Holding brisket at temperature


 
S

Steven Hubbard

TVWBB Member
Hello all,

I'm cooking a brisket for dinner Sunday, and the best option for me to cook it is overnight. I figure a 10lb brisket that starts at midnight will be done by noon. It might even be 8lbs after trimming. How best to keep the meat hot until 5pm? I can wrap it in foil and keep it in a cooler for a few hours, but has anyone ever held one for 5 hours like that before? Ideas?

Thanks. All the best.
 
Steven,

Holding for 5 hours is probably pushing it. I'd recommend cooling (refridgerate) the brisket whole. If you have any of the juices or drippings, save them. An hour or so before serving, put the briket in a pan, pour the saved liquid over the brisket, you can use beef broth or apple juice also, cover with foil and heat in the oven at 300. Shoot for an internal temp of around 150. Let the meat rest for about 10 minutes. Slicing the brisket before heating will cause it to dry out.
 
I've held one in a cooler for over 5 hours. I kept a probe in the brisket to make sure the temp didn't drop below 140 degrees. It turned out great.

I wrapped it in foil and put it in a very good cooler with some warm towels. No prob.
 
5 hours in a cooler isn't a problem, I would say preheat the cooler before hand with some warm water and definitely take Jay's suggestion and use the probe.

FYI I held 2 briskets this past weekend in a cooler that wasn't preheated for about 3.5 hours. I had one single towel at the bottom of the cooler to prevent it from cracking. When I took the briskets out they were too hot to touch, I needed to wear my gloves.

You might want to consider pulling the brisket off slightly earlier than you normally would since there will be residual cooking going on in the cooler. This is more prominent in high heat cooks, but since you're going low and slow it's probably safe if you want to ignore this entirely.
 
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