Dividing up Brisket


 

Fred BW

TVWBB Fan
Just wondering about dividing up a brisket. Most weigh 10lbs or over. I would be hard pressed to use up 2 or 3 LBS before it got bad. Is it a bad idea to cut it up and freeze it before cooking, in say thirds and cook 1/3 at a time. Or cook it all at once,and freeze it after cooking. I can't be the only one that has this problem. Something tells me the flavor would come out better doing it all at once. But then again you would probably lose some flavor by freezing it after cooking :confused:.
I used to do corned beef on my old brinkman because they are small. They did always come out good though.I haven't cooked any brisket,or any beef either as far as that goes,since I got my 18 WSM. Just wondering how those of you that have been there,done that deal with big briskets,when you only really need small portions. I would like to cook some before winter hits. :) I am partial to burnt ends. I see the point is what you are after for that,but havn't ever seen it seperate in stores. All advice appreciated.
 
Save time, effort, fuel, and kitchen cleanup--just cook once. I recommend smoking a whole 12-14 lb brisket, then freezing leftover chunks for later use. Thaw in the fridge, slice, and heat at 20% in the microwave.

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+1 but I like to throw a frozen chunk in water as it heats to boil. Once boiling after a cpl min turn it off and let it cool a cpl min for a just-cooked taste and texture.
 
I often cut whole packers more or less in half for 2 cooks, but wouldn't go thirds.
The quality of the flat piece may not be quite up to the standards of a whole, but it works well for me.
Then you have the other flat piece with the point for burnt ends if desired.


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Only done a couple on my 18.5 WSM. It's just the wife and I so a 12 pound brisket is a lot of meat for two. I cook it whole and freeze the point for later use in chile, enchiladas, burritos and burnt ends. Also really good for breakfast with some point meat with a fried egg over it.
The left over flat meat I slice thin and freeze in individual packages that will make two sandwiches for beef dips for a quick meal.
 
I'm with Chris on this -- cook it whole, then chunk it and freeze it. I do this all the time. Brisket tacos, brisket sandwiches, brisket and eggs, brisket and brisket ... mmmmmm.

Jeff
 
+1 but I like to throw a frozen chunk in water as it heats to boil. Once boiling after a cpl min turn it off and let it cool a cpl min for a just-cooked taste and texture.

When I've done this, I still thaw in the fridge in the Foodsaver sealed bag, then place the thawed bag into boiling water, turn off the heat, wait, etc. Slice, enjoy, etc. :D

But I get lazy, and I've found that gentle heating in the microwave achieves almost the same thing. I slice cold, arrange slices on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, then use 10-20% power for a minute, touch the meat to check temp, then again for 30 seconds, check again, etc. until warmed enough.
 
.. then use 10-20% power...

No one in our household will make use of the cycling-option on our microwave, despite the fact that it yields wonderful results for reheating when compared to no cycling. Also--while I'm here and assuming it's acceptable--for the past 18 months I've been using the Commercial Bargains 11" vacuum bags from Amazon; they are a fraction of the cost and I've yet to experience any issue. They also offer 8".
 
I like the slice cold, gentle reheat that Chris lays out. My old-school reheating method is to thaw in the fridge, slice it cold, the reheat in a covered pot with a little bit of beef stock (maybe a touch of Franklin's Espresso Sauce). When the pot lid steams up, you're good to go.

Jeff
 
+1 but I like to throw a frozen chunk in water as it heats to boil. Once boiling after a cpl min turn it off and let it cool a cpl min for a just-cooked taste and texture.

I agree. I do it this way too. With it vacuumed sealed the juices stay in the meat and the bag during re-heating.

Another thing I have done is after it's been re-heated and sliced I put several slices on the grill to crisp it up. Adds another texture to the meat.
 
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I cook the whole brisket and it is only my wife and me. We have leftovers for the next day. I then cut it up and vacuum seal them for freezing. I take part of the point (already smoked) and throw it through my meat grinder to make smoked brisket chili out of.
 
Thanks for all the responses. I will do a whole one all at once :D I do have a vacuum sealer that hasn't been used in years. That is one of the things i need to get in order before I do one. Winter is sneaking up fast,and I better get my butt in gear!
 
Yea the only time I part one out is to use for something other than whole BBQ. Like grinding the point for burgers, or using the flat for jerky, or an oven braise for Goulash etc.

Tim
 
No one in our household will make use of the cycling-option on our microwave, despite the fact that it yields wonderful results for reheating when compared to no cycling.
I also have trouble getting anyone else to understand the microwave has intensity levels just like a stove. I would put in a word here for the Panasonic microwave I have that uses "Inverter Technology" to actually reduce the power of the microwave, not just cycle the power on and off. It's the only microwave I've used that can successfully soften refrigerated butter without turning it into liquid. At the lowest settings it does seem to also cycle on/off, but that is obviously not the case down to about the 40% mark. I have a radio sitting right on top of the microwave and when the microwave is emitting the radio is totally scrambled, so I can hear when it's cycling and when it's not. Since getting this microwave I've taken to cooking almost everything except popcorn and water on something other than full power. The other trick is to set things as far off center on the turntable as possible. That greatly reduces the hot spots.
 
I've always wondered about this...
It depends on the specifics of your microwave. I have an ancient microwave made by Litton that uses a slow moving fan with metal blades to bounce the microwaves all over the cooking chamber. This unit doesn't even have a turntable. It does a very good job of evenly distributing the energy.

The Panasonic microwave simply shoots the microwaves into the cooking chamber from a hole on the side. As near as I can tell they pretty much just come straight into the chamber and then bounce around depending on what they run into. This results in a vastly higher concentration of energy near and directly in front of the entry port, and an extremely uneven distribution. They compensate for this with the turntable. But if you put the food dead center in the turntable, that in the middle is directly in the path of the microwaves the entire time. In some cases this is probably okay, like if you were cooking a big ham, since the outer portion of the food will absorb most of the energy, and that part is still evenly rotating. But if you're heating something less dense or where the center of the plate will get constant exposure to the microwave port, the middle will absorb much more energy than the edges and will heat a lot faster.

I discovered this when trying to soften butter. I'd used the Panasonic successfully several times for this by turning the power down to 20%, but this one time I wasn't thinking and I put the stick of butter right in the middle of the turntable. I quickly ended up with liquid butter in the center of the stick and still very firm butter at the ends. I have since always placed the butter along the outer edge of the turntable and it gently and evenly warms to a spreadable state.
 
I'm with Chris on this -- cook it whole, then chunk it and freeze it. I do this all the time. Brisket tacos, brisket sandwiches, brisket and eggs, brisket and brisket ... mmmmmm.

Jeff

Same here. I'm not sure what it is, but oftentimes, the smoked meats seem even better when found in the freezer. Maybe it's just a nice surprise, or maybe your senses aren't desensitized from being near the smoker all day, but I've always enjoyed frozen smoked meats from the freezer.
 
I slice it hot, then freeze leftover slices in FoodSaver bags. I also use the microwave but like to thaw in cold water first. Never had any burnt ends left over so I don't know what to do with them.:cool:
 

 

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