Cut up and freeze fresh beef brisket?

[RemoGaggi]

I've been wanting to smoke brisket for the first time, but all the briskets I can find are around 12-16 lbs and it's just me and my wife, so that's way too much meat.

I was thinking about getting a brisket and cutting it into thirds. I would cook one piece and vacuum seal the other two pieces.

Does anyone see a problem with either cooking a 1/3 of the brisket and freezing the rest for a later cook?

I would be smoking the small brisket piece on my mini WSM or traeger pellet, not sure yet.

Thanks.

[Callahan-que]

You'd be better off cooking it whole. Then vacume seal and freeze the left overs. That's the way we roll 'cause it's just me and the wife andI like cooking whole packers.

[Q-Dat]

It will freeze just fine if its vacuum sealed, but the dificult part is going to be cooking the smaller pieces. They are much less forgiving that way. I think you might be better off freezing after cooking.

Not that the small pieces can't be cooked well. I actually separate the point from the flat for competition, and trim pretty aggressively. I leave a 1/4" fat cap on the flat, and take most of the fat off of the point. If I start with a 12 lb packer I usually trim away roughly 1/4 of the weight of the brisket away. More if its IBP untrimmed. Leaves you with roughly a 5-6 lb flat and about a 3-4 lb point. Factor in a significant amount of shrinkage, and you probably have about half of the original weight. Still a lot for two people, but I think post cook portioning is the way to go.

[J-Rod]

Originally Posted by J'ville Grill

You'd be better off cooking it whole. Then vacume seal and freeze the left overs. That's the way we roll 'cause it's just me and the wife andI like cooking whole packers.

^^^this. If you don't have a Foodsaver vacuum, buy one. They're great.

[LMAJ]

Cook it whole.
Slice and freeze for later what you don't eat initially.
It's great to be able to go to the freezer and pull out some Q on short notice.

[RemoGaggi]

Thanks for the replies!