Is it okay to marinate brisket for 48 hours?
My wife and I had planned to cook a brisket for dinner tonight. Our plans have changed and we would now like to cook and eat the brisket tomorrow night instead. Yesterday, before we knew our plans would change we put the brisket into a marinade. Currently, our 3 pound brisket is in the refrigerator sitting in a bath of the low sodium version of Claude's BBQ Brisket Marinade Sauce.
Is it okay to continue to let the brisket marinade until we cook it tomorrow? Do we need to cook it today and serve the brisket as leftovers tomorrow? Or do we need to get the brisket out of the marinade, but still cook it tomorrow?
Best Answer
Generally, yes, you can leave a brisket in a marinade for 48 hours or even longer. The exception would be a marinade that is very highly acidic, but not that's not likely to be a problem with a commercial marinade.
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Quick Answer about "Is it okay to marinate brisket for 48 hours?"
Plan on marinating your brisket for more than 1 hour per pound, but no more than 2 hours per pound. Most brisket will require marinating overnight, so plan ahead.Can you marinate brisket for 48 hours?
Marinate for up to 48 hours in the refrigerator, and then bake it in the oven. It's as easy as that to have tender, flavorful brisket. Leftovers can be frozen for chopped beef sandwiches.Can you marinate a brisket for 2 days?
Place in the refrigerator, and marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 days, preferably longer, up to 5 days, massaging and turning over 2-3 times a day. Fold together the edge of 2 large pieces of heavy-duty foil to make a single piece large enough to enclose meat.Can you marinate brisket for 3 days?
Join In Now Join the conversation! Yes, this takes three days to make, but it is well worth it. It is actually not cooked on a barbecue grill, although I suppose you could do that also.Can I marinate brisket for 5 days?
Answer: You can safely leave marinated steak in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.I COOKED a Brisket for a MONTH and this happened!
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Answer 2
I would remove the brisket from the marinade and transfer it to an air-tight large freezer bag (or something similar) with a flavor-neutral oil such as grapeseed if you can't cook it right now.
The level of acidity in that particular marinade is going to do two things to the brisket:
- Interfere with the natural enzyme production that normally happens in wet aging, which tenderizes the meat
- Cause the protein bonds in the meat to actually tighten rather than relax. This forces moisture out, and toughens the beef - which could result in a rather dry and tough brisket.
I don't think 48 hours is too long, but you should be able to tell if the adverse effects have taken place - you'll have more than a bit less brisket and more than a bit more liquid than you started with. If that's the case, don't panic but:
- At least start it in a pressure cooker, if you have one. You can finish any way you like
- If you don't have a cooker, go really low, and really slow on the cooking. 325 F max, covered, for at least a few hours.
As Joel noted, it's not a food safety concern, but more of a 'don't wreck your brisket before you start cooking it' sort of thing :) Leaving it to rest out of the marinade for another 24 hours in an air-tight covering might actually be the best idea.
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