# Holding briskets in cold garage.



## Thomas The Tank (Dec 20, 2020)

I am going to be smoking several briskets for folks on Christmas Day.  With all the other things I need to keep cold I will not have room in my fridge for all the meat.  
Has anyone ever kept thawed/trimmed briskets in their cold garage for ~24hrs? Supposed to be a low of 28 Wednesday night and high of 32 Thursday (Christmas Eve) was going to start them Thursday aftenoon around 4pm. Was thinking in foil pans covered on a table... my guess is they would not freeze since I may put 2/pan.

My other option would be put all the other food in coolers with ice.

Any thoughts???


----------



## Winterrider (Dec 20, 2020)

Garage will still probably be in the 40° range. Large cooler kept outside or like stated, inside with ice would be best option.


----------



## SmokinAl (Dec 20, 2020)

I would put a good therm out in the garage & set the alarms to 34-39. If the weather holds out like it’s supposed to you should be fine. You just want to keep the meat below 40 degrees. If you have to crack open the garage door to keep it cool do that, as long as you don’t live in a neighborhood where someone will break in & steal your stuff!
Al


----------



## Thomas The Tank (Dec 20, 2020)

SmokinAl said:


> I would put a good therm out in the garage & set the alarms to 34-39. If the weather holds out like it’s supposed to you should be fine. You just want to keep the meat below 40 degrees. If you have to crack open the garage door to keep it cool do that, as long as you don’t live in a neighborhood where someone will break in & steal your stuff!
> Al


The garage is unattached , and cracking the door is an option. I did think about putting a temp probe between two briskets in a pan to monitor. I would like to keep all the other items in my fridge and not move them to a cooler with ice, and then back to the fridge. I’ll have 5-6 packers (not sure on count yet) I may me able to get away with only putting a couple of them in the garage and the rest in the fridge.


----------



## chef jimmyj (Dec 20, 2020)

Growing up, a Turkey, Ham, Rib Roast or Pans of Lasagna, could be seen on the roof of Dad's '72 Chevy Station Wagon in the Garage during the Holidays. One Thanksgiving was a little warm. Dad cracked the door for extra cold air. Came time to cook, Mom goes to retrieve the Bird and let's out a SCREAM!
The Neighbors Cat had slipped in overnight and ate a large portion of one Breast!
Dad started putting stuff INSIDE the Cold Car after that!

As long as the garage is 30 to 40°, Vac-Packed orgenerously Salted Meat will be fine. I will store a Rib Roast, out in the Car all Christmas Week, to Dry a bit. That's as long as the weather stays cold, 25 to 40°F...JJ


----------



## civilsmoker (Dec 20, 2020)

Since my wife has told me on many occasions that I have an addiction to coolers.....they would just find a home in one with a block of ice......no worries on cats or a warm front......

as an FYI.....I have hung many a deer in the garage hung over a very large cooler and with several blocks of ice and then tented with an e-blanket and a couple old sleeping bags, keeps them very nicely at 37-38 deg....


----------



## forktender (Dec 20, 2020)

chef jimmyj said:


> Growing up, a Turkey, Ham, Rib Roast or Pans of Lasagna, could be seen on the roof of Dad's '72 Chevy Station Wagon in the Garage during the Holidays. One Thanksgiving was a little warm. Dad cracked the door for extra cold air. Came time to cook, Mom goes to retrieve the Bird and let's out a SCREAM!
> The Neighbors Cat had slipped in overnight and ate a large portion of one Breast!
> Dad started putting stuff INSIDE the Cold Car after that!
> 
> As long as the garage is 30 to 40°, Vac-Packed orgenerously Salted Meat will be fine. I will store a Rib Roast, out in the Car all Christmas Week, to Dry a bit. That's as long as the weather stays cold, 25 to 40°F...JJ



I would have no problem at all leaving raw beef out at those temps.




 chef jimmyj

  I found a very young Brittany spaniel while I was pheasant hunting the day after thanksgiving when I was a teenager. I drove around to all the duck clubs in the area and farm houses asking if they knew of anybody missing a dog. It was obvious that the dog had been out there a while because there were 3 dead pheasant that the dog ate near the concrete culvert that I found her sleeping in.  I ended up taking her to the pound with instruction that they call me before they put her down. A week or two later they call and tell me I have 24 hours to get her before they have to put her down. I was pissed, so I drove up to the rice country 1 1/2 hours away and rescued her.
Fast forward  to Christmas Eve that yr my mom tells me to go out to the garage to bring in the veal braciole  and Italian sausage that she had set in pans on my dads work bench the night before.
You guessed it my cute little rescue pup got into the garage and tore into 2 of the 4 pans.
I've never seen my mother so mad. I literally thought she was going to kill the dog  with a shovel  the next day I had to get rid of it. I found her a home with one of the local cattle ranchers. To this day my mother reminds me of that dog every Christmas dinner by saying at least Danny's f#@%ing dog didn't eat our dinner. You gotta love a Sicilian mother.


----------



## chef jimmyj (Dec 20, 2020)

I think i can HEAR echoes of your Mom, still!..LOL. I have some Sicilian relatives myself.
I'm sure guys, here, have Tons of Stories like these and other Holiday Mishaps!
Think I'll start a thread, before this one get Hijacked. ..JJ


----------



## forktender (Dec 21, 2020)

chef jimmyj said:


> I think i can HEAR echoes of your Mom, still!..LOL. I have some Sicilian relatives myself.
> I'm sure guys, here, have Tons of Stories like these and other Holiday Mishaps!
> Think I'll start a thread, before this one get Hijacked. ..JJ


I'm the king of hijacking threads, I don't mean too it's my A.D.D.


----------



## Thomas The Tank (Dec 21, 2020)

forktender


 chef jimmyj
 No worries on the hijack, lol. I’ve enjoyed the stories!!

On to the thread though... now the temp forecast says it is supposed to be a Low of 21 degrees the night I’ll be putting them in the garage. As mentioned I’ll have them in covered foil pan. I know meat can start to freeze at those temps. Should the 21 degrees be a concern if I keep the garage doors closed and cover the pans with some towels??? Im guessing I’ll be good if I put 2 per pan. Since the garage will be a few degrees higher than outside temp.


----------



## chef jimmyj (Dec 21, 2020)

What you describe should work fine. The meat will be at refer temp, 38+/-, the towel insulation should help keep it from dropping too much. Check on them long before you need them in case adjustment is needed...JJ


----------



## chauncey hall (Jan 17, 2021)

I have put meat in large foil pans, with a foil cover, outside for 2-3 days.  I've also hung deer from tree branches for 2-3 days.  This would be North Georgia/North Alabama, Decembers and Jan, with temps <45F . I've also kept food in large, non insulated rubbermaid containers for several days, adding bags of ice every 4-6 hrs in the fall and early spring.


----------



## JohnFrsux (Nov 29, 2021)

For the meat in your garage not to spoil, the temperature should be about 37°F. If the garage is too warm, the meat will spoil. It is also important that the meat does not get chapped. It needs to be tightly closed.
I generally like your idea only if the garage doors are well closed and no one can get to your meat.
I somehow also decided to keep the meat in the garage. The raccoons were very excited about my idea. They got through the unreliable door of my garage and ate the meat. There was no limit to my disappointment.
The next day, I ordered the repair of garage doors from easyfixnashville.com. Well, I should have done it earlier.


----------

