Freezing Beef Brisket

MaskedMarvel · January 2

Greetings,

I’m (gently, slowly..) expanding my amateur level home pork bbq business into other offers: chicken, turkey, aaaand… the mother of all BBQ.

I’ve had success with freezing the pork. Vacuum sealer, etc. people are very interested in the brisket, so I’m going to go for it.

My question is super simple. . … um…

HOW DO I KEEP THE QUALITY?

I know this has been asked and explored. I’ve frozen brisket before and had reasonable success. But the pork quality is next to fresh pulled. I need that from the Texas beef, as well.

I’m going to try slicing then immediately vac sealing and freezing. Any tricks? I know NOT slicing is probably a better system. I’m trying to figure that out, as well.

Anyway. Probably a question that’s been shredded to death here, already. Just would appreciated any input.

Happy new year!
8-D

… my current orders also include chicken and baby backs. ..

Botch · January 2

I've never had a vacuum sealer, only foil/Saran/freezer. The Quality has never been equivalent once thawed for me, but I do know that pre-slicing is a big no-no; you just lose too much juice.

MaskedMarvel · January 2

Botch said:

I've never had a vacuum sealer, only foil/Saran/freezer. The Quality has never been equivalent once thawed for me, but I do know that pre-slicing is a big no-no; you just lose too much juice.

I’m wondering I let it cool cold in the fridge first? Lock the juices in? … they’ll probably just run everywhere upon thawing?

another idea is to approximate a pound of brisket and vac it unsliced, with the customer understanding they’ll slice it after boiling the bag..

lousubcap · January 2

I have never been able to recapture the true flavour (nod) from any freeze and then thawed brisket. I'm only addressing the individual left overs w/o any vac sealing. For me the texture will come thru but the taste downgrade is noticeable.
Cook a couple and experiment. Odds are your customers will think it's great. Most won't know the difference between your offering and the central Texas holy grail. At least that's what I have found in flyover country.

And yes, I routinely visit central Texas to chase the holy grail. I am confident I can hit that target dang near every time going in. The drop off with the left overs (even frozen) is still great.

As you are aware, with brisket the quality of meat going in has the major impact on the outcome. Much more so than any poultry or pork cook.
Best of luck but brisket brings a whole different level of challenges. FWIW-

JohnInCarolina · January 2

Honestly we have had great luck slicing, vac sealing, freezing, and then re-heating in the sous vide at around 144F. Brisket comes out very tender this way, provided it is served straight out of the bath, and the flavor is still very much there.

alaskanassasin · January 2

https://www.goldbelly.com/restaurants/franklin-barbecue/whole-brisket-texas-bbq-sauce?ref=merchant

There might be some tidbits of info on here, scroll down on how to reheat.

MaskedMarvel · January 2

JohnInCarolina said:

Honestly we have had great luck slicing, vac sealing, freezing, and then re-heating in the sous vide at around 144F. Brisket comes out very tender this way, provided it is served straight out of the bath, and the flavor is still very much there.

You slice while still hot?

MaskedMarvel · January 2

alaskanassasin said:

https://www.goldbelly.com/restaurants/franklin-barbecue/whole-brisket-texas-bbq-sauce?ref=merchant

There might be some tidbits of info on here, scroll down on how to reheat.

Franklin WISHES he had my skillz!!

.. and I wish I had YOURS!

They’re doing whole briskets, which I wish I had the opportunity to do. I’m thinking more and more about not slicing. Of course - it gets even MIRE complicated if people are particular about the lean/fatty difference.. grrr

JohnInCarolina · January 2

MaskedMarvel said:

JohnInCarolina said:

Honestly we have had great luck slicing, vac sealing, freezing, and then re-heating in the sous vide at around 144F. Brisket comes out very tender this way, provided it is served straight out of the bath, and the flavor is still very much there.

You slice while still hot?

I don't think that makes a big difference one way or the other.

DoubleEgger · January 2

I’d recommend cooking a brisket as a trial run. Vac seal several different ways and see what you like best and give some away to get some “real world” feedback from a couple of your key customers.

MaskedMarvel · January 3

Well the bigger brisket order just cancelled. Meat is already in the smoker. Oh well. I need to tweak the process on MULTIPLE levels.

ColbyLang · January 3

That’s no fun. Especially with the prices on quality briskets.

GrateEggspectations · January 3

MaskedMarvel said:

alaskanassasin said:

https://www.goldbelly.com/restaurants/franklin-barbecue/whole-brisket-texas-bbq-sauce?ref=merchant

There might be some tidbits of info on here, scroll down on how to reheat.

Franklin WISHES he had my skillz!!

.. and I wish I had YOURS!

They’re doing whole briskets, which I wish I had the opportunity to do. I’m thinking more and more about not slicing. Of course - it gets even MIRE complicated if people are particular about the lean/fatty difference.. grrr

I don’t know your client base, but the risk I see here is that folks may slice with the grain and then attribute toughness to you. And I feel like you don’t want to include slicing directions, because that’s more work for your customers, many of whom are probably ordering for ease and convenience.

alaskanassasin · January 3

Deposit, half down at order half at deliver

DoubleEgger · January 3

alaskanassasin said:

Deposit, half down at order half at deliver

Except for the person who cancelled their order at the last minute, they pay full price in advance.

MaskedMarvel · January 3

GrateEggspectations said:

MaskedMarvel said:

alaskanassasin said:

https://www.goldbelly.com/restaurants/franklin-barbecue/whole-brisket-texas-bbq-sauce?ref=merchant

There might be some tidbits of info on here, scroll down on how to reheat.

Franklin WISHES he had my skillz!!

.. and I wish I had YOURS!

They’re doing whole briskets, which I wish I had the opportunity to do. I’m thinking more and more about not slicing. Of course - it gets even MIRE complicated if people are particular about the lean/fatty difference.. grrr

I don’t know your client base, but the risk I see here is that folks may slice with the grain and then attribute toughness to you. And I feel like you don’t want to include slicing directions, because that’s more work for your customers, many of whom are probably ordering for ease and convenience.

Agreed on that. A local home pitmaster and I were just talking about this exact thing.

MaskedMarvel · January 3

alaskanassasin said:

Deposit, half down at order half at deliver

Pretty much all of my customers are friends and I established a one get-out-of-jail-free policy early on in the learning process. A scant few HAVE moved to the pre-pay list. Venmo made this a lot easier.

DoubleEgger said:

alaskanassasin said:

Deposit, half down at order half at deliver

Except for the person who cancelled their order at the last minute, they pay full price in advance.

She always is a fantastic pork customer. I think she was doing a little experimentation ordering outside her usual (she also ordered a rack of baby backs this time).

But the lesson has been institutionalized. ;p

MaskedMarvel · January 4

A pound of brisket is more than I expected…

RRog17 · January 4

Nailed it. Looks amazing!

Canugghead · January 4

Nice brisket!

Mind the gap though, I reseal it immediately with Foodsaver sans suction.
Edit: usually happens when there's not enough headroom for the edge to sit flat on the seal bar.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/dl/2882hm7q72m8.png

GrateEggspectations · January 4

Canugghead said:

Nice brisket!

Mind the gap though, I reseal it immediately with Foodsaver sans suction.
Edit: usually happens when there's not enough headroom for the edge to sit flat on the seal bar.

And personally, I always double seal everything.

Canugghead · January 4

GrateEggspectations said:

Canugghead said:

Nice brisket!

Mind the gap though, I reseal it immediately with Foodsaver sans suction.
Edit: usually happens when there's not enough headroom for the edge to sit flat on the seal bar.

And personally, I always double seal everything.

I bet you double nut everything too 😂

The vp230 chamber sealer double seals by default, the wavy edge created the air break channel through both seals.

JohnInCarolina · January 4

Canugghead said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Canugghead said:

Nice brisket!

Mind the gap though, I reseal it immediately with Foodsaver sans suction.
Edit: usually happens when there's not enough headroom for the edge to sit flat on the seal bar.

And personally, I always double seal everything.

I bet you double nut everything too 😂

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/r3/b8xdwf4n9w0n.jpeg

MaskedMarvel · January 4

Canugghead said:

Nice brisket!

Mind the gap though, I reseal it immediately with Foodsaver sans suction.
Edit: usually happens when there's not enough headroom for the edge to sit flat on the seal bar.

Dang. I didn’t notice this. I’ve had issues with that weirdo gap before. Maybe one in twenty bags. My solution was to up the melt time. Looks like I need to check that.

GrateEggspectations · January 4

@Canugghead

Says the advocate of the elusive triple nut. 😂

MaskedMarvel · January 4

Canugghead said:

Nice brisket!

Mind the gap though, I reseal it immediately with Foodsaver sans suction.
Edit: usually happens when there's not enough headroom for the edge to sit flat on the seal bar.

Ding dang dong. So - how do I prevent this? I’ve already got the heat time at 2.4 seconds.. VacMaster recommends ~1.4

MaskedMarvel · January 4

Let’s see if Vanilla will allow me to post this pic..

(Had to attach as a file..)

alaskanassasin · January 4

Terrible seal ^^^ lol

alaskanassasin · January 4

I try to pull the bag flat across the seal bar. If it’s inflating from moisture then chill the protein before sealing.

Canugghead · January 4

My seal time is 1.1s. Long seal time is not going to iron out the wrinkles for you.
What I've learned over the years:
1) Allow more headroom, i.e. empty space between the contents and the bag opening, especially if the contents is thick or bulging.
2) Spread the contents out with even thickness when possible.
3) Use the filler plates (vp215 comes with two, vp230 comes with 1?) to adjust the height, you want the bag opening as level with the seal bar as possible
4) Avoid stretching the bag opening. A spatula helps with easier loading,

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/9a/2ph4i5zt1fu6.jpg

5) Easier to seal the short side of a rectangular bag. Can use scissors and Foodsaver to switch the opening orientation
6) When needed press the bag opening against the seal bar for 5-10 sec for it to 'settle', release your hands quickly and close the lid immediately.

alaskanassasin · January 4

#3 is incorrect if you are trying to seal liquids in my opinion @Canugghead

Freezing Beef Brisket

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