Reheat Brisket
Brisket is some of the best BBQ you can cook. Good thing is that it’s easy to cook ahead of time (for my Texas-Style Brisket Recipe, click here >>) and then reheat brisket later – without drying it out. Once you have your brisket cooked and it has had a proper rest time. It’s time to package it. First I drain the juice off the brisket (or out of the wrap) and use a fat separator. This separates the good brisket au jus from the fat. Next, I use a large food service pan and place the whole brisket – along with the reserved au jus. Then by using the Food Saver Expandable bags, I vacuum seal pan and all.
You can see the vacuum sealer pulls it down tight so no air is in the pan. These FoodSaver brand bags came from Walmart look for the roll that says “expandable”.
reheat brisket
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Thank you for posting this! You’ve answered my question before I could ask. Keep the videos coming, I can’t get enough.
Thank you for all that you do.
SFPD Central midnight shift is always fed well because of your knowledge!
You can also sous vide the leftovers to 140, it’s quicker and you are guaranteed to not dry anything out ever again. I even have my kids throw in a bag of leftovers when they get home from school . So easy a ten year old can do it.
Sous vide? What’s that?
https://anovaculinary.com/what-is-sous-vide/
Just wondering after I let brisket rest can I just leave it wrapped in foil and place in refrigerator til the next day and heat in oven 325 for hour then unwrap and slice
yeah you can. Make sure you let it cool completely before putting it in the fridge. And it does seem to be easier to slice it cold – but you can slice it hot too.
No. the brisket must be uncovered and cooled to room temperature before refrigerating it , covered. Otherwise it will take too long to reach a safe temperature and bacteria will grow. Food cannot be kept in a range of 40-140 deg. F, for more than 4 hours and that is cumulative. Over that time limit and it needs to be tossed or you will get sick.
great response – thanks Deane!
Do you set your anova to 140 f? How long does it take?
1 hour tops
thanks for that idea with the sous vide. great idea!
Really appreciate the knowledge you share to us the “home smokers”. Keep ‘em coming.
Thanks Malcolm! I’ve been wondering how to do this for so long now. Thank you for the detailed explanation. Love your site and your videos are second to none! Keep up the awesome work!
Malcolm,
On the reheating of the brisket, you mentioned to cut open the bag. Does the entire brisket, juice and pan still stay in the bag, with a piece if foil layed over the top?
Sounds strange but, I’m just not sure. For leftovers, I vacuumed seal and freeze. Once thawed I simply place the bag in a pot in stove and slowly bring to a boil. But I question the oven??
Recently purchased some if your products. That “AP” is untouchable!!
I remove the foil and place the brisket in a pan – then vacuum seal it. Then when it’s time to reheat I place the entire thing in the oven and let it reheat – then cut it open and serve.
So… You are saying to put the entire thing, including the plastic vac sealed bag in an 325*F oven? Would the bag not melt?
doesn’t melt when we do it
Yes … I have done this when I cook ribs for 2.5 hrs +. I wrap them in plastic saran wrap and then cover them with foil. The FOIL absorbs the direct heat and the plastic becomes technically a steam bag at this point. Of course..direct heat to plastic will melt. Thais why its wrapped in tinfoil. One last note: The vacuum bags or plastic is BPA free and more durable then most other plastics.
Hi Malcom. Would this method work for a brisket that is vacuum sealed, placing it in a foil serving pan and re-heating? The simply cut open inside the pan.
You have to watch the heat on the bags. I would keep it well below 250 or you risk melting the bag.
Hey Malcolm – huge fan i think I’ve made every one of your recipes and live on your BBQ and AP rubs and your pork belly burnt ends are like crack!
Question – we have a big group for the forth of July and i want to pre-smoke my briskets and refrigerate it as you note in this article. For reheating, i was thinking of just grilling it on a hot grill until the middle got around 140 or so. I’ll probably do a test but thought maybe you had already tried it and could point me in the right direction. Thanks
I have a method for reheating brisket: https://howtobbqright.com/2017/02/16/reheat-brisket/
Thanks for sharing this. On a recent trip to the lake I smoked two flats. I initially carved one for dinner and when everyone was done I refrigerated the other. I did not get to enjoy so I am looking forward to reheating the other point.
Hi malcolm huge fan here in the uk
How easy is it to smoke a brisket in a gas grill that’s the first thing
Also how can I get hold of your rubs etc
Many thanks and keep cooking ?
It wouldn’t be easy to smoke a brisket in a gas grill – briskets aren’t very forgiving.
Has anyone split the cook over 2 days. Day 1, 5-6 hrs to get color and bark. Day 2, wrap and cook until 200 degree internal temp, rest and serve. If so how did it turn out?
I would be afraid of bad bacteria growing. You have too many chances of having your meat in the danger zone when you break up the cook like that… and big fluctuations in cooking temp can make your meat tough and dry.
Malcom
Yesterday I cooked at 13# brisket at 225 pit temp to 180 IT (17 hr cook), rested 1.5 hours, then into fridge at about noon. Its still in foil that I wrapped it in at end of cook. I need to reheat and serve at 5:30 pm today.
Would you re-heat same way as in your post?
Thanks
Eddie.
Yeah I would still reheat it the same way https://howtobbqright.com/2017/02/16/reheat-brisket/
Malcolm…..it takes a real gentleman to put out the information as you do. I would expect a lesser sort to withhold the secrets of smoking , especially competition level smoking, close to the chest for more awards….but you put it out there for the world to see and learn. I am rather new at this, even at my advanced age, but I have not ventured into a smoke of any sort until I review what Malcolm Reed has taught on the subject. You are my guru and I share that with all my friends and you have made ME the local pit master among my gang, and I owe it all to you and I tell them so.
You and your family deserve kudos and should be proud….
Malcom, Do you have any tips on reheating ribs? Can it be done the same way?
I like to char glaze them if possible. https://howtobbqright.com/2018/05/24/char-glazed-ribs/
I have 2 briskets that have been wrapped and sitting in my Yeti for 9 hours and not eating for another 6 hours. Recommendations on what to do?
You don’t want it to drop below 140 internal – that is when you need to serve it or get it in the fridge.
Malcom, I’m reheating a whole brisket I cooked yesterday and refrigerated. Is there a need to let it rest a second time, after reheating?
Thanks so much!
no, once it’s reheated it’s ready to go!
Can I make my burnt ends one day and then reheat them the next day? How do I do this?
they won’t be as good, but you can always reheat them the next day
We smoked 2 briskets, let cool, then sliced to freeze…now I need to reheat. Unfortunately we didn’t freeze with the juices and it’s in ziplock freezer bags, not vacuum seal bags. I would boil in hot water but am afraid the bags will melt. Help!?
bags won’t melt. But you can use beef broth and place in a pan and reheat in the oven.
So, just so I understand, do you initially cook the brisket to finish, IT 200°? If vacuum bag isn’t an option, wil it still be ok in an aluminum pan, with juices, covered tightly with foil?
yes, I take my brisket up to close to 200 – and it will work in a foil pan covered tightly with foil.
Hi Malcom. Would this method work for a brisket that is vacuum sealed, placing it in a foil serving pan and re-heating? The simply cut open inside the pan.
Awesome, thanks for the info. Love your videos and was browsing for this topic, only to comeback to your advices (reading in Malcom’s voice, lol) I’m doing my first brisket this weekend but was in doubt because it’s a lot of meat. Thanks a lot!
Hello Malcom, enjoy your video’s.
Just to clarify, you vac seal pan and all then fridge or freeze.
Then do you,
1 cut open vac seal bag, cover with foil and put in 325 deg oven to IT 140?
2 completely remove vac seal bag, cover with foil and put in 325 deg oven to IT 140?
3 leave vac seal bag sealed, cover with foil and put in 325 deg oven to IT 140?
Thank you for your time!
You can either remove the vac seal and use foil or leave it in the vac seal, place on a pan and reheat in vac.
I have found if I just vacuum seal the whole brisket like you said. To reheat I put it into the Sous vide at 140 for an hour or so.
that’s a great way to use the Sous Vide
Do you ever mop the brisket?
Question – why not reheat at a lower temperature for longer, like 150 until IT of 140?
you could, it would just take a lot longer
I am new to the pellet smoker world and have been reading so much about smoking food and watching videos; I am really learning a lot of new techniques and advice. I feel like such a dinosaur – I have been smoking brisket for 15 years and have been putting my sliced leftovers into plastic chinese food carry out containers with some juice, putting it a ziplock bag and freezing it. It always came out great when reheated. Maybe I’ll have to try the vacuum seal method.
So simple and so good
Hey Malcom,
What are the demenions of the aluminum service pan?
What is the alternative if I don’t have a way to seal with vacuum bags?
Malcom, I have a 5 pound Prime Cut Brisket from Costco that I will be doing this week………I plan on putting in Smoker, using Butcher paper at 16o Mark, and then get to target temp……..Once I have that done, I plan on resting it and doing what you say, ut in a food saver……I will pull out a few days before party, so I was wondering if I could reheat to 120ish and then rest and cut up and put it in lowest crockpot temp I can….I don’t want to dy it out, but I do want to keep it warm…Whats your thoughts? Thanks