Brisket keeping

[TRH]

Ok, glad I clicked on this thread. Thanks all!

[SaltwaterSlick]

If you are resting your brisket, the moisture is staying in the meat.

This plus if you put it in a vacuum seal bag and seal it, any moisture that is in the meat will STILL be in the meat when you reheat it regardless of the size of the piece of meat... Unless you plan to use a whole brisket when you decide it's time to get it out the freezer, why in the world would you want to put it up in one big whole hunk... Unless you use the whole thing, after you reheat it, you STILL have to do something with the pieces... Makes sense to me to cut it into pieces BEFORE you freeze it... If when you need to eat it, if you need more meat, take out 2, 3 or ever how many portions you need... MUCH less waste that way and it keeps the meat "just cooked" fresh literally for several years!

[dope hunter]

If you have a choice would you freeze it whole or sliced?

Here is what has worked for me. I will cook my briskets, and then rest them on a rack until they cool down enough to be able to be put in a refrigerator. Once they completely cool down in the butcher paper, I will do one of two things. One way I will just vacuum seal the whole, cooled down brisket, and then freeze. The other way is I will cool it down the same way, and then slice the cold brisket. I will then vacuum seal the cold slices into 1 and 2lb packages, and freeze. Like others have said, I will sous vide the packages of sliced, or reheat the whole brisket in the oven, and they are just like you cooked them.

[Kingfisher789]

Thanks for all of your replies.

[brokeno]

Whole

[Kingfisher789]

I’m just going to say it before some one else does…

why would you save brisket. I went ahead and ate it.

[BlackHogDown]

Allow to cool completely, slice entirely, vac seal in neat ~8oz packs, and reheat at-will in sous vide around 150 degrees for hour or so straight from the freezer. It comes out good as fresh. Swear. And I'm a meat snob!

I’m just going to say it before some one else does…

why would you save brisket. I went ahead and ate it.

When i have a slow weekend, I'll smoke a brisket just for the wife and I with the sole intent of refilling the freezer stash. We'll vac seal 10+ lbs of brisket (other than single dinner) and have brisket any time for the next few weeks for various recipes. It's great! Only pic i have of thawed brisket...