Whole Brisket Reheat question

It's a good question. I used to fully cook, and that still works for simply having cooked brisket on hand that I can slice from and reheat in a sauce pan with some sauce for a sandwich or with crackers, etc.



But, for a situation like I have, I prefer to smoke it well at 275-300F, up to about 170-180F, wrap tight in heavy duty alum. foil and then a week later heat it up in an oven to probe tender and unwrap to crisp up. Exactly what I'm doing for deer camp this year, in about two weeks. The guys went nuts over last year's brisket and cornbread, so I'm doing it again.



I've got a really good "Hickory BBQ Sauce" recipe. Only one last modification to try. The current version includes 2/3 part apple cider vinegar and 1/3 balsamic. I've never cooked with malt vinegar, but for some reason I believe it might be the final touch on the sauce. Thinking 1/3:1/3:1/3 to begin with.

My Aussie input.
I smoke to cooked ,rest and wrap adding pan juices.
Next day sliced as you would to serve then vacuum pack in bulk.
Reheat in an esky of hot water or similar in the bags,65c., has not failed us yet.
Hot coffee temp
Oops
Esky is a cooler here.
Serving precooked To a crowd in a few days, never had a complaint yet

1) Cook off site till 160, wrap in heavy foil and towels (dont let cool down) toss in cooler, take to site, finish in an oven.

2) Fully cook, wrap in foil, toss in cooler, take to site (should still be hot for 5 hours or so), slice and serve when ready.

I cook a lot of my larger cooks in advance and reheat. For brisket and pulled pork I cook til they're done like normal, slice or pull, and portion into 4 or 5 lb vacuum bags, maybe adding in some reserved juice. I toss the vacuum sealed bags into a large cooler full of ice water to quick chill them and then either freeze or refrigerate depending how far in advance I cook. If frozen, I thaw in the fridge a couple days prior to serving and reheat using sous vide (hot water bath) in an appropriately sized cooler either way. Takes less than an hour to come up to temp, though I can hold it at that temp for quite some time for flexibility in serving time. This method results in a served product that is almost as good as the day I cooked it, and definitely the best for any reheat method I've tried.

lcbateman3 said:

Hey guys,


I need to cook some briskets for a friends event. Cooking four of them.

Due to logistics of where it is at, cooking on site is not an option. Well, not a long cook anyways.

I've talked to some people and read some things on here about cooking the brisket whole and reheating it.

So my question to the y'all is the following:

1. One school of thought is to par cook. IE: Cook to wrapping temp 160-170, the wrap and cool down. Finish cooking on site (I will have about six hours on site that I can cook). From a cold start after cooking how long would it take to warm and finish cooking? I'm thinking five-six hours at least running 275 on the cooker I will have there. ( I am cooking chicken on site for them as well as throwing a few pans of mac and cheese).

2. Another school of thought is to cook the entire brisket to doneness. Wrap and quick cool, then warm up on site. This technically should be the shorter route since the meat is completely done but just needs to be warmed. Looking at the same cooker at roughly the same temp.

In either case, would you go on and separate the point from the flat when wrapping?

Thanks for your thoughts and answers!

Click to expand...

If I am unable to set-up and cook on-site for an event, I cook completely in advance before leaving for an event; Sometimes hour, sometimes days. The reason I don't usually finish on-site is because usually time is limited and there are many other things to do or set-up. But not every situation is identical.



If I am cooking off site and taking to the event, I usually finish the cook prior to leaving to the for the event usually 6 to 9 AM. Pan the briskets and put the pans into the cambro. These will hold until 2 or 3 pm and still being very hot when you use them. If you don't have a cambro, use an insulated cooler as indicated above. Pull each brisket from the cambro and slice as needed.


If I can't completely cook the brisket just prior to the event because of scheduling: I'll cook up to a day or two prior to the event and quickly cool the brisket. Slice the briskets and slightly offset each slice in the pan with a little beef broth and refrigerate. On-site just gently warm to a safe serving temperature, remember the meat is already cooked, don't boil the broth in high heat or you will continue to further cook the brisket which can change the texture.


You will see there are many suggestion, so you have to pick the method you feel the most comfortable with for your success at the event.

we do this often. I will cook until completely done and then let it rest on the counter for awhile. I then wrap in food service film and pour in some au jus from our wrapping process. Then it gets wrapped in foil and quickly cooled. From there its either frozen or kept under refrigeration. Then I reheat in a pan covered with foil in an oven or smoker until its about 165 IT and they come out great.

How far away is the event? They will stay hot in a cooler/cambro for a long time.

I've done the hole brisket and vacuum sealed it and put in the freezer served the next week tasted like it just came off of the smoker.

I have used the method that IamMadMan used with good results.

I know a person who cooks them completely, wraps in saran wrap and put them in a cooler- can stay hot for hours I have cooked, sliced, let them cool off vac seal and reheat in boiling water Taste great and remains moist