Does Freezing A Brisket Ruin It? (Explained)

 

 

If you are a brisket lover like me, you may be looking for a way to freeze brisket meat, but without losing its great taste and let me be honest here when I see offers in the supermarket for brisket meat It’s a gift of the day for me!!

 

 

I go straight and buy bulk or even more depending on how the offered is priced.

In this post, I will explain to you the best ways to freeze brisket meat without losing its taste, and also the way to melt frozen brisket meat in a way that preserves the taste and quality of meat.

 

Now let’s first answer a question about Does Freezing A Brisket Ruin It?

 

Does Freezing A Brisket Ruin It?

 

As a general rule, NO  Brisket meat does not ruin by freezing as long as the freezing bags don’t have air inside & it was frozen directly after purchase.

 

Now that we have answered your question, let us explain the correct ways to freeze brisket meat.

 

How to Freez A Brisket in a correct way?

Before we begin to explain the methods, let us first agree that air is the number one enemy for us in freezing brisket meat, and this is because air makes the meat lose its taste and also helps greatly in the formation of ice crystals that increase the taste of meat.

 

Now let’s start with the first method.

1-Freezing A Brisket using Ziplock Bag

 

In this way, we will use a ziplock bag and a plastic wrap

The importance of plastic wrap is that we will wrap the brisket meat with it in order to ensure that there is no air in contact with the brisket.

As for the ziplock bag, we will use it as a second layer to protect brisket from the air, and now let’s start with the steps.

First, bring a piece of plastic wrap (a suitable length to wrap the brisket ) and put the brisket in the middle, and wrap it well with a plastic wrap so that there is no air at all.

Now put the meat in the zip-bag and close three-quarters of the ziplock.

 

Then, bring a large bowl filled with cold water and insert the ziplock bag into it, and press from the bottom to the top to allow the air inside the ziplock bag to exit from the open part.

 

 

When you make sure that the air is completely out, close the ziplock bag and make sure that there is no air.

 

Are there any disadvantages to this method?

In fact, this method has one disadvantage which is the short period in which the meat retains the same taste, which is about six months, compared to the method that we will explain later, which lasts about a year or a year and a half.

 

2- Freezing Brisket with The Vacuum Sealer

 

Freezing brisket meat using a vacuum sealer does not require much effort, you just put the meat in the vacuum bag and then let the vacuum sealer do everything for you.

But there is one note if you decide to put more than one piece of brisket in one bag, and that is to try to leave a room between the pieces so that you can pull the air in between them.

 

the good thing about this method is the long period that the brisket meat retains the taste.

You can keep the brisket meat frozen for a period of up to a year and a half. The downside to this method is that it may be a little expensive

The price of the vacuum seller is about 120 dollars or less, although I see that it is a good investment for the features you get.

 

How to thaw brisket correctly.

Now that we have shared the necessary tips for freezing brisket, you should know the correct ways to thaw brisket because the thawing step is one of the most important steps that can change the taste of brisket, and therefore everything we did previously will not count.

 

 “Food preserving tip for Thawing meat: As a general rule, the longer the meat thaws, the more moisture the meat will

retain inside and the less water will come out of it and thus will retain the delicious taste of the meat”

 

Now let’s start with the correct thaw to melt brisket meat.

 

1-The running water method to thaw brisket.

 

This method relies on using tap water to defrost frozen meat.

Bring a large bowl and put the brisket meat in it, then put it in the sink and open the tap water on it until it is full.

When the bowl is full, reduce the amount of water coming out of the tap to ensure that the bowl water is constantly changed.

This method is considered to be the fastest way to help thaw the brisket meat while retaining its distinct taste (this method takes about four or five hours).

 

2-Submerge the Brisket in water.

This method requires some effort from you to ensure that the frozen brisket has thawed properly.

All you have to do is put the brisket in a bowl, then submerge it with water (tap water), and then put it in the refrigerator.

And the water should be changed at least every hour because the water will get cold from the frozen brisket

This method takes about twelve hours.

 

3- The Fridge method.

 

This method is considered the best among all the previous methods because it gives freedom to the meat fibers to retain moisture and reduce the percentage of water leaving the meat, but the disadvantage of this method is the long time taken to thaw the meat.

 

Take a bowl and put it in the meat and put it in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

Advice: In order to enjoy the fresh taste of the brisket, you can put it in the refrigerator the day before cooking. I personally use this method and it helps me twice.

The first is that of course, I enjoy the great taste, and the second is that I do not bother thinking about what I will eat tomorrow because while preparing today’s food I have decided what I will eat tomorrow.

 

 

Conclusion

As a general rule, brisket does not Ruin by freezing as long as the freezing process is done without air. Because the air works to remove moisture from the meat, which leads to the crystals of ice and damage to the meat. This process is called the freezer Burn

You can freeze the Brisket by using a ziplock bag or by using a vacuum sealer.

You can thaw the brisket by using a water tap or fridge or submerge it in water.
Resources: Can you freeze brisket before smoking?