Wet aged frozen Brisket

[$billBBQ]

OK so it not ideal but the short story is I ended up with 2 black Angus prime frozen wet aged brisket. I have a comp coming up in a couple of weeks and was wondering if others have used brisket that had been frozen or if I would be better off buying 2 fresh ones.

Just wondering about quality of frozen since I have ever cook a brisket that was frozen.

Thanks for the help

[Smokin Hoggz]

You should be ok to use those briskets, just let them thaw out properly in the refridgerator, about 5 days before the contest.

[WineMaster]

Lotta Comp brisket gets thawed the week before a comp

[$billBBQ]

Thanks guys - Looks like I will thaw it the week of and give it go.

[Bigmista]

Some people freeze on purpose.

[Smokin Hoggz]

Thanks guys - Looks like I will thaw it the week of and give it go.

Hey Bill, Is it the lexington contest?? if so, I'll be there too. Any questions feel free to come over and ask, I am happy to help and answer any questions you have!!

[Fatback Joe]

My briskets for Lexington and Roc City are both in the freezer..........chicken and ribs too. :mrgreen: If I could find some butts worth a damn, they would be also.

[$billBBQ]

Hey Bill, Is it the lexington contest?? if so, I'll be there too. Any questions feel free to come over and ask, I am happy to help and answer any questions you have!!


It is for lexington that is why I was trying to figure it out now so I could go with plan B and I would still have to time to wet age if needed but I will just take them out of the freezer

Thanks for all the help I will stop by and say hi.

[Muzzlebrake]

Any questions feel free to come over and ask, I am happy to help and answer any questions you have!!

I'll be over late Friday for a chicken recipe.:becky:

[sdbbq1234]

Some people freeze on purpose.

Ok, you got my interest.

Why do people freeze on purpose?

Thanks.
wallace

[INmitch]

How long were they wet aged before they were frozen? If less than 20 days I'd get them in the fridge for a little more. Some people go up to 50 days. I go 35-40 days myself. They will be just fine!! If the cryo has a leak just trim them for the comp and reseal them.

[DepChief22]

How long do most people age there butts and chicken. I know on the beef the longer you let it wet age the tastier it is.

[Fatback Joe]

How long do most people age there butts and chicken.

I don't think most do. Pork and chicken just go bad.

[Stark-O-Rama]

Some people freeze on purpose.

Amen brother - It seems like every time I freeze good meat, it turns out better than the fresh meat I Q. My accomplished Q buddy swears by freezing meat first - he says the process produces more tender meat.

[PapaBearsHickoryPit]

I think it has something to do with the water in the muscle fibers freezing and expanding and rupturing the muscle fibers. That might make for a more tender brisket, just a guess!

[NS Mike D]

I think it has something to do with the water in the muscle fibers freezing and expanding and rupturing the muscle fibers. That might make for a more tender brisket, just a guess!

I'm convinced this is true. My first hand experience left me suspecting this was the case, and when we signed up for a freezer service, they had a"brand" of steak they claimed was better that choice. While it was well marbled, it was still choice. The only difference was the freezing.

If you think about it, freezing will break up the fibers on a micro-level evenly without affecting flavor.

[HarleyGirl14226]

Hey Bill, Is it the lexington contest?? if so, I'll be there too. Any questions feel free to come over and ask, I am happy to help and answer any questions you have!!

I'm with Sean... Maybe I'll need to make a special trip for some help with pork!:wink:

[NazBQ]

I cooked a brisket that was frozen in a contest last week and got a call. I freeze all contest meats.

[didisea]

You could always use one frozen one and one "fresh" one, although the "fresh" one will not have that much age on it.

[JD McGee]

We buy our comp briskets by the case...wet age them...then freeze them. Very rarely do we ever cook a non-frozen brisket unless the comp date happens to fall on the same day they are finished aging. No problems cooking any pre-frozen meats here...

[Bentley]

Some people freeze on purpose.


Yep!

[$billBBQ]

I started this thread worried about using a frozen brisket and now I can't wait for 2 weeks to try and use the brisket. This will make life much easier just to have a case of wet aged brisket in the freezer ready to go.

[smokinb]

I've tried to find fresh brisket, tracked down an organic black angus cattle farmer and asked if I could get a fresh one. She said they flash freeze all their meat and it wasn't easy to get it fresh. They also said their organic beef briskets are much smaller than regular briskets. They said a whole organic brisket was in the 8 pound range. Their meat is about twice as much as local grocers per pound. They say its better tasting and healthier, but twice the rate? Needless to say I haven't sampled any of her meat. My question is, how do you find a brisket that was not frozen?

[$billBBQ]

smokinb (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/member.php?u=25878) - If you can find a local butcher they will order a fresh case of full packers for you, The case normally comes with 5 full packers. we then wet age them and split up the case keeping 2 for competition and sell off the rest at cost to some buddies. Just ask for the pack date (most of the time on the case the brisket come in). This is why we had to freeze we found a new supplier and order them with a enough time to wet age before the comp, but this supplier wet ages all the meats before they sell them so we had to freeze them

[CBQ]

I've tried to find fresh brisket, tracked down an organic black angus cattle farmer and asked if I could get a fresh one. She said they flash freeze all their meat and it wasn't easy to get it fresh. They also said their organic beef briskets are much smaller than regular briskets. They said a whole organic brisket was in the 8 pound range. Their meat is about twice as much as local grocers per pound. They say its better tasting and healthier, but twice the rate? Needless to say I haven't sampled any of her meat. My question is, how do you find a brisket that was not frozen?

For BBQ, avoid anything that is "good for you." Organic? Grass fed? Free range? Local farm? Sustainable? Pfft.

(I'm kidding, but only partly. Larger, well marbled cuts of beef and pork are what you want. Healthier generally means leaner. Great for the grill, not so good for slow fire cooking. If you want to pay double for a brisket, at least get a 17 pound grain fed Wagyu or something. Those lean locally raised free range chickens are great on your table, but they won't do as well in a comp as the mass market stuff at the supermarket. )

[Pigs on The Run]

How long do most people age there butts and chicken. I know on the beef the longer you let it wet age the tastier it is.

Good to see you posting on here. It can be a great help at your first BBQ contest!
Aging meet is kinda interesting. Aging chicken and pork is kinda not done. But wet aging brisket can be done but not over 6 weeks max . Normally look for quarter size bubbles .
Ope to you soon.
John
BBQ bands and brews.

[Blanton]

I thought I was just imagining tenderness in steaks that were frozen. Glad to here others have experienced the same results

[Hawg Father of Seoul]

The real question is: is any one consistantly winning with frozen, but not injected brisket?

[boogiesnap]

For BBQ, avoid anything that is "good for you." Organic? Grass fed? Free range? Local farm? Sustainable? Pfft.

(I'm kidding, but only partly. Larger, well marbled cuts of beef and pork are what you want. Healthier generally means leaner. Great for the grill, not so good for slow fire cooking. If you want to pay double for a brisket, at least get a 17 pound grain fed Wagyu or something. Those lean locally raised free range chickens are great on your table, but they won't do as well in a comp as the mass market stuff at the supermarket. )

i would disagree with this blanket statement.

while not a "BBQ" here is an example of quality grass fed, local, and organic beef.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=77277&d=1363578960

and here's a brisket of same elk. flat over point.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=75425&d=1359997828

[JS-TX]

For BBQ, avoid anything that is "good for you." Organic? Grass fed? Free range? Local farm? Sustainable? Pfft.

(I'm kidding, but only partly. Larger, well marbled cuts of beef and pork are what you want. Healthier generally means leaner. Great for the grill, not so good for slow fire cooking. If you want to pay double for a brisket, at least get a 17 pound grain fed Wagyu or something. Those lean locally raised free range chickens are great on your table, but they won't do as well in a comp as the mass market stuff at the supermarket. )

I dunno, Aaron Franklin uses all natural brisket, hormone/anti-biotic free etc.. and you know what they say about his brisket...

Also free range chicken are a little bit leaner and have thinner skin, which is good for cook-offs.

[Smokin' Gnome BBQ]

Good to see you posting on here. It can be a great help at your first BBQ contest!
Aging meet is kinda interesting. Aging chicken and pork is kinda not done. But wet aging brisket can be done but not over 6 weeks max . Normally look for quarter size bubbles .
Ope to you soon.
John
BBQ bands and brews.

I understand the "quarter sized bubble" thing but do you (or anyone) have a picture of this? Should it have a lot of bubbles or just some scattered through out the vac pac?

[BigBellyBBQ]

How long do most people age there butts and chicken. I know on the beef the longer you let it wet age the tastier it is.
science experiment for the green chicken contest..can anyone name a blue food?