Freezing a full brisket


 

John Neuser

TVWBB Fan
Good afternoon BBQ buddies. I would appreciate your advice on freezing a brisket. I plan on smoking a full brisket for a Father's Day gathering which I would like to get from Costco. Was in there the other day and they had quite a selection of prime cuts. Problem was their last sale date was 6/9. Certainly too early to buy and hold. My fear is that as we get closer to "the day" I won't be able to find one. Would freezing it for a week or ten days harm the texture of the meat? If not, I'll head back there next week and start looking. Thank you for your thoughts and comments.
 
I bought a brisket from Creekstone Farms when they had their National Brisket Day sale last May. They promised a 13 pound average and mine arrived at 19 pounds. I froze it for about five months before cooking it. It was the best brisket I ever ate.
I usually buy my butts in and freeze them. I already have 2 of 4 I’m going to cook for the 4th. It allows me to hand pick them before I’m going to cook them.
 
John,
As an option, you may want to check into Wet Aging. If the brisket is packed in an intact vacuum sealed Cryovac pak, it 'should be' good for 30-45 days. I've heard that Franklin BBQ wet ages theirs from 14 to 40 days. Really all depends upon the integrity of the Cryovac pak AND the kill date (which is the start date for the wet aging...).
 
If you freeze it remember to take it back out to thaw well enough in advance. Otherwise you will have to pick up a fresh one. That would be horrible cause then you would have an extra brisket in house......
 
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With the current weirdness of meat availability and pricing, it probably makes sense to find your perfect brisket now and freeze it, making sure to thaw it in plenty of time to smoke it for June 20. Alternatively, start shopping on June 13, find a brisket, and refrigerate it for June 20. I would not hesitate to hold a Costco brisket in my home fridge for 7 days past Costco's sell-by date.
 
I just cooked a Costco full packer brisket a week or so ago. Had it in my freezer since about mid-February. No issues at all, in fact I just finished up the last of it yesterday in my spinach salad.
 
Thanks folks. Picked up a13 #er from Costco this afternoon. Nice selection but the price went up 50¢ per pound since last Friday. Now that I know I can freeze them I might go back next week and buy another.
 
Sell-by dates are for the retailers, not consumers, as is usually thought. They’re fairly immaterial. They have absolutely nothing to do with food safety. “Best if used before…” is a quality thing; again, not a food safety thing. “Use by…” is a quality thing and maybe possibly a safety thing. Often found on meats, one can safely stretch past the date by several days - or simply freeze.

You could’ve bought and held in the fridge no problem, or froze as others have suggested. Just sayin’.

The only items with actual expiration dates are infant formulas. That’s it.
 
Thanks folks. Picked up a13 #er from Costco this afternoon. Nice selection but the price went up 50¢ per pound since last Friday. Now that I know I can freeze them I might go back next week and buy another.
Today I saw what looked like a large packer at Costco. No but the price was. 5.69 for packer, 8.99for flat.
 

 

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