How To Keep Brisket Moist After Cooking

If you’re like most people, you love barbecuing during the summer months. There’s nothing quite like cooking food outdoors and enjoying a delicious meal with friends and family. However, one of the biggest challenges when it comes to barbecue is keeping the meat moist and juicy.

Brisket is a particularly tough cut of meat, but with the right tips and tricks it can be cooked to perfection. In this blog post, we will teach you how to keep brisket moist after cooking so that your guests will be raving about your barbecue skills!

Smoked brisket is one of the most popular dishes out there, but nobody, except maybe your dog, likes dry brisket. So how to keep the brisket moist after cooking?

To keep the brisket moist, there are five stages:

1. While you are smoking or cooking it
2. When you keep it in the refrigerator after it’s done cooking
3. When you freeze it
4. When you defrost it
5. When you reheat it

1. Cooking Strategy For Moist Brisket

You can slow cook a brisket in a lot of ways, by using a grill, an oven, a slow cooker, or a smoker. Here are some tips to ensure your brisket is moist from the beginning.

Tip 1: Cooking Environment Setup

You need to set up your cookware in such a way that it helps keep the brisket moist.

If cooking it in a slow cooker, you can add a cup of water.
If you’re grilling the brisket, then you can keep a water pan or a drip pan beneath the roasting meat. The leftover cooking juices will get collected in the drip pan and you can reapply those juices on the meat to prevent getting it too dry.

Tip 2: Positioning

Always keep the brisket with the fat side is up, so that when you heat the brisket, the fat melts into it and bastes it at the same time.

Tip 3: Wrap It Up

You can wrap the brisket in bacon to keep it from getting dry, this also introduces additional flavors and fatty goodness from the bacon to the brisket! Or you can wrap the brisket in foil or parchment paper too to keep it moist and help it reach its desired internal temperature quickly, preventing potential meat stall.

Tip 4: Spice It Up

Generously coat the brisket with the desired seasoning. This might include salt, pepper, and anything else that you like. Not only does the spice rub provide a good flavor profile to the meat, it also helps create the delicious crust on the meat we love. This crust, apart from enhancing the brisket’s flavor, also creates a moisture barrier on it, not letting the moisture inside escape.

Tip 5: Sear, Sear, Sear!

Before putting the brisket in the oven to slow roast it, first sear it in a hot iron skillet on all the sides. Alternatively, you can roast it at a higher temperature than intended for 15 to 20 minutes, and then reduce it as the brisket browns on the outside. These methods will brown the surface of the brisket, which seals the moisture in.

2. How To Refrigerate Brisket After Cooking?

You can keep your cooked brisket moist in the fridge, just follow these steps.

How Long Should The Brisket Cool Before Refrigerating?

Allow the brisket to cool down completely in its leftover juices. The juices will help it to retain moisture. To hurry the cooling, cut your brisket into sections.

Should You Slice Brisket Before Refrigerating?

There are three advantages to slicing your brisket before refrigerating:

It will reheat much faster
You only reheat what you need
·The smaller pieces will soak up the juices more effectively

How Do You Refrigerate Leftover Brisket?

As soon as each section of your brisket is cool, choose one of these ways to store your brisket and then refrigerate it right away.

Place the brisket in an airtight container with its juices
If you have the equipment, you can vacuum pack it
Wrap the brisket and its juices tightly in foil; two layers is better

How Long Is Cooked Beef Brisket Good For In The Fridge?

If the brisket is stored properly, it should be good for 3 days.

3. How to Freeze Brisket to Keep Its Moisture

Who doesn’t love a good ole brisket? It’s the perfect choice when hosting a medium-sized feast or a BBQ party. But the catch here is, one cut of brisket easily measures around 12 to 20 pounds, and that means one thing. Chances are you will have leftovers even after your whole family, including your dog, has finished eating it.

Should You Slice Cooked Brisket Before Freezing?

If you slice your brisket first, you can later reheat only what you need, so there will be no wastage. It will also reheat more quickly.

Instead of freezing the slices huddled together in a lump, keep them separately on a baking sheet before putting them in the freezer. Once they freeze, you can seal them in a ziplock bag to lock in the moisture.

4. How To Defrost Frozen Brisket?

It’s very important regarding food safety to defrost your brisket the correct way.
NEVER leave frozen brisket on the counter to thaw.

You can safely defrost your brisket in the refrigerator.

Ensure your fridge is set to a maximum of 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place the brisket on a platter or tray in the coolest part of the fridge at the back of the shelf; there it won’t get jostled or exposed to warm air when people stare into the fridge.
Choose a lower shelf so there is no chance that the other contents of your fridge will be contaminated.

If you’re defrosting a whole uncooked brisket:

Keep in mind that for every 5 pounds of meat, it’ll take 24 hours to defrost. Do your calculations so you know when you’ll be ready to do some smoking.

5. How To Reheat Leftover Brisket Without It Going Dry

Here are some ways you can reheat brisket without it becoming a bonus for your dog:

How To Reheat Brisket Sliced

Sliced brisket can be reheated in the oven or the microwave:

To reheat brisket slices in the oven, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place the slices on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until warmed through.
To reheat brisket slices in the microwave, place them on a microwavable plate and heat them on high for 2-3 minutes, or until warmed through.

How To Reheat Whole Brisket In The Oven

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

After the oven preheats, take your brisket out of the fridge and allow it to reach room temperature for about 20 minutes
Cover the brisket in foil, twice wrapped is better – make sure there are no holes in the foil!
Put it in a baking pan with its juices
Reheating the brisket should take about an hour
Your brisket is done when it reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit; use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature

Tip: If your brisket is already drying out, you can add back some moisture. You can add some beef stock or broth. Or you can boil some apple cider or apple juice, allow it to reduce by half, mix it with your favorite barbecue sauce, then add it to the meat.

How To Reheat Brisket In The Smoker

Heat your smoker to 225 degrees Fahrenheit
Employ the 2-Zone cooking method to reheat. Keep foil wrapped brisket on the ‘cool zone’ or the ‘indirect heat zone’ of the smoker or grill until the internal temperature reaches about 155 degrees Fahrenheit
Unwrap the brisket and keep on direct heat for 5-10 minutes, bringing its internal temperature to 160 degrees Fahrenheit

How To Reheat Brisket With The Sous Vide Method

The “sous vide bath” method is slowly gaining traction as a brilliant method for cooking meats. This method works because the meat doesn’t get dry or lose its juices. You can employ this method to reheat the brisket as well.

In simple words, sous vide means cooking in a water bath. The disadvantages of this method are that you need the proper gear to do this, including a sous vide machine. It takes about 5 hours to cook or reheat the meat.

Here are the steps:

Place the brisket in an air and water-tight vacuum-sealed bag
Keep the water temperature between 110 and 175 degrees Fahrenheit
Let the brisket remain in the bath until its temperature reaches the same as the water

How To Reheat Brisket In A Crockpot

You need to plan ahead for this method because it takes about 4 hours, but it’s an effective way to keep your brisket moist.

Take your brisket out of the fridge and allow it to come back to room temperature for about 20 minutes
Slice the brisket if it’s too big for your crockpot
Pour all the drippings into the crockpot; if you have no drippings, you can use beef broth or stock.
Turn the crockpot on and set to low
After about 4 hours, check internal temperature with a meat thermometer
When it reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit, remove it from the crockpot
Place the brisket on a sheet of foil and drizzle the crockpot juices over it
Wrap it in the foil
Let the meat rest for 10 minutes

How To Reheat Brisket In The Microwave

Microwaving leftover brisket should be your last resort.

If you want to reheat brisket in the microwave, place it on a microwave-safe plate and cover it with wax paper or a microwavable plastic wrap. Heat it on high for two to four minutes, or until it’s heated through.

Conclusion

Yes, it is possible to preserve your brisket’s flavors and moisture. Try the suggestions that appeal to you and decide which one works the best!

Author
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Annie Plummer

Like her husband, Annie loves being outside, especially when they are barbecuing with friends. Annie loves to cook and try new recipes and techniques. Her day job is as a graphic designer, but she says she loves being in the real world rather than the digital universe.