Shipping brisket questions
 

I have the need to ship two packer briskets that I plan to cook a few states away. They'll be frozen and then placed in Styrofoam coolers with dry ice for shipment.

My question is this - I want to maintain as much quality after a freeze then reheat as possible. I've always felt that if I slice a brisket to eat the day of, then put the rest that didn't get eaten back in the fridge, it's never quite the same after that, probably due to the amount of juices lost from slicing.

For these I was considering cooking whole and then refrigerating whole as well before they get vacuum sealed and put in the freezer. I was wondering if slicing them while cold, after they've been in the fridge for a while and they're cold with solid fat/juices, would help reduce some of the quality loss after a first reheat. Or maybe I should just go ahead and slice while warm and quickly portion/vacuum seal instead?

I don't really want to leave it on the recipient to carve the brisket up, nor would it be easy to reheat an entire brisket....plus I think I can get better stacking in the cooler to remove some air and keep them cold longer if they're semi portioned into big vacuum bags. I just thought if I sliced them while cold I could minimize moisture loss and it'd reheat better...probably fairly difficult to cut when cold though.

Thoughts?

Since it's just the wife and I, when I make brisket I always have a ton left over. I save the drippings and juice and pour a little in with the portions I seal in the food saver and then freeze. To reheat we just pop the bags in a water bath with the anova, my friends I've given portions too just use a pot of water and reheat in the bags. I've always found it to be very tender and juicy. If needed I've added a little beef broth mixed with the seasoning I used and added that as well before the food saver seal.

I would leave the Packers on the counter, unwrapped, for at least an hour or two. A good long rest should cool them enough that the juice doesn't flow when sliced. Then slice & vac bag as you see fit. They should freeze quickly if they are flat, single layer bags. Reheating should be done while still in the bag and dropped in a pot of boiling water.

Even if you slice when cold, when you reheat, you are going to have more moisture loss if already sliced. I would reheat in smaller whole portions if you have to, then slice just before serving.