Help me plan a big cook


 
j biesinger

j biesinger

TVWBB Platinum Member
Here's the details. I need to cook for about 60 family members for a wedding rehearsal dinner party that will take place on a saturday at a shelter in a state park. The stag party will be friday which eliminates any opportunity for long cooks the day before and it will also most likely eliminate any chances of an early morning on the day of the party.

My current plan is to use two wsm on thursday, one loaded with 4 pork butts and one loaded with 2 brisket packers. I'd pull the butts and pack it up that evening, but the briskets I was thinking of letting chill whole, slicing them sat and warming the sliced beef in foil with their juice and some sauce.

On sat, since this will be in buffalo, I was planning on frying/grilling some chicken wings to augment the bbq pork and beef.

I'm not concerned with the butts since I've done them ahead of time before and had decent results. I'm not so sure how to handle the briskets. I really want to do them since I think it would be nice to have a variety of meats, I'm not so sure the results will be worth the effort.
 
sounds to me like you have a decent plan. one thing witht he brisket i have never cooked one and served a day or two later so i am not certain how that would affect the meat. i probably would not re-heat whole since you would have to go through the whole cooking process again to get the center hot. slicing then heating would appear to be the only logical option.

most people wont know the difference anyway. but it sounds like a good plan to me.
 
Exactly what Jon said.
I have never tried to reheat brisket later, but if you do slice it ahead of time I would think Bryan's finishing sauce would help with moisture.
 
jb,

Do you have a vacuum sealer? I'd employ the cook-rest-slice-cool-seal trick. Then warm the bags of product in a big pot of water (a turkey fryer works great), cut open the bags and serve. Super easy and simple the day of eating, and the product comes out as close to when it was originally sliced as possible, imo.

Todd
 
If you have a vac sealer, what Todd suggested would be your best bet. I've done it that way and by far it is the method that retains the most moisture in the brisket. Real convenient too since all you do is drop it in a pot and cut open when it's up to temp.

Absent a vac sealer, I suggest cooling down the brisket whole or into slightly smaller sections(cut in half or quarters), wrapping those tight and keeping in the fridge. Then proceeding with your plan of slice and reheat on Saturday. It should still turn out well.
 
Personally I prefer to reheat briskets whole. You can do the slice/cool/vac thing but here's a caveat: While you have some leeway with pulled pork you really don't have much with brisket. Do not overheat. The water shouldn't be boiling. (I don't use boiling with pork either. I put the not-to-thickly-filled bags of pork into boiling water but then cover the pot and shut it off. If doing several bags I might leave the heat on for a few minutes.) For brisket, keep the water below a simmer, 150-160, tops, would be my suggestion. Don't allow them to languish in the pot forever. When hot, remove, open, serve.
 
This is where those phosphates come in handy. If you injected before hand, sliced, cooled and bagged. When you re-heat the brisket slices, it's like you just sliced them off the whole brisket.
 
This can definitely be a challenge, but it's nice to not have to worry about having a finished product done cooking properly, at a certain time. It will allow you more freedom to focus on the reheat.

Good luck!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Personally I prefer to reheat briskets whole. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I might be able to pull that off since I'll have an afternoon in which I'll be getting things ready for dinner. I have a monster hobart slicer (circa 1960) that weighs at least 30 pound, that I would like to use to slice the brisket, and I'd rather not have to lug it to the site. I suppose if my timings right, I could reheat, slice, and keep it toasty in a cooler.

I'm thinking brisket won't hold up well once sliced. I'm figuring if I go the pre-slice route I'll try the vac seal and reheat sous vide, like suggested, or just go heavy on the sauce and assume most wont know or care. Probably the best and maybe the coolest way would be to reheat it whole and slice it with a huge carving knife, individually, by request. I'll have to look into a huge orange lamp and tall paper chef hat.
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thanks for all the advice and, as hannibal use to tell mr t, "I love it when a plan comes together."
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">This is where those phosphates come in handy. If you injected before hand, sliced, cooled and bagged. When you re-heat the brisket slices, it's like you just sliced them off the whole brisket. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

first hand experience? or speculation?

I'm hoping to order a case (5) of briskets soon so they'll wet age for the party (labor day) and I'm planning on sacrificing one to work out any bugs in the plan. I guess I could try everyone's suggestions to see if any work.
 
I cook apprioximately 25 contests a year. Ihave a lot of leftovers. I am able to sell these leftovers for $20 a pound... I can't sell them for that price if the brisket is dry or not moist...

So yes, it is from experience. It is the restaurant world that invented these products for use. They weren't invented just for us comp cooks. I use the Fab B Lite... Highly recommended.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">It is the restaurant world that invented these products for use. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
No they weren't. They were 'invented' by processors for retail (mass market) sales. A way to make processed foods more palatable after long hold times in packaging and the potential temp abuse of the consumer. Processors then pitched their stuff directly to chains--which is one reason why chain restaurant food tastes so processed/pedestrian/crummy. FAB, imo, is in the same camp. That it passes muster at all at comps is because, again imo, of the dearth of judges with a substantial taste repertoire and the rather poor training (if one can call it that) that they receive. That so much is so cloying doesn't help either.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
I'm thinking brisket won't hold up well once sliced. I'm figuring if I go the pre-slice route I'll try the vac seal and reheat sous vide, like suggested, or just go heavy on the sauce and assume most wont know or care. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes leaving whole, would be the very best. You can do it however you want but if you want to pre slice and reheat (what I always do) I'll tell you that cooling them down after the 1 hr rest to let the juice reabsorb and then waiting to slice the brisket once cold, is THE best way if your going to reheat and serve sliced brisket. If you slice while hot, med hot or fairly warm, it drys out so fast. I pull the brisket out of the foil and pour off drippings into a meausring cup let sit till cooled down and put the cup in the fridge. Let the brisket cool down back in the foil, but left open and on a wire rack. Once cooled enough to fridge, place in fridge still on rack, foil open till cold. I then wrap it up tight, and wait to slice the next day, usually. I slice the brisket and keep the slices in order so you can put the sliced brisket back together and slide it into the vac bag. I pack em in there fairly tight so they stand up, you'll see when you seal, it all stays together and looks like a big piece of brisket. Before sealling I get the measuring cup out and remove the fat round on the top. The drippings are jello now and I smear it on one side/bark of the brisket and then seal up. It urns out so good like this, I won't do it any other way. As always, JMO and good luck with your cook.
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Recent post about my method.
I'm doing a brisket soon for a birthday party at the end of Aug. I can take some pics along the way of the slices, into the vac bag, jello drippins and such if you like. let me know.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I'll tell you that cooling them down after the 1 hr rest to let the juice reabsorb and then waiting to slice the brisket once cold, is THE best way if your going to reheat and serve sliced </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yup. Very true.

Your drippings/jello/smear idea is a very good one.
 
Bryan, definitely share some pics with us. Do you get a lot of the gelatin? For some reason, I have a hard time imagining there being enough to redistribute. But it all sounds like a perfect way to maintain the moisture.

I personally feel once its out, there is little we can do to "put it back in" without killing the taste, texture, etc.. Thats why I like to slice mine cold as well, less if any chance for evaporation, or just loosing the juices to bleed out.
 
Bryan, thanks for confirming my plan with some actual experience. Your written explanation was more than enough, but I wont say no to some purdy pictures.

I understand that as meat cools it reabsorbs moisture, so I was planning on letting it sit in its juice until just before it hits the fridge. and I've had good luck with pork jello, I was hoping for a similar effect with the beef.

I assume you reheat it in the vac bag in hot water? I'm going to be boiling corn on a cajun cooker (and possibly deep frying wings)so I'll have the ability to heat up a 5 gal stock pot. should I reheat it this way? how long do you expect it to take if I keep my h2o temp just below boil?

I was hoping to foil it and reheat in the wsm, but this might be better because I can keep the wsm home and focus on bringing two kettles for apps.

speaking of apps, I'll take suggestions if anybodies got them. As of now, the plan is grilled quesadillas, and stuffed hot peppers, along with cheese/charcuterie plate. What about quickly grilling some veggies and serving them cold with a spicy tomato sauce?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
No they weren't. They were 'invented' by processors for retail (mass market) sales. [/QUOTE]

You're right and I am not even sure why I typed that, as that is a typo. I was friends with Joe Ames, the inventor of FAB. He worked in backend processing World...

but I will stick with my side. Just like BBQ there are many ways to cook it. I have had great success using FAB and no one, including trained judges can tell. It's strickly your opinion. I personally would not leave anything whole and try to slice it the day of a party.. To many other things going on to be able to whip out a cutting board and starting slicing into a brisket. While it looks great for the crowd, not the best way to serve...
 
Of course it is strictly my opinion. Different strokes, as they say. Do what works for you. I don't feel, however, that touting 'trained judges' not being able to tell works for your argument, since they neither receive taste and flavor training nor need to demonstrate competence with taste and flavors, nor need to possess or demonstrate a substantial taste repertoire.

On slicing brisket: It takes all of a few minutes. I do think it is the best way to serve (and, for me, couldn't care less about the crowd as I don't usually work in front of people). I just think that brisket reheats better whole and are easy and quick to slice--so that's why I do it that way.
 
Scottie, $20 a lb sounds high, but after going to the store and seeing deli ham selling for $11.99 a lb, that brisket seems like a good deal.
I admit that 90% of my leftover brisket is made into chili. Regular ground beef just doesnt "do it" for me like it used to.
 
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