Freezing Beef Brisket

Canugghead

@alaskanassasin Agree, nice catch   I stand corrected on that, with liquid you want the opening elevated higher than the contents, gravity baby! I was thinking of pulled pork and brisket.

MaskedMarvel

Right. I’m definitely sealing while hot (but before it boils under lack of pressure), and am “inverting” the lip of the bag when filling to keep that clean. 

Everything else I’m doing as listed. Grrr. 

Canugghead

Sometimes we invert the lip to keep it clean too, without issues. In your case I think the heat deformed/compromised the seal zone.

JohnInCarolina

If gravity’s not an option, you can always use magnets.

MaskedMarvel

Canugghead said:

Sometimes we invert the lip to keep it clean too, without issues. In your case I think the heat deformed/compromised the seal zone.

Just did a half chicken and reduced the heat time to 1.4. No tunneling. Maybe I was going way too long there for the 3.5 mil…

JohnInCarolina said:

If gravity’s not an option, you can always use magnets.

Some machines have a “bar” that helps hold the opening to the heating element. I guess they figure I didn’t need that in this one. 

xfire_ATX

Ive cooked and 

Vac Seal and Chill and reheat a few days later in a cooler with multiple warm water dumps, came out fine.
Vac Seal and Freeze for up to 6 months.  Defrost in Fridge and sliced into smaller slicers and used Sous Vide.

Both methods were w a Costco Wagyu and they were perfect.

stever1888

Once at serving temperature, I cut the brisket into chunks.  About 6-7 slices worth of flat, or 4 slices worth of point.  Immediately wrap each chunk in Saran Wrap, and refrigerate overnight.  Easier to do all that while you've made the rest of the cooking/serving mess, and your future self or your customer can slice it when ready to serve.  The next day I remove the saran wrap and vacuum seal each chunk, then freeze.  To serve: I thaw in fridge for a couple days.   If I want to heat up the whole package, I either put it in the sous vide for a few hours, or boil for a few minutes then let sit in the hot water for 30+ minutes.  When open the vacuum seal package after all of that, it typically comes out with great texture and moisture.  If I only want a few slices, then I'll just open the package and slice while cold, and heat up some other way.

Canugghead

guilty as charged, bad seal caused by overfilled bag, fixed it with Foodsaver asap before leakage...

alaskanassasin

I just pop it back in the chamber and hit stop immediately @Canugghead, what’s wrong with that method?

fishlessman

this will sound like blasphemy.  sous vide to 120f or water bath on low... remove from vac pack. light gasser on high.

spritz with beef broth, salt pepper, vinegar, and a little sweetener of choice and baste on high while continuously flipping in the flames to rebuild the crust. never done this with brisket but have done this with ribs after seeing famous daves do hundreds of racks at an all day event. i would give it a try. i like some good caramelized crust so i think a little sugar may help.  granted im from new england so my crowd is not the purist

the crisping part is quick

Canugghead

@alaskanassasin I figured the 'wave' that caused the failure was still there so why take another chance. With the old style Foodsaver I can press the lid down hard to almost guarantee a good seal.

alaskanassasin

Canugghead said:

@alaskanassasin I figured the 'wave' that caused the failure was still there so why take another chance. With the old style Foodsaver I can press the lid down hard to almost guarantee a good seal.

Give it a try. I can tell you if you let the clock run the bag will fill back up through the leak so just be quick about it.