All Things Brisket

[utxmike05 1825]

Yea I get it, To each their own.  I don't feel like filling up my Yetis with water and leaving the brisket sealed.  Prefer checking on it warming in pan w foil wrapped, and I can add au jus to it. Send pics.

[NoName 16305]

11 minutes ago, utxmike05 said:

Yea I get it, To each their own.  I don't feel like filling up my Yetis with water and leaving the brisket sealed.  Prefer checking on it warming in pan w foil wrapped, and I can add au jus to it. Send pics.

totally understand, but if your goal is to reheat the brisket and minimize moisture loss without potentially "overcooking" it then sous vide stick is the only way to go. you can guarantee it doesn't get hotter than you want, you can guarantee that you limit moisture loss due to vac. seal and you have a wide window in which to pull it before you impact texture.

not everyone has a sous vide stick, totally understand that, but if your goal is to have the best result with a reheated brisket, sous vide is pretty much the best way to go scientifically.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/the-best-method-for-reheating-barbecue/

 

Quote

 

The primary enemy is moisture loss. Once brisket is sliced, it begins a rapid decline towards inedibility almost immediately. Leave those slices laying around for a while and they’ll begin to petrify. The key for leftovers is to get them wrapped up as airtight as you can as soon as you can. Don’t store them in the Styrofoam container you brought them home in because it’s drafty in there, and the less air movement on the meat’s surface, the better. When you’re hungry again around midnight, there are a couple easy tricks to revive your meat.

Put some life back into a slice of cold brisket rapidly by steaming it. You can use a veggie steamer basket, or make a hybrid double boiler with a metal strainer sitting atop a pot of boiling water. The rising steam will provide both moisture and heat to warm the meat quickly. Another option (assuming you don’t have a cryovac machine) is to place a tightly sealed plastic bag ‘o meat into a vat of boiling water. Think of it as redneck sous vide. These methods aren’t perfect, but they’ll work in a pinch. While they might be fine for home use, but if you really want to get serious, like a barbecue joint who wants to ship smoked meat, you’ll need that cryovac machine for great results. Here’s why.

Cooking meat is essentially a process of denaturing proteins. As those proteins denature, their ability to hold onto water decreases. That’s why a whole raw brisket loses about ten to fifteen percent of its water during cooking. The remaining water is precious moisture. Along with the melted collagen and fat, it gives a good slice of fresh brisket that visual sheen and juiciness on the tongue. If a fully cooked brisket is chilled then reheated, those proteins will continue to denature, losing even more moisture. As Texas A&M meat science expert Jeff Savell explains, “The challenge is to continue cooking a product that’s already way overcooked.” The more quickly it is reheated, the worse it gets. Also, warming the meat with dry heat will lose even more water through evaporation. Things get even drier if you leave it uncovered. The solution for all of these problems can be solved by slowly warming meat protected by an air-tight barrier (like cryovac) and a water bath.

 

full article

Spoiler

The barbecue you eat can’t always be fresh. Maybe grandma sent you a brisket in a care package. Sometimes you might even have some leftover ribs. So, what is the best method to reheat it? While eating around the state I know that even in the hands of a microwave maestro, brisket is never going to be great if you hear a DING coming from the kitchen. Throw a fully smoked rack of ribs straight from the fridge into the oven and you’ll get dried out pork with a warmed over flavor. A sturdy wrap of foil can help hold in the moisture, but the result is still flawed. I wanted to know if there was a way to bring barbecue back to life in a way that equaled, or at least came very close to the quality of what comes right off the pit.

Microwaved brisket

The primary enemy is moisture loss. Once brisket is sliced, it begins a rapid decline towards inedibility almost immediately. Leave those slices laying around for a while and they’ll begin to petrify. The key for leftovers is to get them wrapped up as airtight as you can as soon as you can. Don’t store them in the Styrofoam container you brought them home in because it’s drafty in there, and the less air movement on the meat’s surface, the better. When you’re hungry again around midnight, there are a couple easy tricks to revive your meat.

Put some life back into a slice of cold brisket rapidly by steaming it. You can use a veggie steamer basket, or make a hybrid double boiler with a metal strainer sitting atop a pot of boiling water. The rising steam will provide both moisture and heat to warm the meat quickly. Another option (assuming you don’t have a cryovac machine) is to place a tightly sealed plastic bag ‘o meat into a vat of boiling water. Think of it as redneck sous vide. These methods aren’t perfect, but they’ll work in a pinch. While they might be fine for home use, but if you really want to get serious, like a barbecue joint who wants to ship smoked meat, you’ll need that cryovac machine for great results. Here’s why.

Cooking meat is essentially a process of denaturing proteins. As those proteins denature, their ability to hold onto water decreases. That’s why a whole raw brisket loses about ten to fifteen percent of its water during cooking. The remaining water is precious moisture. Along with the melted collagen and fat, it gives a good slice of fresh brisket that visual sheen and juiciness on the tongue. If a fully cooked brisket is chilled then reheated, those proteins will continue to denature, losing even more moisture. As Texas A&M meat science expert Jeff Savell explains, “The challenge is to continue cooking a product that’s already way overcooked.” The more quickly it is reheated, the worse it gets. Also, warming the meat with dry heat will lose even more water through evaporation. Things get even drier if you leave it uncovered. The solution for all of these problems can be solved by slowly warming meat protected by an air-tight barrier (like cryovac) and a water bath.

Ribs and brisket from Woody B’s

A small storefront in Richardson, Texas is home to Woody B’s BBQ. Woody has a big Oyler smoker and a stack of mesquite to fuel it, but you won’t find any barbecue plates on the menu. There is no chopping black, and there aren’t any tables. It’s to-go only, and the only way to buy the barbecue here is pre-sliced and pre-portioned in air-tight baggies. The instructions are simply to place the bags directly into a pot of boiling water. In a few minutes, they’re ready to eat. That first bite came along with a hefty dose of skepticism, but the result was hard to argue with. It wasn’t the best barbecue I’d ever eaten, but it was the best reheated brisket I’d ever tasted up to that point.

I’ve had a couple great briskets in the past that used a similar method of reheating, but they were kept whole for even better results. I was in a pinch on the way to Lake Texoma for a Fourth of July weekend, and my father-in-law put me in charge of the brisket for the big family meal. I hadn’t planned ahead, so I called Clark’s Outpost in Tioga to secure a whole brisket. They handed me a fully-sheathed hunk of beef. At the lake house I placed it in a deep pan of water, and put the whole package into a 225 degree oven for a couple hours. It came out beautifully, and all that luscious, tender fat that Clark’s usually trims off was there for the eating. Another instance was at an event where Wayne Mueller was supposed to be cooking briskets. A family emergency kept him away, so he shipped several cryovaced briskets. Another pit master at the event warmed them up and sliced them. While I knew the situation before I took the first bite, it was some mighty fine smoked brisket.

 

https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/faux-vide/

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by NoName

[dcbc 14409]

I did this for a family reunion over labor day weekend.  Smoked the weekend before, rested, sealed (15 lb brisket, trimmed and cooked, still in the butcher paper fit in a regular vacuum seal bag; I have used the expandable ones for turkeys before, but getting a good tight seal isn't as easy on them), and frozen.  I have a plastic storage container with a notch in the lid I use for sous vide.  I put the brisket, two racks of ribs, and a few pounds of sausage all in individual bags in the container, set it for 145F, and sat poolside with a few beers while it came up to temp.  I finished the brisket and ribs off on a gas grill on low for about 10 minutes to let the bark firm up.  Brisket bark was great.  Ribs got a little washed out in the reheat. 

[Sam Lin 3541]

10 hours ago, thunderlounge said:

What container are y’all using for sous vide?

Been thinking about going this route for reheating.

I did pretty much exactly this, except my cooler is blue:

https://anovaculinary.com/sous-vide-cooler-guide/

Basically zero water loss (I've used the same water bath for 6mo many times), very good insulation so you aren't burning much power at all once it's to temp, and the wide flat profile fits a ton of food.

 

Throw in one of these from Ikea to keep food separated and secured:

https://sousvidehub.com/product/ikea-stainless-steel-rack/

Edited December 15, 2021 by Sam Lin
add pic

[tigol 2383]

16 minutes ago, Sam Lin said:

I did pretty much exactly this, except my cooler is blue:

https://anovaculinary.com/sous-vide-cooler-guide/

Basically zero water loss (I've used the same water bath for 6mo many times), very good insulation so you aren't burning much power at all once it's to temp, and the wide flat profile fits a ton of food.

 

Throw in one of these from Ikea to keep food separated and secured:

https://sousvidehub.com/product/ikea-stainless-steel-rack/

Awesome!  Thanks.  I bought the cooler and my husband is on the drill bit.  Heh.

I was using something similar to this, but with a more rigid lid:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GQLD5BH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It worked for experimentation and day to day foods, but big bbq items don't work in that space.  I've done a small brisket and pork shoulders, but I fucked around and found out with a spatchcocked turkey at Thanksgiving.  Oops.  I re-heated it in the oven and it was still juicy, but I had to babysit it more than I had anticipated.

[Fastbreak 3959]

First try in new smoker. Just woke up to wrap it after about 7 hours to find the fire was dead.


It has a good look, but it hadn’t reached the magic point yet. Still edible, but a learning experience for next time.

[thunderlounge 7758]

Pulled it too early. You’ll get there. 

[utxmike05 1825]

5 hours ago, Fastbreak said:

First try in new smoker. Just woke up to wrap it after about 7 hours to find the fire was dead.


It has a good look, but it hadn’t reached the magic point yet. Still edible, but a learning experience for next time.

You went to sleep???

[thunderlounge 7758]

1 hour ago, utxmike05 said:

You went to sleep???

Maybe he has a WSM? 

[Fastbreak 3959]

I am still jet lagged so I tried to get a bit of sleep once I had the temperature stable.

I just bought this cheap smoker on Amazon (Cuisinart 18 stand up) to have something to BBQ on while I stay at my parents over the holidays. Getting the right amount of charcoal was just an experiment. I use to have a BGE that was much more reliable.

2nd smoke yielded much better results. It held 225ish for 10 hours. I wrapped it about half way.


I bought both at Costco, but the 2nd brisket was much better quality.

[utxmike05 1825]

Knocked out two 10 pounders for a friend yesterday on the ol’ offset wood smoker

 

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by utxmike05

[hornian 5205]

I got a Sous Vide for Christmas and I’m cooking some filets right now that I’ll sear on the grill before eating. Poking around the app and looking at recipes, and found this:

 

My first thought was:

 

my second thought was: Surly will have some opinions on this. 

Edited December 25, 2021 by hornian

[thunderlounge 7758]

[utee94 15746]

Looks like you found Hope Solo's brisket recipe.

 

 

[elfenix 34171]

2 days at 135, interesting. Def finish on smoker if not start

[EZ$ 2102]

First brisket on the Traeger. Came out pretty damn good. 

[dlatin 328]

14 pound prime brisket and 9 pound bone in pork shoulder. Brisket was amazing…

[Hate 20103]

Here is my second brisket on the RecTeq. It turned out fantastic.

[Fastbreak 3959]

It’s about to go on the smoker. This is 4th brisket in last 3 weeks. Each one has gotten better.


I am using Meat Church Holy Cow and Gospel rubs for first time.

[dlatin 328]

Smoked a 14.3 lb prime brisket and a 9 pound pork shoulder for NYE dinner. Both turned out amazing. The flat was so perfect I ended up serving everyone sliced flat then chopped the point up for leftover deliciousness. I’ve been smoking meats for about 10 years and rarely did brisket but I embraced the brisket in 2021 with some nudging from my BIL and am so happy I did. I never felt I could find ribs or pulled pork as good as my own anywhere but never felt that way about brisket. I now think mine is as good as I can find and makes the time and effort worth it.

[Etexhorn13 3036]

Wish I had gotten a few pictures of this 14#, but this sucker turned out great. I’m used to smoking 10 or so pounds, so the 18 hour cook time on this was a little shocking to me. I was feeding a bunch of people so I’m just glad everything ended up being cooked in time. 

[Smax 3800]

California.....

[Hate 20103]

Goddamn. Here is a 14# indie a few weeks ago.

Edit:  Didn't realize I have already posted these in the thread.  I must have been drunk.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Hate

[Trey3216 15325]

Mom got me a few choice briskets at a Kroger special as part of my birthday back in Oct.  decided to cook one today.  First brisket I’ve cooked in about 16 months or so.  Still getting used to the new fire box I had welded on my stack smoker.   But for a choice brisket, this is one of the better ones I’ve cooked on a non-industrial sized pit.  Hot and fast, 300 degrees.  On at 9, cut up and on the table by 5.  
 

 

[Pdawg88 1110]

Started a brisket at 4:00pm @ 195°. Checked it at around 11:30pm and it was at 170°. I planned on running it till 8:00 in the morning at 250° but I feel like it too far along. Should I finish at 225°? I have an alarm set for 3:00am to check. 

[Etexhorn13 3036]

3 hours ago, Pdawg88 said:

Started a brisket at 4:00pm @ 195°. Checked it at around 11:30pm and it was at 170°. I planned on running it till 8:00 in the morning at 250° but I feel like it too far along. Should I finish at 225°? I have an alarm set for 3:00am to check. 

How many lb? Depending on size you’re probably fine… the last one I cooked got up to 165 seemingly “too fast” but ended up finishing at 203 right around the time I’d originally planned. Briskets be funny like that. 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Etexhorn13

[Pdawg88 1110]

4 hours ago, Etexhorn13 said:

How many lb? Depending on size you’re probably fine… the last one I cooked got up to 165 seemingly “too fast” but ended up finishing at 203 right around the time I’d originally planned. Briskets be funny like that. 

You would be correct, I let it run till 6:30 this morning and it was at 203°. Pulled it off and put it in a cooler. Have a football tournament at noon and will slice her up afterwards. 

[Steel Shank 9415]

I think I'm going to do a brisket this weekend, maybe tomorrow. All this WWIII talk with Russia and shit, I thought, well, might as well sneak in a brisket and a pot of beans before shit hits the fan. Ice down some Bud Light.

 

You never know.

edit: Listen to Red Headed Stranger in its entirety, some Ray Price and Johnny Rodriguez.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Steel Shank

[RMac5 1550]

That sounds like a great plan. I have no idea what we might face in the future but a smoked brisket will always help the situation.

[Steel Shank 9415]

5 minutes ago, RMac5 said:

That sounds like a great plan. I have no idea what we might face in the future but a smoked brisket will always help the situation.

Don't forget the beans.

[Braff Zacklin 13420]

7 minutes ago, Steel Shank said:

Don't forget the beans.

I'd say you've had enough!

[Steel Shank 9415]

32 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

I'd say you've had enough!

Enough is never enough.

[baboso 6050]

10 hours ago, Steel Shank said:

Enough is never enough.

A little bit is better than nada...

[utxmike05 1825]

Speaking of Beans.  I tried the new Roegels location in Katy (never been to the original location)...all was pretty good.  But those were the worst beans we have ever had in a restaurant...I mean they looked good...but no bueno.

[WhatTheBuck 28713]

On 3/2/2022 at 9:25 PM, Steel Shank said:

Enough is never enough.

Too much of everything is just enough.

[dcbc 14409]

It's been a minute since I cooked a brisket. 19 hours on the WSM.

[speed817 19115]

Any thoughts on this???  Some terrible looking briskets on NTBA today lol

[thunderlounge 7758]

[TankedBevo 2482]

17 hours ago, speed817 said:

Any thoughts on this???  Some terrible looking briskets on NTBA today lol

[fuggled 576]

PSA: Kroger in Dallas has choice briskets for $2.47/lb with a digital coupon through May 3

[Dutch 4465]

2 hours ago, fuggled said:

PSA: Kroger in Dallas has choice briskets for $2.47/lb with a digital coupon through May 3

Their app is "currently experiencing technical difficulties;" all Surly bastards must, like me, be attempting to purchase a brisket (or multiple in my case) at an affordable price for the first time in a long time.

Edited April 27, 2022 by Dutch

[utxmike05 1825]

Mother's day brisket request granted. Hot AF yesterday but it actually is easier to keep pit temps up than during "winter time".  
 

(Need some better pics in this thread after that last few w sausage in it)

 

[utxmike05 1825]

Meant to post this money shot

[Party_Taco 3674]

That’s pure fire, brother - Would pay a good sum for all that goodness!

[dcbc 14409]

1 hour ago, utxmike05 said:

Meant to post this money shot

 

[Both Tacos 1805]

My man, going hard in the paint.

[utxmike05 1825]

1 hour ago, Party_Taco said:

That’s pure fire, brother - Would pay a good sum for all that goodness!

Thanks bro.  And brisket is finally down to 3.99/lb too!

[Henry Hill 3156]

1 hour ago, utxmike05 said:

Meant to post this money shot

[Texzilla58 4717]

Meant to post this money shot

This right here defines all that is Texas


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RMac5 1550]

@utxmike05 that brisket looks so fucking good, how was it? Did you use oak? Love that black bark, mine always come out kind of a reddish color even though I use oak and S&P. Yours looks perfect, anxious to hear how it tasted, pics don’t always tell the truth.