Cooler vs Warming Drawer for brisket hold

GoooDawgs

I normally hold my briskets in a cheap cooler with warm towels, but I discovered our warming drawer will hold a steady 150 (lowest it will go).  

Is there any drawback to letting the brisket rest on the counter for 30 minutes, wrapping back tightly in BP and then throw it in the warming drawer?    Or, if it's only a 2-4 hour hold would the cooler win? 

I know Aaron Franklin and others do a 12 hour hold with their humidity controlled boxes, but curious how to best leverage this warming drawer...

Any thoughts or ideas? 

lousubcap

The 150*F is a great temp.  On the rare occasion I have to hold for a while in our clock box (only goes down to 170*F) I have always wrapped tight in foil as the circulating air will dry out the protein.  I would opt for foil vs BP to preclude the drying aspect but I am just offering some things for consideration here. 

lkapigian

I'd say Cooler if anything it's easier to clean and other than for Pots and Pans you are the first person I've seen that knew what that was -Props to You!

Toxarch

I wrap in foil and put it in my oven at 160. A warming drawer should be fine. 

GoooDawgs

Thanks everyone.  I'm going to try pulling the brisket and letting it rest on the counter to stop carry over, then into a long foil pan still wrapped in BP, then cover the top of the foil pan with foil to prevent dry air circulating around it.  I'll report back. 

Legume

I would think you can let it rest longer on the counter, come down in temp closer to 150ish.  

With a cooler you wouldn’t want to do that because you rely on the residual heat of the brisket to keep it safe, but with the warming drawer doing the work to maintain temp, I would get it further away from moisture evaporation/drying temp before putting it in there.  My two cents.

GoooDawgs

Makes sense @Legume.  Thanks!

Toxarch

I leave it whole until it's ready to serve and then pull it. Add some liquid if you are pulling and then putting it in something to keep warm. 

VInyljunkee

@GoooDawgs . Can you please report the results from using your warming drawer? Thank you.

bradleya123

We have too much crap in the warming drawer, no room for a brisket.  It always hits the cooler!! 

GoooDawgs

VInyljunkee said:

@GoooDawgs . Can you please report the results from using your warming drawer? Thank you.

@VInyljunkee the warming drawer works well if you need to keep it longer than 5 hours.  I set it about 140 degrees and the brisket is kept whole, wrapped in BP and foil.   You can hold it longer in a nice insulated cooler (not the $20 Walmart kinds) but I don't have one of those.  I've kept in a Coleman for 5 hours though but I did 2 things; (1) Didn't let the brisket rest as long on the cooling rack - maybe 15 minutes instead of 30, and (2) warm up 3 or 4 towels in the dryer and put them into the pre-warmed cooler (boiling water in the cooler for 30 minutes, dump the water obviously, then add the towels and brisket).   Good luck! 

SonVolt

I use my warming drawer all the time and IMO it works just as well as a cooler (and better for longer periods of time). I keep it at 170F.