Frozen Brisket

[JBCWCHS06]

Was curious have a request from my Dad on cooking a brisket for Mother's Day and he said he had a brisket in the freezer but is nearing on being in there for a year. Has never been open would it still be good or would I be better off just grabbing one from Costco this weekend.

 

[Fueling Around]

It should be good. "Opened" leads me to think it is factory cryo vac packed. That is better than vac packed.

 

[bmudd14474]

Should be gravy if it's cryo vac'd

 

[JBCWCHS06]

It was bought from the local Kroger so I'm kind of sure it was cryovac'd but not 100 percent couldn't find anything online that tells me either way.

 

[Coreymacc]

I did one a couple weeks ago that was around a year and a half old, maybe a hair older. ( buried in the bottom of the freezer). It was still in the vacuum pack, I said what the heck not throwing it away before i try it, i can do that after if I need to. It turned out perfect, taste was just like fresh.

A year is not a problem in my opinion.
Corey

 

[schlotz]

I would want to thoroughly inspect the frozen brisket for any potential rip in the cryo bag. If none, definitely good to go with it.l

 

[JLeonard]

If the bag dont show any holes or other damage....Roll the smoke!!

Jim

 

[chopsaw]

Agree with the above . I just finished working my way through 2021 , and started 2022 .
Just understand , that thaw time and once the bag is opened plays into it .
Once that thing hits the air look and watch for any off color sections and trim that off .
Get the surface rubbed / salted and get it smoked , or cooked .

I would certainly use the one your Dad has , but since this is for Mothers day I would probably grab one with a current date .

 

[JBCWCHS06]

We'll plan on cooking it overnight next Friday Night as soon as I get off work and hoping it gets done Saturday morning to rest a bit before slicing. So when should I remove it and have it thawed by. Because my original plan was too trim it Thursday night wrap it back up until I get home on Friday then season it and throw it on to smoke.

 

[chopsaw]

Because my original plan was too trim it Thursday night wrap it back up until I get home on Friday then season it and throw it on to smoke.

Your plan should be fine . I was just stating some things to be aware of . I have had them go south after opening them . Most of those were close to date when they were frozen , so anytime after thawed creeps up on being past date .
Just my experience that once they hit the air the clock starts ticking ,,, sometimes .
I just did a brisket that was two years old . Frozen original vac . I got it out to grind , but after thawing it started to brown up . So I threw the point in the crock pot and cured the flat .
Don't let me cause you concern . I was just sharing my experience of doing this . I've almost got the older stuff cleared out .

 

[JBCWCHS06]

Your plan should be fine . I was just stating some things to be aware of . I have had them go south after opening them . Most of those were close to date when they were frozen , so anytime after thawed creeps up on being past date .
Just my experience that once they hit the air the clock starts ticking ,,, sometimes .
I just did a brisket that was two years old . Frozen original vac . I got it out to grind , but after thawing it started to brown up . So I threw the point in the crock pot and cured the flat .
Don't let me cause you concern . I was just sharing my experience of doing this . I've almost got the older stuff cleared out .

Oh yeah I understand might honestly tweak my plan a bit and open it trim it and throw it on the smoker all in the same night to prevent anything shouldn't add too much time to my cook maybe another 30 minutes. Really the only reason I was going to trim it earlier is because I need to work on my trimming skills it takes me a while and haven't quite figured out trimming down the fat cap. I scalp it in some spots but don't take enough fat off of other parts.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I’d roll with it if cryovac. Just trim any freezer burn or odd looking places. Meat under should still have nice color. The fat cap isn’t a huge deal unless it’s just way excessive. Sometimes my fat trimming reminds me of the razor hair cuts my mom gave me. Those always grew out fine the cuts healed, just like the fat trimming, once cooked and rendered down it will eat fine.