Pellet Fan

All Things Considered => General Discussion--Food Related => Topic started by: Clonesmoker on March 02, 2018, 08:15:14 AM

Title: Frozen Brisket
Post by: Clonesmoker on March 02, 2018, 08:15:14 AM: I have a 16 lb packer that my wife pulled out of the freezer and put in the fridge to thaw out Tuesday. I get home a last night and it is still a rock yet. I have to serve this at 11 am on Sunday. I will probably set out on the counter to thaw and throw it on about 5 o 6 pm on Saturday. Just wondering if anyone has taken a frozen brisket, put in on the smoker and cooked until done? Wondering how long it would take to do this. TIA!!
Title: Re: Frozen Brisket
Post by: texasbrew on March 02, 2018, 08:36:02 AM: You might want to consider putting the brisket in a sink filled with water (changing the water every 30 minutes or so). I have done this and was able to thaw out a brisket in few hours.
Title: Re: Frozen Brisket
Post by: Free Mr. Tony on March 02, 2018, 08:49:50 AM: Sink and water will definitely move things along. If it's still frozen though, it will cook fine. Typically, it doesn't take all that much longer.
Title: Re: Frozen Brisket
Post by: Bar-B-Lew on March 02, 2018, 09:25:54 AM: Quote from: texasbrew on March 02, 2018, 08:36:02 AM
You might want to consider putting the brisket in a sink filled with water (changing the water every 30 minutes or so). I have done this and was able to thaw out a brisket in few hours.

I have done this in ice water. For some reason, it thaws faster. And yes, it should only take a few hours. I often times use one of the bus boy trays that they carry dirty dishes in a restaurant to put the meat and ice water in to defrost.

The colder the meat, the more smoke penetration I have seen so I usually go right from the fridge to the smoker.
Title: Re: Frozen Brisket
Post by: Ralphie on March 02, 2018, 09:44:35 AM: Alton Brown from the Food Network did almost an entire show on thermodynamics and using water to quickly thaw meat. I'll spare you the science but he demonstrated that water will thaw frozen meat significantly faster than air even when they are the same temperature.

Side note: my mother in law makes a fantastic oven roasted/braised brisket. The recipe calls for cooking it, then freezing it for a a few days, then reheating in the oven and serving. The freezing step helps create a tenderness that's hard to replicate.
Title: Re: Frozen Brisket
Post by: triplebq on March 02, 2018, 12:16:34 PM: I thaw all my meats in the sink full of water. Been doing it as long as I remember. Never had a problem.