How to travel with a cooked brisket?

[GK02]

So i am traveling out of town on Friday for the 4th and want to bring a brisket I will cook on Wednesday or Thursday with me.



What is the best method to travel with it? Refrigerate or freeze it if its going to be reheated in a couple days? Was thinking of vacuum sealing it then sous vide it to reheat it.



I know its been discussed a ton of times but what is the preferred time and temp for reheating a brisket in a sous vide if that is the way to go.



Thanks!

 

[Ron_L]

Slice it, vac seal and then heat sous vide or in a pot of hot water.

 

[Markov]

I have stored unfrozen up to 4 days (vac packed and unsliced) and then placed in sous vide for 2 hours at 150 degrees with good results.

 

[SmokeRingsMatter]

Slice it, vac seal and then heat sous vide or in a pot of hot water.

No, Just No.



Cut in half (seperate point from flat) wrap in butcher paper Leave it in fridge. When you get to where your going, reheat it in a 250F oven till IT reaches 150F. Slice and serve. Should still have a decent bark if it had one before putting it in the fridge.

 

[kevrol]

Slice it

Haven't done it myself but from everything I've read this is a big no-no.

 

[Markov]

I should have mentioned that I remove from paper before completely cooling in the fridge on a rack. That helps preserve some bark, makes it easier to vac pack (no liquid), and keeps from squeezing the brisket too much.

Reheating sous vide will definitely soften the bark as opposed serving fresh but it's still pretty good. I have contemplated hitting it with a torch; might try next time.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I guess I don't see the problem with the slicing it method.



If the concern is it drying out, being in the bag and reheated pretty much prevents that. You do lose a lot of the bark, but about any method of reheating is going to do that.



I think it'd take forever to reheat the whole brisket in a bag. I guess I've never tried it though.

 

[blackdogbbq21]

If possible I would vac seal whole and reheat with a sous vide and then slice. That's how i've done it in the past and it works decent. Not quite as good as fresh but pretty close. The downfall of slicing it early is it will start to oxidize right away.

 

[sudsandswine]

I've sliced, portioned, and sealed dozens of briskets into vacuum bags for reheating a day or more in the future via sous vide. Never any issues at all with the results.

 

[Ron_L]

Haven't done it myself but from everything I've read this is a big no-no.

Done it many times. Vac sealed with some of the au jus, reheat in hot water and it is perfect every time.

 

[sudsandswine]

The downfall of slicing it early is it will start to oxidize right away.

I've found that not slicing while the brisket is hot, and keeping the slices pressed together after slicing, goes a long way towards preventing this from being an issue. If you're slicing your brisket and steam is rising above it, guess where that steam came from. :becky:

 

[smoke ninja]

No, Just No.



Cut in half (seperate point from flat) wrap in butcher paper Leave it in fridge. When you get to where your going, reheat it in a 250F oven till IT reaches 150F. Slice and serve. Should still have a decent bark if it had one before putting it in the fridge.

right....let's just discredit the advice of one of the most well respected bbq people I've ever heard of and go with your plan

 

[Mikhail]

Doesn't seem oxidation would be much of a problem with the juices, slices pressed together and quickly vac sealed. Very little oxygen exposure to cause it. Sure would be easier to serve at destination.

Ideal though would be to pull it and let it cool a bit just before you leave, then wrap it up in a cooler and let it rest on the drive. Not sure how long your trip is.

 

[Nuco59]

I would have no issue with letting it cool, slicing and vac sealing it. I would probably freeze the au jus and add a couple of chunks so it did not get sucked into the vacuum unit.

that's all I got.

 

[SmokeRingsMatter]

right....let's just discredit the advice of one of the most well respected bbq people I've ever heard of and go with your plan

Im kinda not the only one suggesting that's not the best advice......Carry on....

 

[smoke ninja]

Im kinda not the only one suggesting that's not the best advice......Carry on....

Ummm no. One guy mentioned oxidation and the next gave the solution. Plenty of good ways to reheat brisket, including slice & sous vide.

 

[SmokeRingsMatter]

Ummm no. One guy mentioned oxidation and the next gave the solution. Plenty of good ways to reheat brisket, including slice & sous vide.

If you mentioned sous vide 10 years ago, you would have been laughed off of this forum. Ask me how i know....actually don't, i will plead da fif.

 

[sudsandswine]

Slice it first, don’t listen to anyone that says otherwise.

 

[GK02]

Wow, this has got some more opinionated responses than I was expecting! I like it. But then again this is bbq, so we all have our opinions on the best way right?

Ok so I’m going to vacuum seal and sous vide reheat per the general consensus. Slicing is still up in the air. I am cooking it right now and it will be for the fourth so next question is refrigerate or freeze?

After it’s done I’ll go ahead and post the best and only way to cook a brisket for you guys. Kidding,kidding

 

[SmokeRingsMatter]

Wow, this has got some more opinionated responses than I was expecting! I like it. But then again this is bbq, so we all have our opinions on the best way right?

Ok so I’m going to vacuum seal and sous vide reheat per the general consensus. Slicing is still up in the air. I am cooking it right now and it will be for the fourth so next question is refrigerate or freeze?

After it’s done I’ll go ahead and post the best and only way to cook a brisket for you guys. Kidding,kidding

You are absolutely correct. Everything is subjective. If you want to sous vide i can't stop you. But i still suggest you slice before serving. Either way. good luck on your cook.