How to Reheat BBQ Brisket?

A close friend called me last Sunday asking me about what to do with his brisket BBQ leftovers from last night. Well, I told him he might as well reheat them. I also reminded him that he must reheat the brisket leftovers in the same way he had cooked them. Of course, he can’t just stuff his leftover brisket back onto his oven without prepping it. He needs to moisten the meat with reserved cooking juices and wrap it using double foil layers.

Brisket, of course, is a tough piece of meat to cook, and for this reason, many would indeed shy away from cooking it. But brisket is such a deliciously flavorful piece of meat when cooked longer using low heat. So, if you happen to cook more than your guests could consume, you surely don’t want the leftover to go to waste. Just like my friend, you might as well reheat those leftovers, and you can read on through this post to learn the best way to reheat brisket BBQ.

Most Practical Way to Reheat BBQ Brisket

If it is your first time having leftovers of brisket BBQ, you might be at a loss as to what to do with these leftovers. Below is a rundown of the simple steps you can follow to reheat brisket BBQ:

Step 1: Preheat Your Oven

The first thing you should do when reheating leftover brisket BBQ is to set the oven to 325°F. Don’t be tempted to turn the temperature of your oven higher, for higher temperature will cause the remaining moisture on your brisket BBQ to dissipate, and you might end up chewing something like shoe leather.

Step 2: Prepare the Meat

If the meat is in the fridge, you can pull them out of the refrigerator. Then, let the meat rest for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature while preheating the oven. You should let it rest for a while to achieve an evenly heating when you put brisket inside the oven. 

Step 3: Moisten the Meat

If the oven is ready and the meat has already mellowed on your kitchen counter, you can move the brisket to a cooking tray. You could pour in some reserved cooking juices if you got something left. Pour it over the top. Remember that it will be best to reserve any cooking juices when you are roasting meat, for they can be useful when you reheat leftovers. However, you can also use one beef stock cup if you don’t have any leftover juices.

Step 4: Wrap the Leftover Brisket

Before putting the leftover brisket inside the oven, it will be best to wrap them using double foil layers. Crimp at the edges of the tray to tightly seal the food. Afterward, you can relegate the food to the oven. 

Step 5: Wait for One Hour

If you got a whole brisket, you could leave it inside the oven for an hour. If you have sliced it, then you can leave it for 20 minutes. You can remove the meat from your oven when the time has elapsed. Unwrap the food and start digging in.

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How to Reheat Brisket with Sous Vide? 

You can use a countertop Sous Vide appliance for this purpose. Nevertheless, if you don’t have one, you can resort to this alternative method. You can get a pot and start filling it with water. Leave enough room to prevent it from overflowing. Then, set a digital thermometer on this pot and attach this thermometer with a clamp. 

If you don’t have a clamp, you can periodically use the thermometer to check the water’s temperature. The ideal temperature you must achieve is 165°F. Once your water reaches that temperature, you can go on preparing the brisket. 

You should place the leftovers into a freezer baggie. Pour the broth and drippings into the freezer baggie as well. Then, position the baggie into the water pot. Leave the top unsealed. You can also pin the baggie onto the pot’s side to prevent it from dropping onto the water. Once you’ve placed the meat into the pot, you can bring the temperature of the water pot back to its ideal temp. 

Once the temp is set, let the leftovers cook. It may take one to three hours to thoroughly reheat the brisket, depending on its size. It will be best to periodically check the temperature to see if its temperature is the same as that of the water temperature.

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How To Reheat Brisket Using a Slow Cooker

If you have a slow cooker, you can conveniently reheat the brisket leftovers. It is ideal for slow reheating, and remember that brisket reheating requires low temperature. You will need 4 hours or more to achieve a perfect reheating of the brisket. 

To reheat using the slow cooker, you need to let the meat rest for twenty minutes on the countertop. You need to do this to allow the meat to reach room temp. Afterward, you can place the brisket inside the pot. If you got an oversized piece, you could slice it to fit inside the slow cooker. 

Then, you can pour in the reserved juices and drippings. If you don’t have drippings, you can use one cup of beef stock or barbecue sauce. Then, put the slow cooker’s lid back and reheat for three to four hours, depending on the brisket’s size.

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How To Reheat Brisket Using a Crockpot

This method is maybe the slowest method to reheat brisket. Yet, it is also an excellent method of reheating leftover brisket. To start reheating the leftover brisket, you can let the brisket rest for twenty minutes on the countertop until it reaches room temperature. If it is too big, slice it so that it can fit into the crockpot. 

Empty the juices or drippings onto the crockpot. If you don’t have drippings, you can use beef broth to let the meat remain juicy. Set the crockpot cooker to low somewhere between 185°F to 200°F to allow it to cook. It may take you four hours to thoroughly reheat the brisket. 

You can remove the brisket once it achieves the proper reheating temperature. Afterward, you can set the brisket on an aluminum foil and drizzle the drippings and broth from the crockpot. Then, wrap the brisket inside the foil and allow it to rest there for ten minutes.

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How To Reheat Brisket Using Smoker

You can likewise reheat the brisket using the smoker. You can start at 225°F. Before you set inside the smoker the brisket, you can wrap it in a foil and set it indirectly inside the smoker. Let the brisket temp reach 155°F. 

Then unwrap it and set it back onto the grill. Position the brisket in direct heat for 5 to 10 minutes. Afterward, remove from the heat the brisket once it attains an internal temperature of 160°F. Then, place it on a serving tray so as not to overcook it.

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Additional Tips

Aside from the abovementioned tips on how to reheat brisket leftovers, it will also help if you are familiar with the following additional tips:

Be Mindful of the Temperature

It is of utmost importance when reheating food that you check the temperature. The internal temp of the brisket meat should be around 160°F to make it safe to consume. You should also defrost a whole brisket entirely before cooking it. 

Of course, you can thaw meat using a water bath, but letting it thaw in the refrigerator is the easiest method to thaw it without losing much moisture and without leaving it in the 40-140°F danger zone.

How You Store Brisket?

The way you can serve brisket the next day depends on how you have stored it the previous day. It will be best to slice the brisket now and put the slices inside a suitable container. Afterward, pour in all the leftover juices onto the container. 

Now, when you pull out from the fridge the brisket the following day, you can discard any hardened fat that would usually rise to the top. Then, set the slices onto a tray. You can follow any of the heating methods mentioned above. 

You should avoid using the microwave to heat your brisket because you will only end up with a very dry and rubbery brisket. Microwave usually functions by making water molecules evaporate, so if you use it to reheat brisket, you’ll end up with a dry brisket, devoid of moisture.

What Should You Do with Leftover Brisket?

You got countless options when it comes to leftover brisket. In fact, you will find myriads of recipes involving leftover brisket. You can, for example, add the leftover brisket to tacos and Quesadillas. If you got tortillas, you could add brisket to them to create a delicious snack. You can keep it simple by adding cheese and sauce. Then, add some toppings like avocado sauce and pickled options. You can also make Cottage Pie or Shepherd’s Pie. The beef version of this pie recipe is termed cottage pie. You can use cut-up chunks of brisket to create a delicious meal.

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Conclusion

If you love cooking, you will indeed love to experiment with the brisket. It may be a tough and challenging beef piece to cook; yet, it can be gratifying to eat if you cook it right. Of course, brisket is savory and flavorful if you cooked it right. So, if you find yourself with many brisket leftovers after a wild BBQ night, you might as well choose any of the abovementioned methods to reheat your leftover brisket.

Eating leathery brisket leftovers is definitely sickening. But if you are mindful of the abovementioned tips on how to reheat leftover brisket, you will indeed end with a nicely reheated brisket.