Yoder Smokers Community Forum

For a smoked full packer brisket, what is your ideal rest time?

What do you place your brisket in to rest?

Any heat introduced to the rest? ((like a warming drawer or left on the (turned off) smoker))

If your ideal rest time is long enough to let the meat cool, how to you reheat it for serving?

I generally use a sous vide cooker (Anova) for my rest, provided I can get the brisket into a vac seal bag. I set the Anova to 150 degrees and have held for as long as 20 hours and it still tasted delicious. Before I had the Anova, I took the wrapped brisket (in butcher paper) and folded it into 3 towels, then into a cooler. I used to do that for about 5 or 6 hours, and then it was ready to slice.

If you do cool it down, in order to reheat, you have plenty of options. Again, the Anova is my preferred method (and if you don't have a sous vide cooker, please look into it, they're amazing), however, you can warm the whole brisket in the oven at ~300-350 degrees. Use a thermometer probe to keep an eye on the internal temp. If it is already sliced, I take a big skillet (15") and put about 5 tablespoons of water in it. Then I put about 1/2 or so of the skillet on a burner set to medium heat. Place the brisket slices on the side of the skillet that is NOT directly on the burner, put a lid on it, and check it after a few minutes. Once it is at your desired temp, enjoy!