reheating a whole brisket??

FYI - I’ll be in a cottage so I can only use an oven or crockpot. I don’t have a vacuum sealer.

thank you ahead of time!!
matt
 
I use vacuum sealed bags (food saver). I always slice before sealing it in meal size portions. To reheat, I let it thaw in the fridge. Then I boil water, turn it off and put the bag in to reheat.
 
Thanks JGW. I thought about slicing them up and doing it in single servings but there is going to be 30 people. Plus I don’t have a vacuum sealer. I was hoping to slice it up when I get there.
 
Thanks guys. That article was very helpful. I’m gonna use plastic wrap as well as zip lock. I won’t have a Sous Vide available but I’m hoping the oven won’t dry it out too much.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I ended up going really simple bc I wasn’t at home and in a cottage in Michigan. I froze both briskets after cooking and rest. I put them in 5 gallon zip locks. I didn’t wrap them in cling wrap first - I planned too but was in between baseball games and didn’t have the time. They were frozen for only 3 days and then took them up to Michigan. There was room in the fridge so I put them there and let them defrost for a few days. I planned on heating them up in the oven at 225 but we decided to hike a dune and was gonna be gone for 3-4 hours before dinner. So I put them in the oven at 170 and left for a few hours. When I got home I turned the oven up to 250 (30 minutes) until the meat was about 155ish at the coolest parts. I did put a few blocks of butter on them. We were hungry so no rest. They were prime Costco briskets and they were really good. Very moist. I was surprised how well they turned out seeing that I did everything wrong. Haha.

If I did this again I would put them in the oven fat side down. The oven and pan messed up the bark on the non fat cap side. Other than that it was good.

Maybe this may help someone who reads this. Thanks again for all the advice.
 
Thanks for posting the results, how it turned out, and what you would change. That’s the kind of info that is really helpful for folks trying to do the same thing.
 
I am a FF and I am going to do a brisket on my 590 on my day before my duty day on Tuesday. Looks like a foil pan to do the reheat is the trick. My question is… What temp to cook it to so it won’t be overcooked after the reheat?
 
Last edited:
I’ve only done this once - so take this with a grain of salt. I would thaw the brisket in the fridge (a few days) and cook at 225. Cook to 165 to be safe but I pulled mine around 155 to 160. Mine felt good and probe tender at that temp. If you cook on a pan I would put fat side down so your bark on the meat will be good. Good luck.
 
I vacuum seal without slicing, freeze, then reheat Sous Vide style, meat will stay just as most as when it rested off the smoker.
Same here reheat via Sous Vide (set to 165 degrees).

Greg
 
Probably too late for the OP but...

I recently made brisket for 16 on a river trip. Brisket was cooked, rested (in foil/cooler), and then it went into the fridge. Next day, I pre-sliced it cold (slices easily and consistently, and juices/fat were absorbed or on the meat). I froze it in ziplocs (slices stacked neatly).

By day 3 on the river, the brisket was thawed. Brisket slices went into a pan with a tight-fitting lid (stacked neat and tight, with a little added beef broth (1/4 to 1/2c)). I heated at medium-low and not too long (maybe 5 minutes after a full-simmer). It all came out tender/juicy (but soft bark). My crew was fat and happy after mojitos, apps, brisket-sliders, slaw, and dessert.

This is pretty much the same method as oven/foil-pan, or you could do the same thing in a crock-pot. I would be wary of re-heating too long. Having it pre-sliced made it easy at camp when I was busy with other things (like mojitos). I think pre-slicing made re-heating quick (simmering juices between slices). Just sharing what worked for me. YMMV.

PS: things may have been better with the SV method but I don't have a vac-sealer.
 
Last edited:
I use vacuum sealed bags (food saver). I always slice before sealing it in meal size portions. To reheat, I let it thaw in the fridge. Then I boil water, turn it off and put the bag in to reheat.
What @JGW said!

Vacuum-sealing is critical in maintaining the quality of meat (and other product) being frozen. ZIPLOC bags are a poor substitute, in my opinion. Remember that freezing is also a dehydrating process, so it is important to freeze with as little air as possible to prevent drying out.

As for slicing or not, even for large groups, slicing and freezing in pre-determined portions will make life a lot easier when you go to reheat and serve it. Nothing says those portions can’t be 10-12 servings. If you need to serve 30 people, use three packages.

YMMV. Good luck.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Latest posts

Back
Top