Resting a brisket

[BBQPhil]

What's the best way to extend the time between when the brisket comes off the smoker and when it's served? I assume resting in a cooler can be done for up to 4 hours, but what if that still is several hours before serving? Do you slice and regrigerate or refrigerate the whole brisket?

[bbqLuv]

Well slow down you cook too fast
Got to make the smoking Last
Just kicking down Charcoal Briquettes
Looking for flavor and feeling hungry

Actually, they can hold for longer than 4 hours.

sous vide should keep at serving temp

[cashelton]

I typically rest in a cooler for 6 hours, I would go up to 8 hours if necessary. After that I would start looking for alternatives.

[Panhead John]

Agree with above. You can rest longer than 4 hours. You shouldn’t slice the brisket before refrigerating, it’ll dry out. Only slice what you’re gonna eat then, is most recommendations.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

you can reheat slow in the oven and 180 wrapped in foil with some tallow and the slices come out fantastic

[RonB]

You can always hold in your oven set a minimum temp. My oven's minimum is 170°. If ya hold in a cooler, leave a probe in the meat so you can monitor the temp. This is necessary for a long hold. If it gets close to 140°, put it in an oven.

[GolfGeezer]

+1 Holding in the oven at its lowest setting, double wrapped in foil, easily get you 4-8 hours without concern of temp dropping too low in just a Cambro. Not saying you can't do it, but this way, no doubts about temp dropping too low.

[HawkerXP]

+2

[Henrik]

What others have said. Hold it for longer in the faux cambro.

[BBQPhil]

Thanks all fpr the responses. Just these responses pays for the annual membership!

[Troutman]

I'm going to add one thing to the resting period. The longer the better it seems. But what's often overlooked is the method of resting. A lot of folks are under the impression that you take a brisket (or other high temp cooked proteins) presumably wrapped in foil or paper, wrap it again in towels and immediately stick it into an environment that encourages more cooking. Remember it is screaming hot, well over 200*F. You don't want to over shoot or over cook it at this point or you end up with pot roast.

A better way is to let the meat sit on your stovetop until it has cooled down a bit. I like to take it down to 160*F then stick it into a cambro or my warm oven. Then let it do it's thing for 2-3-4 hours or as long as you can stand it and it doesn't fall below the safe temp of 140*F.

Sometimes it's the way you do it rather then how you do it that matters. At least that's what my wife tells me.

[Richard Chrz]

That's the way I do it. I bring it down to 165 ish, and will either cooler it then, or put it in the oven at 170, depending on mood, and other factors going on around the cook.

[gboss]

This is especially important when your pit temp is much higher than 225F. If I'm at 225-250F pit temp when I get to ~203F, I don't bother to let the meat cool down too much before throwing it into the cooler, since the outside of the meat isn't all that much hotter than the inside by that point. However, if you're doing 250F+ pit temperature, you're more likely to overcook from carryover if you wrap and faux cambro right away.

[frailinryan]

What are people's thoughts about holding a brisket in an electric smoker at a lower temp? I saw a YouTube video of someone holding a brisket for several hours in their electric smoker. I have a masterbuilt electric smoker that has been sitting in my garage for years and I believe the temp range in that thing is 100 to 275 degrees. I may try to use it as a warmer (set it to 150 or 160 degrees) next time I smoke a brisket.

[Troutman]

That would work. I use my kitchen oven, same difference.