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A wet aged brisket is a brisket that has been through the process of sitting in the proper environment over a certain period of time. This process allows enzymes to successfully break down the protein strands in the brisket.
Wet aging will allow the cut of meat to be more tender. The bristet is a very tough piece of meat, but through the right processes it can be one of the most tender and juiciest cuts of meat you have ever had.
What Is Wet Aging?
In order to break down the enzymes in a brisket, the meat should age for 30 to 60 days after the kill date. It’s important to know the kill date of the meat, so you will want to make sure that you ask your butcher for the date. Although brisket is a tough piece of meat, it’s one that is popular amongst pitmasters because of the content of fat that it has.
The fat allows for low and slow cooking, which will help the brisket to become a very tender delicacy. Since the brisket comes from the lower part of the ribs on cattle, this area gets a good work out daily and all of the exercise makes it a tough piece of meat.
What Wet Aging Does To A Brisket
The wet aging process allows the breaking down of the enzymes in the meat, which helps the brisket to become more tender. Patience is key in the process but the wait will provide you with a brisket that will melt in your mouth.
This process must take place in an environment that is well controlled. If the environment is not well controlled, you can risk the meat spoiling. Using injections and dry rubs on the brisket can provide some really wonderful flavors but there really is nothing that compares to the wet aging process.
The Difference In Sale By Date and The Best By Date
The sale by date is the date that the store should have the item sold by. The best by date tells the consumer when the item offers the best quality for consumption. The sale by date lets the buyer know about how long the items will be able to be stored and still offer quality.
Some foods can still be good after both dates, but the freshness of the product is not guaranteed. Using foods after use by date is not recommended. Although it may still look and smell good, it can also be a health risk.
Effects On Tenderness
Wet aging can have a huge effect on the tenderness of a brisket. A brisket that has not been wet aged can be tough and it can also be dry and stringy. Many have compared the tenderness of a wet aged brisket to a brisket that was not wet aged and swear that the wet aged brisket is way more tender than the brisket that was not.
Creating a brisket that is tender and delicious is every pitmaster’s dream. It’s almost impossible to eat a brisket that isn’t tender.
Does Wet Aging A Brisket Make Any Difference?
Wet aging does make a difference in the tenderness of your brisket. Wet aging breaks down the enzymes in the meat that cause the meat to be tough. Since brisket is a tough cut of meat anyway, using the wet aging method will make the brisket worth every penny that you spend on it.
Without wet aging, you run the risk of your brisket being tough and it could even be too tough to eat if not aged and cooked in the right way. The brisket is simply not a cut of meat that you can just throw on the pit and it’s going to come out nice and tender.
It has to have some love along the way in order for it to be its best. Cooking it slow and low is also one of the best steps to ensure it’s tender and juicy.
Best Way To Wet Age A Brisket
When you are going to wet age a brisket, you will want to make sure that when you purchase the brisket that you know the kill date. The kill date is the date that the cattle were slaughtered. Your butcher should know the kill day of the meat that he is selling. For wet aging, you will want to make sure that the brisket is in a vacuum-sealed package that has no air in it whatsoever.
If there is air inside the package, the brisket will not be able to be wet aged, it will need to either be frozen or cooked immediately. With no air in the package, you will place the brisket on the lowest shelf in your fridge. If you have a second fridge that you don’t use very often, this will be the best place for the brisket.
The fridge should be around 32 to 34 degrees. Place the brisket in the fridge and leave it there. On a calendar, write the kill date and the date that you need to cook the brisket. The aging process should be 30 to 60 days, but many think that 45 days is the best time limit for the brisket.
Open your brisket, rinse it, pat it dry and season it to your taste. Place it in your smoker with your choice of hardwood. Many cooks like hickory the best, but you can choose what you’d like.
How Long Should You Wet Age Your Brisket?
You will want to wet age your brisket from 30 to 60 days. The 30 to 60 days that you wet age is from the kill date, not from the date that you purchased the brisket.
Make sure you get the kill date from the butcher that you purchase your brisket from. Many cooks feel like 45 days of wet aging offers the best results for their brisket.
How Long Does the Costco Brisket Last In the Fridge?
When purchasing a Costco brisket, it should stay good in your fridge from 30 to 45 days from the pack date. The pack date is not the date that you purchased the brisket, it’s the date that it was packed by the butcher.
The fridge temperature should be 34 to 36 degrees in order to keep the brisket of good quality.
Is Costco Brisket Good?
Costco briskets are normally prime quality, which means they are some of the best. Prime meats offer the marbling that you want when you are going to cook at a slow and low pace.
The marbling will help with the brisket being tender and juicy. The marbling will also add some great flavoring to the meat.
What Is Brisket Cryovac?
Brisket cryovac is the wrapping of the brisket. When the brisket is vacuum sealed with no air in the package, it will make for better wet aging. If air is in the package, the brisket will have to either be frozen or cooked immediately.
Cryovac allows fresh meats to be kept fresher for longer periods of time.
How Long Does the Cryovac Brisket Last In The Fridge?
A cryovac brisket can last up to 60 days in the fridge from the date that it was packaged. This will allow cooks to provide an awesome wet aging to their brisket. A tender and juicy brisket will be the end result of a cryovac brisket.
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.