Brisket Flat

[Fatback Joe]

Ran out of cooked brisket for lunches and stuff so needed to throw one on this weekend to stock back up a bit........only problem was that I forgot to get one out of the freezer to start thawing........oh well......guess it will have to go on frozen.

8lb flat portion, ran it under water for a couple of minutes to get the outside a bit damp so the rub would stick. Thought about just applying the rub after it was in the smoker a bit, but was afraid I would forget.



Homemade rub on the damp frozen brisket. LOL




Quality of the sliced product picture is not very good (not that I am known for my photography skills anyhow), but it was one of those times where I was getting ready to bag it up and remembered "oh yeah, I was taking pics"




Weird thing about this one is that I put it on frozen and ran the smoker at 250.........and the damn 8lbr got done in 6 1/2 hours. I figured it would be close to 10 hours.

[irishteabear]

Glad it turned out well anyhow. Looks great!

[wutang]

Beautiful.

[ChadTower]

What type of bagging? I've been working with my Foodsaver and I've found I have to freeze stuff and THEN vacuum seal it.

[Fatback Joe]

What type of bagging? I've been working with my Foodsaver and I've found I have to freeze stuff and THEN vacuum seal it.

Foodsaver........what types of issues you been having? I just let the meat cool a bit after slicing then bag it, vac & seal with no issues.

[ChadTower]

If there is more than a trivial amount of liquid it gets sucked right into the vacuum channel and prevents the element from achieving a proper seal. Even refrigerated stuffed loin didn't work until I froze it.

[Fatback Joe]

If there is more than a trivial amount of liquid it gets sucked right into the vacuum channel and prevents the element from achieving a proper seal. Even refrigerated stuffed loin didn't work until I froze it.

Hmmm....almost like too much suction?

I don't have that problem.........mine is a couple of years old and aint what it used to be, but I still don't remember that really being an issue with mine.

[Texas-Hunter]

If there is more than a trivial amount of liquid it gets sucked right into the vacuum channel and prevents the element from achieving a proper seal. Even refrigerated stuffed loin didn't work until I froze it.

What I do when vacuum sealing items that are wet or moist.. I place a folded paper towel inside the bag just before the seal area.. That way any liquid is absorbed by the towel so the machine has a opportunity to seal it..

[grothe]

Brisket looks great Joe!!

[Slanted88]

Right nice job!

[ChadTower]

What I do when vacuum sealing items that are wet or moist.. I place a folded paper towel inside the bag just before the seal area.. That way any liquid is absorbed by the towel so the machine has a opportunity to seal it..

Hrm... that does potentially solve the liquid problem, but at the same time, provides a dead perfect bacterial breeding ground, even better than the meat. It cuts your fridge time way way down so long as that paper towel is in there.

[Texas-Hunter]

Hrm... that does potentially solve the liquid problem, but at the same time, provides a dead perfect bacterial breeding ground, even better than the meat. It cuts your fridge time way way down so long as that paper towel is in there.

Been doing it for years that way with no issues.. If its a oxygen deprived environment how could it be a breeding ground??

The paper towel is not in contact with the meats.


Plus when Im done I freeze the meats

[ChadTower]

Been doing it for years that way with no issues.. If its a oxygen deprived environment how could it be a breeding ground??

The paper towel is not in contact with the meats.


Plus when Im done I freeze the meats

It's not a true vacuum - it's only mostly oxygen deprived. You couldn't get a truly oxygen free environment in a bag with all those channels. Things like paper towels (and real towels) are great for bacteria beacuse they hold liquids and because they provide a near infinite amount of nooks and crannies in which the bacteria can hole up. Sponges too - that's why you use that type of material in an aquarium filter - because in the filter you want bacterial growth. Vacuum sealing with consumer level equipment isn't going to completely prevent bacterial growth with meat in the danger zone. That's why I said the refigerator time is cut way down and not freezer time. It shouldn't be an issue in the freezer but it may accelerate growth in the fridge vs not having the paper towel and would definitely speed it up on the counter.

Odds are you could do that for quite some time and not have a problem, but man, I've had food poisoning before and it's worse than an IRS audit. :)

[Texas-Hunter]

I missed the frig part... I was thinking freezer..I been there done that with the food poisoning... not good at all..

[ChadTower]

I missed the frig part... I was thinking freezer..I been there done that with the food poisoning... not good at all..

Yeah, once you get it below the danger zone, you don't need the seal for bacteria, you need it to prevent freezer burn and stuff. It's a pretty damn good multipurpose solution, ain't it?