Reheating Brisket? And a few other questions.

[Professor M]

Greetings, all! We'll be headed out of town to visit family for Christmas. Unfortunately, nobody in my family smokes except me, and this darn 2D makes me look like a genuine Texas Hill Country pit master. So I'd love to smoke a brisket, let it cool, refrigerate it, and then pack it on ice in a cooler for a 4-hour drive, and then reheat it in my parents' oven.

I realize that this is less than ideal. Has anyone done something like this? I'd love to hear your advice.

Also, at Costco, I always buy the flats as I'm afraid to try to fit a whole packer brisket in my 2D. Has anyone been able to squeeze one in? And at what weight?

It's a shame. Costco charges $3.99 per pound for the flats and $1.99 per pound for the full packer, so I'm spending the same amount of money on half the amount of meat. I'd love to figure out how to just throw a whole packer in the 2D.

Thanks for the help, folks. Merry Christmas and happy smokin'!

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[Walt]

If its a 4 hour trip, you can double wrap in foil & put in a cooler with the void space filled by towels. I have held them for 7 hours before & they were still piping hot. The best way to reheat in an oven would be to wrap in plastic wrap, then wrap in foil. This will keep it from drying out. The absolute best way to reheat, is to vacseal & bring it back to life in a water bath (sous vide).

I cook full packers regularly in my #2. Currently I have a 17# & a 13# in the brine getting ready for a cook this weekend. I fold the flat under to make it fit. They shrink up & it doesn't change the outcome.

Good luck

[JustChillin]

I recently did a 15.5lb packer (prior to trimming) whole in my #2. I use the same approach as Walt and shoved in folding with the point at the top. It came out great. Sorry, I can't respond to re-heating. I have always just rested mine in a cooler until needed.

[Pork Belly]

With the money saved buying a whole packer you can buy a knife. With that knife cut the brisket in half. Problem solved.

[LarryD]

Also, at Costco, I always buy the flats as I'm afraid to try to fit a whole packer brisket in my 2D. Has anyone been able to squeeze one in? And at what weight?

I have the #2 which is dimensionally the same as the 2D.  I have put a full packer in diagonally on one rack.  I have also cut a full packer in half and put it on two racks.  Both options have worked quite well.  There is no way I would do just a flat...  the point is just too darn tasty.    And, as you pointed out, full packers are actually cheaper.

I think my preference is to go larger and cut the packer in half.  I put the flat on the top rack (fat up) and the point on the bottom rack (fat down).  This gives the point more heat with the fat acting as a heat shield.  The point and the flat then get done at the same time.

I'm not sure what to tell you on re-heating such a large quantity.  What I usually do is have a nice meal or two when the brisket comes out and then chunk up the rest, vacuum seal, and throw the chunks in the freezer.  When I'm ready for brisket again I just take a chunk out of the freezer and throw it in a large pot of water and heat on the stove for 30-40 minutes at a temp a little below boiling.  It comes out darn near as fresh as when it came out of the smoker.  If you have a large enough pot there's no reason you couldn't warm multiple chunks at the same time.


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[old sarge]

First, Welcome to the forum. What others have said regarding transport and storage/reheating says it all. I also get brisket and other meats from Costco. What may be too large for a single meal is cut down to size vac sealed and frozen for later.

[Professor M]

Thanks, all! This has been incredibly helpful. In short, Santa needs to bring me a vacuum sealer and a knife. I'll let him know!

Walt, unfortunately, we're driving up the day before the dinner. Otherwise, I'd definitely have used the towel method. Thanks for the advice on folding the full packer. That sounds awesome and I'm going to go for it! Thanks as well, JustChillin. LarryD, I'll give your method a try too. Really, what I've learned from owning this thing for a few months is that I really can't screw up no matter how hard I try. 

Pork Belly, "Brevity is the soul of wit" (Shakespeare). Well played!

Merry Christmas to all!

[LarryD]

Thanks, all! This has been incredibly helpful.
...
Really, what I've learned from owning this thing for a few months is that I really can't screw up no matter how hard I try. 

You're quite welcome!  These smokers really do simplify things immensely.  I'm not disparaging anyone who is into the stick burner method, but that is way more work that I want to do. 

I do highly recommend brining...  I don't know that it would 'screw it up' if you don't, but I have yet to have a bad brisket even when it's just a 'select' quality and I brine.

[SconnieQ]

No problem doing whole packers in the #2, diagonally and bending, as others have suggested. I always do whole packers in my #1. I do have to cut in half to fit. The last one I did was 19.3 pounds, 17 pounds trimmed You are right, there is no reason to buy a flat, when a whole packer is twice the meat, for the same price, or less. And the point is my favorite half by far! If you are going to Costco, buy the Prime whole packer if they have them. It's worth the little extra money. Otherwise sounds like their Choice is fine too, but usually they have one or the other. I don't brine or inject if I have a Prime.

[will615]

Kari, when you cut packers in half, are you separating the flat and the point? If so, do you leave as much fat on the flat as you can? I've never done it and would hate to ruin an expensive piece of meat. Thanks!

[LarryD]

Kari, when you cut packers in half, are you separating the flat and the point? If so, do you leave as much fat on the flat as you can? I've never done it and would hate to ruin an expensive piece of meat. Thanks!

I'm not Kari, but I have also cut them in half and will share my own experience as another data point.  I do not separate the flat and point, but rather cut it roughly where the point ends and it becomes only flat.  If there happens to be a really thick chunk of fat on the flat then I may trim it, but typically the flat portion needs little to no trimming.

[SuperDave]

I trim fat from the point end and put thin layers of it on the flat. 

[SconnieQ]

Kari, when you cut packers in half, are you separating the flat and the point? If so, do you leave as much fat on the flat as you can? I've never done it and would hate to ruin an expensive piece of meat. Thanks!

Will, LarryD and SuperDave have provided great advice. If you want, you can try and cut diagonally through your whole packer to have more separate and distinct flat and point cuts... but these days, I just cut it vertically smack dab in half. Just keep your trimming of fat to about 3/8 inch cap. I love the technique of putting fat trimmings from the point on top of the flat as SuperDave does. The flat half needs no....to little fat trimming. Only if you see a hunk that is more than 1/2 inch thick, and even then, you might want to just score that. The flat part benefits from the extra fat during cooking. Eaters can always remove the extra fat cap as they are eating if they are squeemish.