# Brisket - Smoke one day and oven the next?



## mrted

Do you think this would work?

-smoke the brisket one day for 4-6 hours and then put it in the fridge overnight.

-the next morning wrap it in foil or in a pan and bake it for 4-6 hours more, so that it's ready for the afternoon BBQ.

You see, we're planning an afternoon BBQ and I don't want to have to get up at 4am just to start the meat.  Is it better to put it straight in the oven from the smoker and not let it cool down, or does it really matter?  What about cooking it the day before and then just reheating it?


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## raptor700

Lots of folks smoke and reheat the next day.

Just make sure to get it to an IT of 140º before you pull and refrigerate.


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## meateater

Like Rap said if you get to at least 140 or a little higher you should be ok.


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## SmokinAl

Ditto!


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## i is a moose

X3.

You can also smoke it all the way through, and reheat it slowly.

Whatever works for you.


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## cinderella

It works fine for most BBQ meats. I've done it when I have big groups coming and have other cooking and set-up tasks to do and can't babysit the smoker. Also do it when the weather for the day of the event is supposed to be craptastic.

What I do, though is pull them somewhere between 140 and 160° when it's had enough smoke, put them in big, flat plastic fridge containers, and add about 1/2 cup of drippings from the water pan, and 1/2 cup of apple juice and let them cool a bit in the liquid before putting the whole thing in the fridge. Then I foil the next day and reheat, with the liquid from the container.

Usually I reheat in the smoker, since I usually have corn pudding, or mac and cheese and some sort of dessert working in the house ovens, although the oven works fine too. As a cooking teacher and having been a caterer, I tend to go for a bit of "effect" when the guests are arriving, so there needs to be a little smoke in the air --its part of the show, lol.


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## jirodriguez

Just last week for the 4th I smoked a brisket and two shoulders the day before my party. Took them to 190-195'ish, then wrapped them in heavy foil, let them rest and cool for an hour on the counter top. Left the whole and put them in the fridge overnight. Next day put them in a 200° oven for 4 hrs, then sliced the brisket, put it in a foil pan with hot ajus over it, and back into the oven for 2 more hours. Pulled the pork, put it in a foil pan, dumped hot finishing sauce on it, and it joined the brisket for 2 more hours as well.

The reason I used the oven for re-heat was I had chicken and beans going in the smoker. This method is a great way to spread the cooking out and make life easier when feeding a crowd.


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## micklouie

Why must you get the meat up to 140?

I want to do this before christmas and might not have enough time to get it up to the temp you mentioned.

will this make the meat bad?

Thanks,

Mike


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## yotzee

micklouie said:


> Why must you get the meat up to 140?
> 
> I want to do this before christmas and might not have enough time to get it up to the temp you mentioned.
> 
> will this make the meat bad?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mike


To kill any possible bacteria.  You also want to cool it properly before placing in the fridge.


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## jweller

40 to 140 is considered the food safety danger zone. Also 140 is about the temp where people generally believe meat stops taking in smoke. So by getting it to 140, you have maximized your smoke, and minimized your chance of getting sick.


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## micklouie

On average how long would a 8-12lb cut of brisket take to get to that temperature?

I might only have 4-5 hours to smoke the day before.

thanks for your advice

Mike


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## superdave

micklouie said:


> On average how long would a 8-12lb cut of brisket take to get to that temperature?
> 
> I might only have 4-5 hours to smoke the day before.
> 
> thanks for your advice
> 
> Mike


I did a 16 lbs brisket on Friday/Saturday.  I split the point from the flat and cook on 2 racks.  4 - 5 hours is my standard operating procedure.  The next day (Saturday), 4 hours at 250 degrees brought me home to the 195 internal temperature I wanted to pull at and allow to rest.


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## formerjarhead

Cinderella said:


> It works fine for most BBQ meats. I've done it when I have big groups coming and have other cooking and set-up tasks to do and can't babysit the smoker. Also do it when the weather for the day of the event is supposed to be craptastic.
> 
> What I do, though is pull them somewhere between 140 and 160° when it's had enough smoke, put them in big, flat plastic fridge containers, and add about 1/2 cup of drippings from the water pan, and 1/2 cup of apple juice and let them cool a bit in the liquid before putting the whole thing in the fridge. Then I foil the next day and reheat, with the liquid from the container.
> 
> Usually I reheat in the smoker, since I usually have corn pudding, or mac and cheese and some sort of dessert working in the house ovens, although the oven works fine too. As a cooking teacher and having been a caterer, I tend to go for a bit of "effect" when the guests are arriving, so there needs to be a little smoke in the air --its part of the show, lol.


what tempt do you reheat at and about how long do you put it back in for, until it reaches 185 internal/till tender?


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## cinderella

Right back at smoking temp. --about 220 to 225 if i have the time. If not, up as far as 325, but watch your temps carefully with a good thermometer. I let brisket go to about 190 deg.


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## micklouie

I smoked the day before for about 4 hours and it reached 145 and took it out. Wrapped in foil and let cool.

Took it out the next day and put it at 230 in my oven. I wrapped in foil with some drippings.

It took about 5-1/2 hours to get to 185..

I had the oven pushed up to 325 at the very end. It was taking too long.

My thoughts.

Maybe I shouldn't of wrapped it foil with drippings?

I had 2 temp probes in it to verify it was warming up.

The oven did not maintain a constant temp. It seems like an oven loses heat quick and then fires up and gets too hot.

I have an electric oven. 

This is learning process every time I do this.

Interesting but sometimes frustrating.

Overall it turned out tasting great. Maybe a bit tough but brisket seems to be hard to get to fall apart.

I'm still having issues cutting against the grain. Maybe that is part of the issue?

Thanks,

Mike


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## superdave

Since this is almost my SOP, the second day is 250 degrees in the oven, foil wrapped and in an aluminumpan.  With a separated point and flat, it takes about 2 1/2 - 3 hours to come up to 195.  I pull the flat about 1/2 hour before the point.













rn7c.jpg



__ superdave
__ Dec 31, 2013


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## superdave

Micklouie, I think 185 is why you think it was a little tough.  Try going another 10 - 12 degrees.


Why are you having issues cutting against the grain?


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## micklouie

From what I understand/read is that you pull it at 185 and wrap it in foil to rest and the temp will go up to 190+.

I guess I should have let it go a little higher.

I guess it never reached that sitting in foil?

The issue with the grain is I can't figure what the grain looks like.

With all the rub on it I cannot determine which way it goes.

I'm a newbie so forgive me.

Mike


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## superdave

Mike,

The grain tends to run the long direction of the brisket. Cutting in the short direction will be cutting against the grain. Easier to see if you examine before putting on your rub.













2c3s.jpg



__ superdave
__ Dec 20, 2013


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## jirodriguez

micklouie said:


> I smoked the day before for about 4 hours and it reached 145 and took it out. Wrapped in foil and let cool.
> 
> Took it out the next day and put it at 230 in my oven. I wrapped in foil with some drippings.
> 
> It took about 5-1/2 hours to get to 185..
> 
> I had the oven pushed up to 325 at the very end. It was taking too long.
> 
> My thoughts.
> 
> Maybe I shouldn't of wrapped it foil with drippings?
> 
> I had 2 temp probes in it to verify it was warming up.
> 
> The oven did not maintain a constant temp. It seems like an oven loses heat quick and then fires up and gets too hot.
> 
> I have an electric oven.
> 
> This is learning process every time I do this.
> 
> Interesting but sometimes frustrating.
> 
> Overall it turned out tasting great. Maybe a bit tough but brisket seems to be hard to get to fall apart.
> 
> I'm still having issues cutting against the grain. Maybe that is part of the issue?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mike


Best way to do it is cook the brisket to a full 190°+ temp. let it rest a full 2 hrs. wrapped in foil, then pop it in the fridge. Then reheat it slowly at 250° in a foil pan with 2 C of beef broth (or the left over drippings) for about 3 hrs. Slice it then toss the slices with the pan juices and serve.

I just did that two weeks ago with 4 pork butts and 3 brisketts for my folks' party. Turned out great! I vaccumed packed everything because I actually cooked it a week ahead of the party, if I was just cooking 1 or 2 days ahead I would have just foiled them in the fridge.













DSCN1708.JPG



__ jirodriguez
__ Dec 15, 2013


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## djbrady33

I always smoke the briskets and pork butts the day before. Usually I will smoke 6-10 hours then double wrap in foil and add apple juice or another liquid and refrigerate overnight.Then 4-6 hours before I want to eat, I will put in oven at 225-300 degrees to get internal temperature to 203 degrees, then let cool still double wrapped and put in a ice chest wrapped in towels from 1-2 hours. Usually I put in the oven at 7:00 AM then take out of oven at 11:00 AM, put in ice chest and eat at 1:00. This to me makes the brisket and pork butts taste better, like how spaghetti sauce is better the next day. No need to stay up all night to smoke.

David


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## shulong6

just cut a corner off before smoking in the direction that is against the grain


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## danbono

Do Just like Shulong6 said.just cut a corner off before smoking in the direction that is against the grain.

Works all the time for me.

Dan


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## jd0110

Huge success this past weekend.   I smoked the brisket @ 225 to 165 degrees and wrapped it with a little butter and caught the fat in a drip pan for the duration.  I did let the brisket go all the way to 200 degrees (intended to only go 195).  Took the double wrapped brisket out and let it sit for 1.5 hours then placed it in the fridge with an ice pack to help cool it quicker.  next day, I unwrapped the brisket and sliced while cold as I thought I could get thinner cleaner slices.   I placed the sliced brisket in an aluminum pan with the fat I caught the day before and added about 1/2 cup  of beef broth and 1/2 cup of my favorite mop sauce with some thick sliced onion on top.   Then placed it on the grill @ about 250-300 for 1.5 hours just till it was warm.  Wow, the brisket was so tender I could cut it with a plastic fork on a paper plate that I was holding.  It was still smokey, but did soak up a lot of the mop sauce taste. 

I'll always be cooking my briskets the day before from now on vs enduring the 12+ hour smoke the same day.  Doing this allowed my room to smoke my ribs that only take 6 hours and a lot less stress the day of.


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## lensmonkey

jd0110, I had a bit of a tough brisket, a select as opposed to choice or prime. i was rushing a little too, a request later in the day for bbq. (i understand that craving!) Though it was done properly, pulled at the stall, around 160, then butcher paper wrapped and brought up to 203 in the oven, rested for an hour. The flavor was good, but it was just a bit tough. I had seasoned with an HEB brisket rub(grocery store in Texas). In my haste I had sliced it all. As an experiment, I put the remainders, about 2 lbs, into a crock pot. In my mind the collagen  had not had enough time to break down and get juicy. I was right. The meat which I had feared was just tough slowly became tender. Very tender. I had put some drippings from the catch pan in with it. The only problem was that the meat being sliced allowed the rub (more than just salt and pepper) to wick up in between the cuts. The result was quite tender, and smoky, but tasted more akin to chopped beef sandwich meat and lacked the wonderful flavor of the beef itself. I am smoking a 6 pounder right now. I was keen to read this discussion to see whether I could smoke today, and heat tomorrow for company. I think I will try it.


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