Jump to content

All Things Brisket


kevwun

Recommended Posts

been out of the loop for a bit.  is sous vide brisket a thing?

I use my sous vide to reheat smoked brisket that I have saved and kept frozen. I freeze it in multi-serving pieces with my food saver and then reheat at 160. The bark suffers but it’s as moist as if it just came off the smoker. And it lasts for many months in the freezer with no freezer burn. Probably go more than a year but we eat it way before then.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, kevwun said:

Does the pastrami brine penetrate all the way through the center of the brisket in 3.5 days?  Most of the recipes have seen take a week to make sure the brisket is cured all the way through.

some think 10 days are necessary.  i personally think it is too much and that it really ruins the outside of the pastrami.  also depends a bit on size as well obviously.

part of the value of adding the sous vide process to the equation is that more intense absorption occurs over those 36 hours.  admittedly, i do give it a decent salting when slicing and then mix up all the meat to distribute fat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So does HEB not sell untrimmed packers anymore?  I've been to 2 different ones in the last week and they both had either super trimmed or a new creation called deckle trimmed brisket that is 5 or 10 bucks more expensive and very mangled looking on the point end.  They do a shitty job of removing the deckle. Thanks a lot you assholes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, kevwun said:

So does HEB not sell untrimmed packers anymore?  I've been to 2 different ones in the last week and they both had either super trimmed or a new creation called deckle trimmed brisket that is 5 or 10 bucks more expensive and very mangled looking on the point end.  They do a shitty job of removing the deckle. Thanks a lot you assholes.

What town are you in?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the stores was the HEB Plus in Bastrop.  I wouldn't be so cocky, I expect it's gonna be like this everywhere sooner or later.  The briskets still have the fat cap intact, but when they remove the deckle it looks like they take a much bigger hunk than necessary out of the point. 

Edited by kevwun
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use the Four Points HEB (2222/620). They typically have several types, though not always at the same time —the super market trimmed, one that is less trimmed, full packer, prime and sometimes angus.  The prime isn’t trimmed much, which is good because you can trim it as you like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/21/2019 at 5:17 PM, HouTex said:


I use my sous vide to reheat smoked brisket that I have saved and kept frozen. I freeze it in multi-serving pieces with my food saver and then reheat at 160. The bark suffers but it’s as moist as if it just came off the smoker. And it lasts for many months in the freezer with no freezer burn. Probably go more than a year but we eat it way before then.

This man truly knows that of which he speaks.  The method also works just as well for pulled pork; ribs...no so much (or at least in my experience).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Dutch said:

This man truly knows that of which he speaks.  The method also works just as well for pulled pork; ribs...no so much (or at least in my experience).

I have had pretty good results with ribs.  I think they key is refrigerating immediately for a few hours then freezing them on pans before you seal. I have had one or two bust open due to bones, I have heard wrapping in parchment paper helps, but I have never tried it. Usually cut them into 1/2 or 1/3 racks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I brought a chilled Franklin brisket back.with me from Austin. Going to heat it up for my office tomorrow. Plan to follow the directions which recommend sous vide to 165.

Question I have for yall is if I do that at 9 am can I cooler it and let it rest until lunchtime like I would with a normal brisket? 

Any advice on getting the vaccuseal off without fucking up the bark?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would leave it in the water bath until you are ready to slice it.  I do mine for 3 hours.  You can cut the bag on the top over the middle of the brisket all the way across lengthwise and then pull the brisket out.

Edited by kevwun
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, kevwun said:

I would leave it in the water bath until you are ready to slice it.  I do mine for 3 hours.  You can cut the bag on the top over the middle of the brisket all the way across lengthwise and then pull the brisket out.

See, the problem is I wanted to do this I  the morning and head into the office around 9. We don't have a stove. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any other thoughts?

I think my options are:

(1) leave in plastic for a couple hours in cooler. Should stay around serving temp but worried about it making it harder to pull out of plastic

(2) pull out of plastic at home, rewrap in foil for the 2 hour rest. Temp is going to come down more and rewrapping may mess up the bark more. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, horncyclist said:

Any other thoughts?

I think my options are:

(1) leave in plastic for a couple hours in cooler. Should stay around serving temp but worried about it making it harder to pull out of plastic

(2) pull out of plastic at home, rewrap in foil for the 2 hour rest. Temp is going to come down more and rewrapping may mess up the bark more. 

 

 

The bark is already messed up via the sous vide process.  That, IMO, is the only downside.  So I wouldn't worry about the bark.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made a pastrami brisket and a regular brisket yesterday.  I think I might have ruined regular brisket for myself.  The pastrami version is so damn good.  I also smoked a duck.  It was pretty decent, but if I do another one I need to season it with something other than salt and pepper.

Edited by kevwun
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/10/2019 at 5:25 PM, kevwun said:

I made a pastrami brisket and a regular brisket yesterday.  I think I might have ruined regular brisket for myself.  The pastrami version is so damn good.  I also smoked a duck.  It was pretty decent, but if I do another one I need to season it with something other than salt and pepper.

Pastrami Brisket Recipe please. (Thanks)

PS- I made Brisket Tacos in a Crockpot recently and it was pretty good. Used this recipe (though reduced the amounts a bit, because I was working with a 2.7 lb flat rather than the 5 lb flat the recipe called for. 

https://foolproofliving.com/slow-cooked-beef-brisket-tacos-2/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have no idea. I thought I read bigger briskets aren’t ideal.

 

I wouldn’t buy the huge ones, but you’re probably going to trim 2-3 lbs of fat off of it before you cook it. In addition, a Wagyu will typically cook faster than a normal one. So overall you won’t be adding much, if any, time to your cook.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/10/2019 at 6:25 PM, kevwun said:

I made a pastrami brisket and a regular brisket yesterday.  I think I might have ruined regular brisket for myself.  The pastrami version is so damn good.  I also smoked a duck.  It was pretty decent, but if I do another one I need to season it with something other than salt and pepper.

Pics? 

55 minutes ago, bigcigar said:

Might be a result of shitty trimming, but still worth sharing.

 

giphy.gif?cid=4bf119fc5c6b1f11584c683051

 

I’d buy the wagyu again...it was a top 3 brisket for me.

My God...I need that in my life.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is the recipe I used.  I got a brining ziploc bag from amazon that worked really well.  I also brined it for 7 days to give it an extra day in the brine since I was doing a whole brisket and I used the pickling spice you can get in the bulk spices section at HEB instead of using their recipe for it.  I flipped the brisket in the bag every couple of days. The brisket I used was 12lbs.  I wouldn't go much bigger because you will run in to problems fitting it in to the plastic bag.  I also wrapped in paper and finished it on the pit and not the oven since I was cooking other stuff.

For the brine (double batch):

  • 2 gallon water
  • 3 cup kosher salt
  • 2 cup sugar
  • 8 tsp pink salt (sodium nitrite)
  • 20 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 cup pickling spice (recipe below)
  • 17 lbs ice

Note: Depending on the size of your brisket, and the container in which you are brining, you may need to multiply this recipe. You will need enough brine to cover the brisket in the brining container.

For the rub:

  • Yellow Mustard
  • 1/2 cup black peppercorns, toasted, coarsely ground
  • 1/2 cup coriander seeds, toasted, coarsely ground

Instructions

 

Combine all brine ingredients, except the ice, in a large pot. Bring to a boil and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved.

Add the ice to a large brining bag. Pour the briner mixture over the ice. Stir to melt the ice.

Place brisket in the brining liquid. Weight the brisket down with a plate to make sure it is fully submerged. Refrigerate for 6 days.

Remove brisket from brine, and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Apply a thin layer of yellow mustard on the surface of the meat to help the rub adhere. Coat the brisket with the rub.

Smoke until you achieve a nice mahogany red color on the outside, (about 155ºF internal temperature). Double wrap the brisket in foil, increase the temperature of the smoker to 300ºF, and continue smoking until pastrami is tender when probed with a thermometer (195ºF-210ºF). Allow meat to rest half an hour. Slice thinly and serve.

Edited by kevwun
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...