Freeze and thaw or what?

[Vir]

   How do y'all travel with cooked brisket? I was going to haul my smoker and all the odds and ends needed to do some cooking on vacation but have decided to just cook it here and haul it with us. Having never traveled more than about an hour with brisket I need a little guidance on how to transport for about a 9 hour drive. My original plan was to freeze it whole wrap and bag it then cover with ice then get down the road. I have started thinking just to wrap and bag no freezing. Which would y'all do.

Aso with reheating a whole brisket, slice it or leave it whole and reheat in the oven?

[Pam Gould]

Good questions..if it's already frozen I would keep it that way..if not just keep it cold. You could use ice or dry ice. If your only gonna use part of it at a time, I would cut it in half and go from there. It takes a lotta ppl to eat a whole brisket at one time.  Pam .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.

[muebe]

For a 9 hour trip in a cooler no need to freeze. Just ice it down.

[teesquare]

I am with Pam on the cut ting it in half. But I would take the half with the point.

Seriously - do you have a vacuum bagger - like a Food Saver? If so - you can take the chilled ( refrigerated ) whole brisket, cut it into portions/manageable sized chunks and vacuum bag. And - you could even pre slice the chunks that you are going to vac. bag. Again - do this when the brisket is COLD... well chilled. It will slice better, and yo will save the juices in it this way.

Now - the Food Saver and similar brand bags are fine to drop into a pot of hot water. They are free of any of the bad plasticizers - (but check the brand you are using to be sure!) so you can warm up the contents in hot water or a microwave with power settings for re-heat - NOT a full power cook.

So - if you are camping on vacation - carry a pot....or look for a microwave in the campground office

[sliding_billy]

For 9 hours (if traveling right after it is done), I would take it in a faux cambro and leave it warm.  You may need to reheat a little, but it should stay warm enough to be safe if you pack the cooler well with towels and wrap it tight in foil.  Any longer than that, I would refrigerate and then travel with it on ice.  Always keep it unsliced, and reheat whole (at around 200 does best IMO) if necessary.  If by some chance it is already frozen, I would travel with it on ice after thawing as much as possible in the fridge.  If carrying it on ice and needing to reheat, I would vacuum seal it if possible.

[Vir]

I am cooking it today and traveling tomorrow. My vacuum sealer will not do a whole brisket but I can cut it into smaller pieces. I will have access to a stove for reheating. I think I may just add some beef broth and reheat the chunks in a heavy cast iron covered pot and go from there.

THANK YOU ALL for the advice.

[sliding_billy]

I would leave it whole and sacrifice the vacuum seal, but that's just me.  If you are going to slice it, slice as little as necessary.  A straight separation of the point and flat would be best.

[Wingman]

We had frozen 'cue sent to relatives from Black's and apparently this reheat instruction was on all of it and they said it worked great.



On a side note, I got an email from Black's yesterday.  They are opening next month in Austin.

[Vir]

Thanks Wingman, I will be trying this method

[spuds]

Yup,ice chest.I used to use a block of ice in a cooler when I lived off grid,good for several days with a block to keep fresh meat fresh. i laid packaged meat right on top of ice.