Anyone who loves Texas-style meat will be more than familiar with smoked brisket. It is a classic southern American dish that needs only a simple BBQ sauce to shine. It’s made by either smoking or barbecuing a brisket, one of the more flavourful and tender pieces of beef.
The whole cooking process can take a few hours to complete and will most likely leave you with enough leftover smoked brisket for a few meals in the days following. But is it a good idea to reheat smoked brisket? And what is the best way to do so?
To reheat smoked brisket, the best results will come from reheating it in a smoker. But, an easy way to reheat it is to pop it in a covered dish with some liquid and into the oven for 25 minutes.
How to Reheat Smoked Brisket
You do not need a barbeque or a smoker to reheat your smoked brisket. There are a few other ways to ensure that the smoked brisket’s texture remains the same without losing that unique smoky, savoury flavour.
Of course, the best way to reheat smoked brisket is to use a smoker or barbeque, as that is how the meat is best cooked in the first place. But an oven can also work just as well.
Here are the best two methods for reheating smoked brisket:
How To Reheat Smoked Brisket In A Smoker
If you are the one responsible for cooking the smoked brisket in the first place instead of being the person to steal leftovers from your annual family barbecue, then you will already know how to operate a smoker.
You should use those skills to reheat smoked brisket using your smoker:
- Heat The Grill
Prep the grill of your smoker using charcoal until the heat reaches 110 C. - Wrap In Foil
While your grill is heating up, you can prepare the smoked brisket to be reheated by wrapping the whole brisket in a double layer of tin foil. - Reheat
Do not reheat your brisket directly in the centre of the grill. Instead, place it on the cool side of the grill and allow it to reheat for 15 minutes. - Check
After 15 minutes, use a meat thermometer and pierce the meat to the centre. If the meat has reached at least 70 C, move to the next step. If not, leave the meat to reheat for a little longer until it reaches the right temperature. - Move To The Centre
Once the smoked brisket has reached 70 C, carefully unwrap the foil and place the bare meat in the centre of the grill, where the grill is the hottest.
- Reheat (Again)
Set a timer for 7 minutes and close the grill. This extra reheat will help make the meat chewy again without it becoming too dry.
How To Reheat Smoked Brisket In The Oven
Many will avoid putting their smoked brisket anywhere near the oven for fear of it becoming overly dry or ruining the brisket’s flavour.
However, for most people, using an oven to reheat a smoked brisket is not only the easiest reheating method available but is also the only option. After all, not everyone has a garden or space in their garden to use a smoker or barbeque.
But that does not mean that you have to deal with cold or subpar smoked brisket when you take home leftovers from your family barbeque. Instead, follow this method for reheating your smoked brisket using a regular oven:
- Preheat The Oven
Before you get started, set the oven to 160C. - Place In Baking Dish
Take a large, deep baking dish and carefully transfer your smoked brisket to the dish. - Rehydrate The Meat
Your smoked brisket has likely begun to dry while stored in the fridge. Use 250ml of beef broth or spare cooking juices from the meat to add some moisture back into the meat by lathering it on the meat. - Cover
Take some tin foil and cover the top of the brisket in at least two layers of tin foil. Fold the sides of the foil over the baking dish to keep the heat trapped inside. - Reheat
Set a timer for 25 minutes and leave the smoked brisket to reheat.
How to Reheat Smoked Brisket Successfully
Seeing as it takes so long and requires a lot of effort to cook brisket, you do not want to ruin the hard earnt texture or flavour of the beef when trying to reheat the leftovers.
Here are a few tips you can follow to ensure a successful reheat of your leftover smoked brisket:
- Reheat From Room Temperature – Smoked brisket is delicately tender meat. It is perfectly chewy and not at all dry. However, trying to reheat smoked brisket straight from the fridge or freezer will ruin the texture of the beef, making it overly chewy and dry. You should let the smoked brisket sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
- Slow And Steady – Do not be tempted to turn your heating appliance to the highest setting so you can have dinner sooner. The smoked brisket will turn out too tough and chewy to be enjoyable. Instead, reheat the smoked brisket at a lower temperature for a longer time to help maintain the meat’s juiciness.
Is It Safe to Reheat Smoked Brisket?
Yes, it is entirely safe to reheat smoked brisket. In fact, we’d recommend making your smoked brisket last a few days as it takes so long to make in the first place.
That said, smoked brisket is only safe to reheat if it has been stored correctly in your fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheating Smoked Brisket FAQs
Still sat there with a question or two about reheating brisket? These FAQs might have the answer you need:
Reheating smoked brisket will degrade the smokey flavour if you use the oven. If, however, you put the heat back into it on the BBQ, then you’ll only enhance the smokey flavour.
When reheating brisket in the oven, adding a splash of stock or other liquid to the dish can prevent it from drying out. Unfortunately, reheating any meat will lead to some moisture being drawn out.
Acacia may be a freelance writer by day, but they are a food fanatic by night. They are always trying out new recipes or finding different ways to elevate classical dishes. But their biggest culinary aim is to educate others on the basics of the kitchen so that they too can enjoy delicious food.
