Resting/holding Brisket

[slushie007]

Hey everyone,

If I want to eat a Brisket 1.5-2 hours after smoking it, is it best to rest it off the smoker wrapped in butcher paper and on the counter, or should I put it in a cooler wrapped in towels? Is there situations you should use one method over the other?

Is the best temp to slice the Brisket between 140-150F?

And after slicing whatever will be eaten off of the Brisket, is it a good idea to put the rest in a cooler wrapped in butcher paper and a towel if more will be eaten sometime the next day? Could I leave it overnight and into the next day in the cooler? Or should it just be covered and put in the fridge, and reheated in the microwave the next day? What's the best method/way to reheat Brisket?

Thanks in advance! :)

 

[thirdeye]

Once you are sure it's tender, wrap and rest it in a cooler for a couple of hours. It will only get better.

Any temp above 140° is fine for serving brisket. Heat some au-jus, if you want a heat and flavor bump at the table.

Chill the leftover, in the vented foil package. Reheat in the foil pouch, or as a last resort in a very low temp microwave.

 

[tallbm]

Hey everyone,

If I want to eat a Brisket 1.5-2 hours after smoking it, is it best to rest it off the smoker wrapped in butcher paper and on the counter, or should I put it in a cooler wrapped in towels? Is there situations you should use one method over the other?

Is the best temp to slice the Brisket between 140-150F?

And after slicing whatever will be eaten off of the Brisket, is it a good idea to put the rest in a cooler wrapped in butcher paper and a towel if more will be eaten sometime the next day? Could I leave it overnight and into the next day in the cooler? Or should it just be covered and put in the fridge, and reheated in the microwave the next day? What's the best method/way to reheat Brisket?

Thanks in advance! :)

Hi there and welcome. I double wrap mine in foil and then tightly wrap in 3 bath towels and set on the counter and it is piping hot 3 hours later.
With that Knowledge I would do the same but maybe go with 2 bath towels lol.
I think the cooler is overkill if the towels do that much insulation.

Once you slice and serve and eat just have it in the foil and after you are done with the meal u can put it in the fridge, it should loose plenty of heat when u slice it all up and eat.

 

[schlotz]

There is food safety to always keep in mind. Personally, I'm conscious to never let the brisket dip below 150º before serving. Ergo, towels in a cooler and monitor it with a reporting probe. Easily can stay in there 4-5 hours if wrapped well. When you are done serving, get the remaining into the fridge.

 

[slushie007]

Thanks for the help everyone! You've all helped me tremendously :)

 

[craigsrbutler]

Do you have to let it rest after you take it out of the cooler or can you take it out, cut and serve? Does this apply to all meat like pulled pork, brisket, etc.?

 

[tallbm]

Do you have to let it rest after you take it out of the cooler or can you take it out, cut and serve? Does this apply to all meat like pulled pork, brisket, etc.?

Hi there and welcome!

If it has been sitting in a cooler or sitting while wrapped in foil + towels, etc. then it has already been resting there.
You would simply take it out, cut, and serve :)
Yep this applies to pulled pork, brisket etc.

You would take out and shred pulled pork.
You would take out and slice brisket.
Take out and do whatever u need to do. These large cuts of meat stay hot this way for 4-5 hours and are steaming hot ready to serve. Thinner or smaller cuts of meat (pork ribs) dont really need this.

 

[craigsrbutler]

Much appreciated and thanks for the warm welcome. There is so much online around smoking/grilling and this seems have it all so I am done browsing a ton of sites every time I want to learn something. Like all arts, there is more than one way, but I get overwhelmed going from one site to the next and so on.

 

[tallbm]

Much appreciated and thanks for the warm welcome. There is so much online around smoking/grilling and this seems have it all so I am done browsing a ton of sites every time I want to learn something. Like all arts, there is more than one way, but I get overwhelmed going from one site to the next and so on.

This is the best and most informative source of BBQ and smoking info I have ever found and I'm really good at searching and research online so no need to look anywhere else :)

 

[BB-que]

Something that’s helped me not overcook brisket is once you have the brisket where you want it let it rest on the countertop for 20-30 minutes before insulating for the long rest.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Something that’s helped me not overcook brisket is once you have the brisket where you want it let it rest on the countertop for 20-30 minutes before insulating for the long rest.

This is a great answer and what I recommend if your Brisket is done too soon or has to be held for guests or travel.

If a Brisket is Probe Tender, a 30 minutes Rest on the counter and you are ready to eat. There is no good reason to Cooler Rest a perfectly Done Brisket or any meat in a cooler, unless there is a Problem.
If it's done faster than expected, you need to Hold it Hot. Guests running Late, hold it Hot in a Cooler. Got to Drive 2 hours to Mom's house for a Picnic, you need to Cooler it.
In these circumstances, you don't want to over cook the Brisket. Resting the Beef on the counter to cool it below 180 °F then wrapping and Holding Hot in a Cooler, will keep the meat 140+ for several hours without continuing to Cook it until it falls apart...JJ

 

[Displaced Texan]

Old thread.

I discovered my oven, Wolf E Series, has a Dehydrate mode which allows temperature settings between 135°-160°. I have been using my warming drawer, but it is not digital, thus not entirely accurate even though I think I know roughly where 150° is.

This will really be a game changer on holding/resting briskets and ribs, etc.

I realize this is probably not an epiphany to most, but to me it sure was. Maybe others may benefit as well and see what sort of odd modes their ovens have.

 

[Marknmd]

Yeah - my oven is similar. It's actually an old Jenn-Air electric oven (gas range). It doesn't have a particular mode to hold in, but it will hold temp as low as 150 F which is unusual for most ovens from what I've read. So yeah, I've used it to hold a brisket and it works very nicely. It helps solve the outrageously-long low & slow brisket cook problem by pushing the hold into the next morning. A nice gadget to monitor the actual average temp in the oven is the Square Dot by Thermoworks (wait for it to go on sale). https://www.thermoworks.com/square-dot/

First post - looks like a nice site :-)

 

[Displaced Texan]

Yeah - my oven is similar. It's actually an old Jenn-Air electric oven (gas range). It doesn't have a particular mode to hold in, but it will hold temp as low as 150 F which is unusual for most ovens from what I've read. So yeah, I've used it to hold a brisket and it works very nicely. It helps solve the outrageously-long low & slow brisket cook problem by pushing the hold into the next morning. A nice gadget to monitor the actual average temp in the oven is the Square Dot by Thermoworks (wait for it to go on sale). https://www.thermoworks.com/square-dot/

First post - looks like a nice site :-)

I also have a Meile microwave/oven. It will actually set 150° on convection bake. Of course, it is pretty small.

My Wolf is about 15 years old I think. Amazing now all the newer ovens seem to have a warming feature.

 

[thirdeye]

Many table top roaster ovens can be used for hot holding meats that are wrapped or in a covered foil pan.

Here is a butt I smoked for maybe 5 or 6 hours, then hot held for over 10 hours.

You can see how tender it was when I started to break down the individual muscle groups.

 

[Marknmd]

I also have a Meile microwave/oven. It will actually set 150° on convection bake. Of course, it is pretty small.

My Wolf is about 15 years old I think. Amazing now all the newer ovens seem to have a warming feature.

Not sure if you follow Chud's BBQ on youtube but he recently bought a toaster oven - pretty big one - just for its ability to hold briskets!

 

[Displaced Texan]

Not sure if you follow Chud's BBQ on youtube but he recently bought a toaster oven - pretty big one - just for its ability to hold briskets!

So funny you ask that. I saw his videos earlier today from the Facebook "Texas Barbecue" page.

Guess who is going to Bass Pro tomorrow to buy a Yeti 45. I'll check out your video there.