Costco Prime Brisket

[mrPalomar]

I just picked up a 15lb prime brisket from Costco ($2.49/lb at the Eugene, OR store :grin and I have a few questions:

1) The pack date on the brisket is 9/23 and the sell by date is 9/30, but I've seen many people mention that you can (and maybe even should) wait up to 4 weeks past the pack date. Is it normal for Costco to cut that down to 1 week? Would you freeze to cook later or would it be reasonable to expect it to stay good for another week or two?

2) There's no way my family is going through a 15lb brisket before it goes bad after i cook it, would it be better to freeze part of it before cooking or after? How would you split it up? Would you separate the point and flat or not? I'm tempted to separate it and BBQ part now and freeze the rest to cook another day, but I've not had great luck with brisket so far and am hoping to get it right this time.

Thanks!

 

[sudsandswine]

I go 4 weeks from pack date all the time but wouldn't be afraid taking it another week or more, as always, as long as it looks and smells ok when I open it.

Do you have a vacuum sealer? We are a family of 2.5 and never eat the whole cook either, but I will portion and vacuum seal then freeze for reheating later.

 

[mrPalomar]

Thanks! I do have a vacuum sealer, am just trying to figure out if it will come out better if i cook it whole or if i can split it up before freezing. I'm also considering (blasphemy, I know) cooking the other half in the oven if I do that.

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

I'd cook it whole, divide it up into the size of packages you want for meals and seal those. To reheat, use the poaches in a pan of water. Make sure they don't touch the bottom. It'll be as good as the day you cooked it.

As far as aging, most of the briskets at RD are fresh, if you buy from a purveyor they are usually aged 21 days.

 

[pjtexas1]

Split it lengthwise. Cook half and freeze the other half. That way you have point and flat. I try to buy 10LBS or smaller so I don't have this issue. If I cook a bigger one I freeze it in 1lb portions.

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[Blanton]

I'm not aware of Costco putting the pack date on the label. They always put a sell by date 7 days out from when they price it. Pack date for aging purposes is only found on the case. That said, you can likely go a couple of weeks past the sell by date in the cryo.

A 15lb'r though is really only going to yield 6-7 pounds of cooked after trimming and cooking

 

[pharp]

I would cook it all and freeze portions to heat and eat later.

 

[sudsandswine]

I'm not aware of Costco putting the pack date on the label. They always put a sell by date 7 days out from when they price it. Pack date for aging purposes is only found on the case. That said, you can likely go a couple of weeks past the sell by date in the cryo.

A 15lb'r though is really only going to yield 6-7 pounds of cooked after trimming and cooking

Definitely have pack date listed down here in KC. There's probably a 20% loss right off the bat with a decent trim though.

 

[SwineGuy]

I'd cook it whole, divide it up into the size of packages you want for meals and seal those. To reheat, use the poaches in a pan of water. Make sure they don't touch the bottom. It'll be as good as the day you cooked it.

^^This^^

Definitely cook it whole and save it and reheat it as described above. The vacuum pack reheated in water is amazing. it will truly be like the day you made it.

 

[ronbrad62]

Beef is probably the most forgiving meat item that you can use well past the sell by date and not have to worry too much about. If it has a little bag odor, just let it breathe or air out for a while. If it is bad, you will know it!

 

[SwineGuy]

On the smell issue, don't just slice open the bag and take a whiff. You should always rinse it off once it comes out of the bag before you smell it. The blood that is in the bag and around the meat can take on an off-odor that will smell bad. That is natural and not dangerous. Just rinse it off and you will likely not smell anything anymore. If you still do, then you may have a problem.

 

[Texstan]

It seems to me a bit of a blasphemy to cook it any way but whole, and any way but with smoke. You can always debate low-n-slow vs. hot-n-fast, but cook it whole. It freezes nicely when vacuum sealed. I would wait to slice it until just before serving. I also like to wrap in foil at ~160 degrees, partly so that I can retain and defat the drippings collected in the foil, then add them back to the sliced leftovers. Makes it seem more like fresh.

 

[mrPalomar]

Thanks everyone, I'll cook it whole and freeze portions. Wish me luck, the last couple of briskets I've cooked ended up pretty dry.

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

Thanks everyone, I'll cook it whole and freeze portions. Wish me luck, the last couple of briskets I've cooked ended up pretty dry.

Good luck, it seems that most young brisket cooks have dry briskets until they have overcooked a brisket. Always error on the side of overcooking them.