Corned beef

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Hi Ron, do you mean have we ever made a corned beef brisket at home or do you mean have we ever purchased a corned beef brisket from the store and smoked it? In my case the answer is no to both, but I think the process of making a corned beef brisket is very similiar to making pastrami, about which Chris has posted a story on the web site. If you are talking about the latter, in my uninformed opinion I think you are better off buying a "raw" brisket rather than a corned one. I think the corned ones are depending on a liquid cooking environment to reduce some of the salt content.

Doug Wilbur
 
Hello Doug, I mean doing it from scratch with a raw brisket, brining and all.
 
I just cooked up half a brisket I corned about two months ago and ate it for St. Patty's day...was really good except next time I will use less clove.

Im going to smoke the other half tomorrow along with a 11 lb. brisket.
 
I love brisket so much, no way would I ruin it by corning it!

Now, taking an ordinary corned beef brisket and elevating it to the sublime state of a smoked pastrami like creature destined for sammitches, that's a different story.
 
Too much work for me.

I just get the corned beef briskets and smoke 'em. Turns out great (if you soak it overnight first!)
 
I would like some clarification. So if I buy a Boar's Head Corned beef, you suggest that I soak in cold water (refridgerator) over night, then I can smoke it? Would you please elaborate why I need to soak it, and how long I should smoke it for? Thanks

John
 
Hi John,
It gets soaked to get the salt out.

The key to soaking it is changing the water. If you change the water every 20 minutes, then you don't have to soak it overnight. Change it every 2-3 hours and it's going to take longer.

Here is a discussion on it.

After soaking, rub it down with this -
Pastrami Cooking Rub
--------------------
3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper, slightly coarse grind
1 teaspoon freshly ground coriander seeds, slightly coarse grind
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Before smoking it.

From the TVWB Pastrami recipe page.

I smoke it to an internal temp of 190. Some say 160, but the times I did that it was very tough.
 
Thanks John. I will check out those links.

I have to admit I have had trouble getting my brisket and pork butt to an internal temperature of 190+. Any secret to it... (and I cooked approx 6 lbs over 12 hours each time... thanks
 
I love corned beef. I have done my own using a brisket and have bought the corned beef brisket from the store. In general I like to smoke the corned beef from the store. I smoked 2 monday. I had one in the freezer and I saw the store had their store brand corned beef on sale. I bought another to go with the one I had. They were pretty good. The store brand definately wasn't up to par for me. Borderline nasty, the name brand was awesome.

I like to make my own corned beef using chris's recipe in the cooking section. I understand Susan Z's sediments but those corned beef from the store are really small. When I make my own it goes a lot further. Another thing about the store bought corned beef is what you get. I have bought many corned beefs that say flat cut but when you open it you see that large section of fat between the flat and point. I am not saying there is anything wrong with the point but when it says flat cut that is what I am expecting. Not a combo of both. Some of the many reasons I like to make my own corned beef.

John, for pork butt getting to 190 will take closer to 15 hours. As far as brisket goes, if I had a 6# brisket on for 12 hours it would be char. I smoke a 11# brisket for around 12 hours til done. Another thing is brisket should be cooked by feel rather than temp. Some are done at 183 while others could get to around 190 before being done. Simply use your therm or a BBQ fork and push into the meat. If it slides like putting into warm butter it is done. I used to cook brisket by temp and ended up with many dry briskets. Cooking by feel gets it off the fire when done and before drying out.
 
I'm sorry, but the truth is I don't know if there is a difference between corned beef and pastrami. Can someone help me understand the difference if there is one? Thanks.
 
Jerry - I am making one of each from a single packer.

The flat became corned beef and the point will become pastrami. Both meats are cured and the cures are similar, although there is more sugar in the pastrami cure. I think the cures are interchangable if you aren't picky.

The pastrami is also coated with toasted and cracked black pepper & coriander, then smoked. I am using the recipes in Charcuterie.

I just ate the corned beef and it was outstanding. The meat was less fatty & salty than store bought corned beef. I used Penzey's Pickling Spice which was really fresh and aromatic, and contained some unusual spices (star anise, juniper & cardamon).

I won't be able to go back to pre-packaged corned beef.

Jim
 
I saw that episode a couple of nights ago.

According to Alton the difference between corned beef and pastrami is how it is cooked. If you smoke it it is pastrami. I believe Chris says something similar in his pastrami article.
 
Originally posted by Jeff T Miller:
According to Alton the difference between corned beef and pastrami is how it is cooked. If you smoke it it is pastrami. I believe Chris says something similar in his pastrami article.
Click to expand...
I saw that episode, too. It was one of those "bumper" text graphics that is displayed on the way to commercial break. It said that pastrami is simply corned beef that's been peppered and smoked.

Actually, I sort of take exception to that in the Pastrami article. I know that people do it that way, but when I researched the article and compared lots of corned beef and pastrami recipes, I found that there were significant differences in the curing ingredients used--much more complex flavorings for corned beef, like bay leaf, juniper berry, allspice, etc. I didn't see those in most pastrami recipes.

So from my point of view, a pastrami is not typically just a peppered and smoked corned beef...however, it can be done that way.
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Regards,
Chris
 
That's what I was thinking. If i take corn beef and smoke it I still have corn beef. It tasted like corn beef and not pastrami. I did not soak mine but i did put it in a tin pan to retain the juice. I was not to salty. Just like when you cook it in the oven but with a touch of smoke flavor. I also had a butt over it on the top rack providing some xtra flavor and basting.

The butt turned out great. Will enjoy it watching the gators play basket ball today.
 
Interesting Chris. I haven't done any research and I haven't had real pastrami before. So it is hard for me to make a comparison. I just know that I like it the way that I have been doing it.

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Re corned beef...the really funny thing is that the irish don't even eat it or even have a clue as to what it is. I used to live in Dublin, and I remember my roomates having absolutely no idea what "corned" beef was. They couldn't even think of a dish that was remotely similar in Ireland, except "bacon and cabbage"...which is a far cry from corned beef.
 
I believe that corned beef was created in the US by Irish Americans looking to substitute something similar and cheaper than the Irish bacon they were used to according to Wikepedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corned_beef

Jeff Miller... what is 11# brisket for 12 hours = done vs 6# brisket for 12 hours = char? I am guessing that means lbs? I kept it on b/c I was trying to get to 190 degrees internally. At no point was it even close until 12 hours (approx 180). Also I read on the forum to expect to cook 90-120 minutes per lb. I will use the foil method next time. Thanks everyone.

John
 
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