Freezing Whole Smoked Brisket


 
K

Kevin L in Ohio

New member
I've been asked to smoke a brisket for a Memorial Day family gathering about 6 hours away. Can I effectively freeze a whole, unsliced smoked brisket or is it better to slice and then freeze? Also, what is the best method to defrost knowing it will be in a cooler for at least six hours during the trip? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
I wouldn't freezer it at all. take it off the grill and let it rest, in an aluminum tray covered with a towel and transport it.
 
Good luck!

I have never had occasion to hold a brisket nor other item for 6+ hours but Timothy and Brett are respected and well-experienced members here. It would be understandable that you want to be certain about its safety, especially for a large gathering, so if you need more granular detail on how and what to use to hold it please ask them for details. This may also be of value: https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/holding-storing-reheating-barbecued-meats/

If you have a remote thermometer you could also monitor the temp while traveling to ease any concerns.
 
The giant one I did last week held wrapped in a double layer of foil and wrapped in a towel and in an Omaha steak cooler for 6 and I could just barely touch it to slice it! It will be fine.
 
I am no master at this but the last one I did it finished at 2 am and I needed to slice and serve at noon, so it was wrapped in paper I added foil 2 layers. Put in oven @ lowest temp till 9am then into a cooler with towels and 3.5 hours latter it was still 140 when I unwrapped to slice being wrapped so tight it was still nice and juicey
 
If you decide to freeze, you can reheat from frozen state at your destination using an immersion circulator, plan on 5-6 hours at 160*F.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Camp Brisket 2020 Trip Report - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Read about my visit to Camp Brisket 2020 at Texas A&M University. It's a long read, but it's the closest thing to actually being there--just BYO brisket!
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com

Not frozen, but same idea from refrigerated state:

 
Chris Allingham said:
If you decide to freeze, you can reheat from frozen state at your destination using an immersion circulator, plan on 5-6 hours at 160*F.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Camp Brisket 2020 Trip Report - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Read about my visit to Camp Brisket 2020 at Texas A&M University. It's a long read, but it's the closest thing to actually being there--just BYO brisket!
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com

Not frozen, but same idea from refrigerated state:

Click to expand...
I do the same with slices. I vac seal meal-sized portions and it tastes pretty much like it just came off the smoker. I do the same with pulled pork
 
It most certainly will stay hot iseveral hrs if you wrap it in towels.and put it in a decent cooler.

But the answer the original question freezing a whole brisket would require carefully re thawing and a plan of how to do that. It would take quite a bit of time itself.
 
Thank you all so much for your advice. Unfortunately, since I posted, I was informed the family would not be eating the brisket until the day following our arrival and, rather than ask the host to keep it in a warm oven for 24 hours, it looks like freezing is my only option. That leads me back to my original questions: freeze whole or sliced/best method to thaw? (They don't have a sous vide). In addition (sorry), should I smoke the brisket a couple weeks in advance so it will have time to thoroughly freeze?
 
Kevin L in Ohio said:
Thank you all so much for your advice. Unfortunately, since I posted, I was informed the family would not be eating the brisket until the day following our arrival and, rather than ask the host to keep it in a warm oven for 24 hours, it looks like freezing is my only option. That leads me back to my original questions: freeze whole or sliced/best method to thaw? (They don't have a sous vide). In addition (sorry), should I smoke the brisket a couple weeks in advance so it will have time to thoroughly freeze?
Click to expand...
I suggest you take a page out of Aaron Franklin's playbook..... He ships cooked brisket nationwide. It's vacuum sealed and shipped cold with ice packs.... Then he has directions for reheating it.

www.goldbelly.com/instructions/franklin-barbecue/whole-brisket-texas-bbq-sauce
 
Last edited:
MartinB said:
I suggest you take a page out of Aaron Franklin's playbook..... He ships cooked brisket nationwide. It's vacuum sealed and shipped cold with ice packs.... Then he has directions for reheating it.

www.goldbelly.com/instructions/franklin-barbecue/whole-brisket-texas-bbq-sauce
Click to expand...
Agree. I don’t see the need for freezing. Cooling, yes. Vacuum pack the slices and put in a cooler for travel. Drop the vacuum pack(s) in boiling water to heat them up and you’re good to go.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top