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Becoming a pitmaster entails not only expertly smoking meats, but also preserving their quality and ensuring their safety for ingestion.
Understanding and implementing proper food handling standards is critical for every chef. So, if you bring a raw brisket home and aren’t going to cook it right away, you need know how to preserve it and keep it in good condition.
Abide By the “Danger Zone”
The majority of meats, whether pork, chicken, or beef, should not be kept at room temperature for more than 2 hours. After this period, the brisket will begin to ferment, providing a breeding ground for bacteria.
You may utilize “the danger zone” to ensure you stay on track. This refers to a certain temperature range at which meat may be consumed safely.
These temperatures are 40 to 140 degrees(F).
- Raw, uncooked brisket, for example, should not be permitted to attain a temperature of 40 degrees(F).
- Never allow cooked brisket to cool below 140 degrees(F).
How Long Is Raw Brisket Good For?
How long it can keep fresh relies entirely on how it is stored. It must be refrigerated or frozen for any time greater than 2 hours.
It can also be affected by how fresh the meat was when purchased. Regardless, most meats should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
After 2 hours, the surface of the flesh begins to convert into a perfect host for potentially dangerous bacteria and other microbes.
How Long Can Raw Brisket Be Refrigerated?
Depending on how it is packaged and stored, brisket can be refrigerated for 3 to 5 days. If you’re not keeping the brisket in its original packaging, store it in an airtight container to get the most out of it.
Of course, this depends on its state prior to being placed in the refrigerator. If the brisket has been at room temperature for some time, it will not be kept as long refrigerated as it would if it were fresh.
Remember that if any meat has already exceeded its 2-hour restriction at room temperature, it cannot be refrigerated and be considered lost.
When storing in the fridge, use an airtight wrap; vacuum seals are the best solution for this. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, use a container with a tight-fitting lid instead.
Also, keep the vacuum-sealed brisket in a container or bowl with elevated edges. This will prevent any cross-contamination from leaking fluids.
Keep it as far back as possible on the bottom shelf.
How long Can Raw Brisket Be Frozen?
Brisket may be frozen and kept fresh for up to 6 to 12 months if properly stored and packed (again, ideally in a vacuum sealed bag). It will still be safe to eat beyond that period, but the quality and freshness will have substantially deteriorated.
After thawing, the meat can be refrigerated for another 3-5 days.
However, if raw meat is kept refrigerated for more than 5 days, it cannot be refrozen.
When freezing raw meat, make sure it is wrapped in some sort of airtight wrap or container. If not, moisture will leak into the brisket, forming ice crystals and causing the beef to become “freezer burnt.”
Although the quality of the brisket will be greatly diminished, freezer burnt good is still safe to consume.
How to Tell If Raw Brisket Has Gone Bad
Brisket should not have any kind of bad odor. Most fresh raw meats have a metallic smell that resembles blood or copper
Raw rotten brisket, on the other hand, may have a very terrible odour that has been compared to rotting milk or eggs. If it has an off odor, you will sense it immediately, especially if it was opened from an airtight or vacuum seal.
Raw brisket will be dark red, nearly scarlet in color, with slight purple tints.
The color of rotten brisket will deepen dramatically. It can turn a grimy grey with yellow/greenish splotches. The consistency will shift from moist to a slimy film-like quality.
Final Thoughts
If you want to keep raw brisket fresh for more than 2 hours, it must be frozen or refrigerated. If not, the brisket can quickly become a home for a slew of unwelcome bacteria.
While brisket can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, keep an eye on it for any changes. You should have nothing to worry about as long as you follow the laws of the danger zone.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.