3 day weekend coming up and plenty of time to just smoke stuff. Would be nice to get some stuff in the freezer for later. I've never frozen any BBQ before. This would seem to have pitfalls that maybe some of you have overcome?

Is this even worth it?

I use a seal-a-meal and then freeze it. The BBQ tastes like it just came off the smoker!

I used to put it in alum foil but always got freezer burnt and had a bad taste to it. Last time I used the freezer paper stuff that sticks to itself and it seemed to taste much better.

Nothing better than fresh off the smoker. There will always be a difference IMHO.

FoodSaver it and it's fine.

FoodSaver it and heat it up in the bag in a pot of boiling water.

What Blue Heeler said. It's not quite as good as fresh off the pit, but it's pretty freaking close.

The best part is that if you portion your meals out right, you can come home from work and have a solid BBQ meal in about 15 minutes.

Go ahead and make a big pot of beans while you're at it. Portion them out and freeze too. They freeze really well and reheat on the stove-top very quickly.

I've screwed up a brisket before and I made indivual 1 pound bags of chopped beef. Chop it up, add Stubbs Spicy, and freeze. Pull out for a few sandwiches every now and again.

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FoodSaver it and heat it up in the bag in a pot of boiling water.

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Y'all aren't worried about the toxic fumes from the bag getting into your food when heated?

I chop it and mix with just enough sauce to keep moist and then vacuum seal it. I've never cared for re-heated sliced brisket, but, this method makes a nice chopped beef sandwich or baked potato topper

We do cook-offs regularly and end up with copious amounts of cooked brisket to preserve.

The best that we've found is freezer paper and saran wrap.

Wrap slices in 2 layers of saran wrap, tight as you can get.

The wrap in good, name brand butcher/freezer paper.

Label and freeze. We have some from last September that still tastes good.

Cody
Fightin Texas Aggie c/o 04

Chopped is totally fine with me. I wasn't thinking I'd try to freeze it and thaw and put it in a competition or something. I just don't want to thaw it and have it turn to mush and toss it.

thanks for tips

Y'all aren't worried about the toxic fumes from the bag getting into your food when heated?


FoodSaver product bags do not have BPA and are generally safe. I would not boil or microwave in a FS bag, however.

I've frozen lots of briskets--some portioned into FS bags, some whole in the foil right off the pit. Two keys, re-heat slowly after you've thawed it out. Second, don't plan on keeping it in the freezer until armageddon, then think you'll have a top notch rapture meal. Freezing stuff is great, but it'll start to go downhill at some point, depending on how you put it away. You can freeze with no wrap at all and be good for a few weeks, foil and FS stretch that out into the future, but not forever.

Just to add my dos centavos, but I have an apartment/cabin I stay in while working in Houston. It has no stove because I was not planning on cooking and the guy that originally built it for an office and there was really no place for one. Soooooo I have become somewhat of a master at microwave cookery.
It takes a little experimentation because of the difference in microwaves, but the secret of reheating and not overcooking is LOW & SLOW. We take left overs of most things we eat at home and vac-seal them then freeze. I take back to Houston, then thaw and reheat. Most things do very good after you learn but use a low setting and more time and it works, or at least for me. This includes BBQ of all types as well as other meats and veggies!

I regularly slice extra brisket and put lunch size portions in foil. Then I put the foil packets in gallon freezer bags and put them in the freezer. I take them out as needed and thaw in fridge. Reheat at work with a little sauce. Not as good as fresh, but I can get a lot of lunches out of a 16# brisket. Beats subway everyday.