Cutting Brisket for the Fridge?

[Stone]

Hey everyone,

I smoked two briskets last night. I overtrimmed them, and the one from the top rack is a little dry -- but damn tasty.
I just sliced them, and I'll put them in foodsaver bags. My question -- is it better to wait for the brisket to cool before slicing and vacuum sealing? Should I vacuum seal quickly after slicing? I'm trying to retain all the moisture that remains, and I'm concerned that by slicing it will "evaporate"?

I guess the smart thing would have been to not slice, but to cut into larger chunks that could be vacuum sealed and sliced later when ready to eat.

 

[Bill Rickert]

Stone:

That's what I did. Cut the tip off and vacuum sealed that. Then I cut the flat into thirds and sealed those. The one section I thawed was very moist and tender. I wished I would have pulled the tip and then sealed into several bags.

 

[Jim Minion]

Cooling in larger pieces helps keeping the brisket from drying out during reheat. Vaccum seal after cooling cause you want to get the internal down as fast as possible, vacuum sealing then cooling prolongs the time it takes to get temp down. Also it is easier to get a good seal on cold meat.
Jim

 

[Al Silverman]

I have had very good results by slicing while warm, then cooling in the fridge before vacuum sealing. Sealing the meat while it's still warm tends to suck all the juice out.

Al