Hello and a question on Brisket...

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mixxer

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 8, 2013
7
10
Hello from St.paul MN. I typically use a Cabelas bullet smoker (converted it from electric to wood/charcoal) and my Weber grill with a after market product called the Smokenator (goofy name but it works really well). I have smoked a lot of ribs (mostly baby backs) and pork shoulders and some fish.

My question is regarding brisket and timing issues. I have smoked 6 or seven briskets and timing in regards to when you eat is always an issue. I typically use the texas cheat method - bring the brisket up to 160 and then wrap in foil, finish off back on the smoker or in the oven until I reach the 190 - 200 zone and then into the cooler it goes to rest.

My question is: Can I do the 1st stage of that process in advance or the day before and then finish it off the next day? So I would wrap it up and refrigerate and then the NEXT day finish it off in the oven and let it rest and then eat. It would make planning a whole easier. Its hard to start one of these early enough to have guests eating by 5 PM.

Will this affect the meat or the quality of it?

Thanks in advance.
 
Hey how's it going!
You prob could, I would take it out of the fridge and let it come up to room temp before throwing it in the smoker or oven. I have never done it this way but why not give it a try. The only thing I would say is that the brisket might dry out a bit more than just smoking it and throwing it in the cooler in one shot but like I said I haven never done it this way before so I guess there is only one way to find out!
Good luck
 
Glad you joined the group. The search bar at the top of any page is your best friend.
About anything you wanna know about smoking/grilling/curing/brining/cutting or slicing
and the list goes on has probably been posted. Remember to post a QVIEW of your smokes.
We are all smoke junkies here and we have to get our fix. If you have questions Post it
and you will probably get 10 replies with 11 different answers. That is because their
are so many different ways to make great Q We all have our own taste.

You will not be doing your self any favors by half cooking it the trying to cook it again.

cook it all the way then put it in the fridge. Pull it out and heat it when you want to eat.

Happy smoken.

David
 
Thanks for the responses.

I have done this with pork shoulders and there was no difference. I am thinking if I wrap it up really good and tight and refrigerate

it should be OK?? I was wondering if anything on a bacterial level or something like that might occur.

I guess the only way to see is to try.
every time your between 40° and 140° your in the danger zone so you pull it out of the fridge and cook it to 160° how long did it take to get to 140°??? lets say 2.5 hours. Then you put it in the fridge. How long does it take to get back to 40° lets say 1.5 hours now your at the 4 hour limit. so the next day you pull it out and put it back on the smoker. how long does it take to get back up to 140°. It doesn't matter you have already past your 4 hour saftey time. Throw it out not safe to eat at that long in the danger zone.

David
 
I would definitely get it up to the 160-170 range before I pulled it off....still not good?
 
Mixxer. Hello and welcome to "Our World" . As for the Brisket thingy, I agree with Mule . Smoke the meat to done temp. and simply re-heat in the oven. No bad JU-JU with that , but a safer meal.

Heat @ 225*F (slowly , so as to not dry it out) , with a bit of liquid in the foil it's wrapped in for heating. It will come out almost as good as right off the Smoker. Just don't 'NUKE' it to death ; BBQ and Microwaves don't jive. Something about the 'Primative' roots of cooking Meat ...
ROTF.gif


Have fun and . . .
 
Understood. I have done the reheat the next day but it's never quite the same as that first slice. But this has been helpful.

Thanks!!
 
Mixxer. Never will you have the taste of fresh off the Smoker "Que" with leftovers (such a harsh phrase for BBQ) , Be it Brisket, Ribs , Chicken , (a Steak right off the Grill) , anything... it's better right off the cooker.

Practice and your skills of multi-tasking to offer your goodies at a specific time , will do that for you.

You can hold your Meats for a while in an empty , dry , ice chest and have that fresh cooked taste, but once cooled off, the best way to get it back to almost fresh taste is a slow heat-up with juices , in an oven ( NO Microwaves ...Devil's invention
devil.gif
).

Hope this helps you and as always . . .
 
Welcome to the forums!  This is the best place I know for sharing ideas on smoking, grilling, curing, etc.  There are plenty of friendly, knowledgeable folks who really enjoy helping one another.  When in doubt, just ask and someone here will have the answer.  Good advice from the guys...you need to cook it until done, then either serve it (after a proper rest) or store it and reheat another day.

Red
 
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