Brisket Advice: Cook tomorrow / Eat Next Weekend

[Horn2K]

Here's the deal.......

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I have to cook next weekend's brisket tomorrow.

So what is the best way to store the cooked meat?

I have a Foodsaver, and my thought was to cut the flat into the largest chunks that will still fit in the bags, and seal them up.

Most of the point will be chopped, which I think I'll do, then store, as opposed to storing it whole.

Should I freeze the sealed bags, or just keep them in the fridge?

Or is there a completely different route I should take?

Thanks.

 

[Roger]

if at all possible cook 80-90% of the way so that you can finish it off in the oven the day of eating. In order to do this it is prefered that you don't cut it at all. Use the foodsaver if possible. I think you probably want to try and not freeze but just put in the fridge

 

[brntorng]

What I've done and have had excellent success with is this:

Finish the briskets, let them rest, and slice them. Vacuum pack them with your Foodsaver and freeze into bags of no more than a couple of pounds each. Prior to serving, just drop the sealed bags into boiling water to thaw and reheat, about 10 minutes or so depending on the size of the package. You could thaw them first, but it's not necessary. The trick is that the sealed bags prevent the meat from getting dried out and the boiling water prevents you from overheating the meat.

BTW, you may need to lay a folded up strip of paper towel just inside the bag prior to sealing to absorb juices so they don't interfere with the sealing process.

I do this all the time and the brisket is just as good as it was off the smoker. Whenever I smoke briskets I do as many as will fit in the smoker (3 in my case) and then slice and portion them into family meal-sized packages to reheat and serve later. Works great.

 

[flaco]

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[hullabelew]

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[Horn2K]

I went with the slice, seal and freeze plan, but skipped the paper towel. I just cut the bags extra large, and the juice only crept about halfway up the bag before it sealed.

Also chopeed most of the point after harvesting the primo slices, and did the same with it.

Looking forward to opening those suckers up next weekend!

P.S. Couldn're resist "sampling" about 1/4 pound of it before sealing...........