What to do with a 2.5lb Hunk o Point Brisket?

[MGMojo]

I broke down a full packer this past December into 2 HoF and 1 HoP, and planned on making a traditional Texas brisket this weekend to haul into work for lunch next week until I got to the bottom of MH's instructions and read his "Don't Do It" advice on making a brisket to be consumed a day (or two) later. Other than making corned beef or pastrami, is there another smoky brisket recipe I should consider attempting with this smallish (2.5lb) HoP this weekend?

[Jerod Broussard]

I've cooked plenty briskets to be consumed a day or two or three later, reheating the whole brisket. My dad back home cooks their briskets weeks in advance and no one can tell a difference.

Being a point I would let that sucker ride unwrapped as long as I could take it.

That establishes an outstanding bark, that ALWAYS tastes good. To me wrapping early (at the stall) and then reheating would produce too much of a "pot roasty" taste.

[Bob's BBQ]

I know Meathead is not a fan of left overs, but I will usually make more than I need, then vacuum pack it in about 1 lb packages and freeze it. Microwave it without opening the bag to trap moisture and it puffs up like a balloon. When you open the bag it smells like it just came off the smoker. Great for lunches at work. Tastes pretty close to fresh to me! I say do it!

[DeusDingo]

meathead's articles are for optimum results, you certainly won't ruin the food or anything. you might think "this WAS better when i first cut into it, but it is still very good"

[MGMojo]

I'm sold! Smoked brisket (cooked right through the stall as Jerod recommends, with judicious deployment of apple wood) it will be! Thanks for the encouragement and support (with apologies to MH for breaking from orthodoxy).

[Jerod Broussard]

As long as you don't eat a hot dog with ketchup on it while smoking this he won't mind.

[fzxdoc]

Here are some notes I made on Jerod's ( Jerod Broussard ) methods of cooling down a brisket and reheating it. I have never done it, but I've got his methods in my "PBC.Word." document whenever I need to use them:

Jerod's Brisket Cooldown Method:
"I have unwrapped, let cool down to 150. Re-wrap, put in the freezer until cool to the touch. Then transfer to the fridge until they get reheated in the same foil at 250 for 3.5-4 hours to attain an internal temp in the 160's. That has resulted in JUICY brisket flat."

Jerod's Brisket Cooking and Reheating:
"I've done briskets from just over 200 to 333 smoker temps. No matter the temp, them cheap Selects must have a good warm rest. Or just let them cool off at room temp, chill, and reheat to at least 165 internal. The good Choice I can find aren't as picky, but still enjoy the same routine as the Selects. "

Jerod's Notes on cooking 7 large pieces of brisket (he had to cut 3 large briskets in half because they were too long) in a Pit Barrel Cooker (see this topic for more information: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...cook#post89896 )

"Notes:

1. Going low and slow and wrapping in butcher paper yields awesome results in the Pit Barrel

2. I added some water when I transferred the flats to foil after they cooled down at room temperature (3 hours).

3. I turned them fat cap up, I won't do that anymore while they are wrapped. Fat cap down from now on, all the time. I did turn them back to fat cap down for the reheat.

4. 1/2 hour out the fridge, 2 hours at 240 in a mack daddy convection oven and the thinner flats were already at 145 internal. 2.75 hours in they were at 165 and put in the warming tower that was set at 170.

5. I had the 4 points stacked 2 x 2 (3 were removed pre-cook, one post-cook), and they, along with the one really thick flat, hit 160-ish at the 3 hour mark. Things were loaded up and transported to the serving location 1 hour away.

6. After just over 1 hour of resting in the cambro, the points were cubed and sauced. Perfect tenderness. I added Sweet Baby Ray's to Meathead's Texas Mop Sauce. Blended well, however I plan to cut back on the paprika in the Mop sauce next round.

7. 2 hours in on rest for the flats, started slicing, perfect pull and everything. Bark was a wee bit saturated on one flat. Others firmed up very quick and very well.

8. Slices were juicy. Lotta happy people. Served about 58 people. Maybe 5 of those were little kids. Had a few burnt end pieces left over when left. Lady serving was calling dibs on the sliced scraps. I purchased 52 pounds of brisket from the store, came as close as you could want with respect to having enough without a bunch leftovers."

And his latest (I think) update on reheating briskets from this topic: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...338#post104338

"Alright, I am not finished, since I found out that you really should have reheated meat hit 165 internal by the two hour mark. I was taking 3-4 hours since I had taken things to 200+, and figured reheating at 250 was fine. But if you are going to do that commercially, you better have a pretty good reason in your HACCP Plan or some type of variance. 300 is recommended by the folks who sell already cooked briskets online.

I recently passed my Food Protection Management training, so I will give the recommended cool down temp/times.
135 degrees to 70 degrees in two hours.
70 degrees to 41 degrees or lower in 4 hours. (70-125 is that super galactic microbe growth range)

1. Remove brisket and place on racks at room temperature to cool. They are either wrapped, or get wrapped when they come off the pit if they made it all the way without getting wrapped. If I have them in foil I add some water to coat the bottom, whenever they get wrapped, be it during the cook, or after. DOT NOT PUT IN A CAMBRO OR SOMETHING SIMILAR, THAT WILL LEAD TO POSSIBLE OVERCOOKED BRISKET ON THE REHEAT.

2. I let them sit at room temperature for a couple hours until they are kinda cool to the touch and not piping hot. I have left thermometers in the thickest part of the flat to watch the temp. drop, making sure I put it in the freezer before it gets below 135.

3. I will leave in the freezer until they are absolutely cool to the touch, so I don't jack up the fridge and/or the food in the fridge.

4. I don't typically leave in the fridge for more than 2-3 days. I never purposely froze them, but have had at least 1 get frozen when other people were in charge of getting them out the freezer.

5. To reheat, just get that sucker in a 300 degree oven and take to 165 internal.

Let me know if they are any questions, currently running electrical lining and setting up two plugs. Could use some breaks. "

See how famous you are, Jerod, that I copy/paste your BBQ wisdom into my Word document for PBC techniques?

Seriously, though, thanks for all of this great info.

Kathryn

[fzxdoc]

It is a lot of reading, but I didn't want to edit for fear I'd leave out an important point, Jerod. Jerod Broussard . Typos don't hurt good brisket technique info in the least!

K.

[CurlingDog]

fuzzydoc is on to something. cutting and pasting to word. good stuff here @jerod !

[fzxdoc]

CurlingDog , my PBC.Word. document is almost 300 pages long. I started it almost 2 years ago when I got my first PBC. I also have separate "Game Plan" documents for smoking each type of meat and insert bits o' wisdom in them as well when I run across good ideas here in the Pit.

I always strive for consistently good cooks, so sometimes having that information at my fingertips saves a ton of time and reminds me of little details that I'd either like to try or might have forgotten to do.

Kathryn

[MGMojo]

The smoke went great yesterday. Using the Weber and SnS, with temps pretty consistent around 230, the 2.5lb HoP took 8 hours to reach an internal temp of 203 (no crutching and plowing through a 4-hour stall). Resting for 2 hours, wrapped in foil and towels, then put in the fridge overnight. I'll be monopolizing the office's convection toaster oven for an hour or so for this afternoon's lunch. I neglected to bring a thermometer so I'm just going to set at 250 and hope for the best. Serve it up with Eddie Lee's WTF Potato Salad, and some warmed (zapped) Arthur Bryant's sauce on the side.