Corned beef

[Jeff T Miller]

# is called a pound symbol.

I was merely stating that for me if I had an 11 pound brisket on for 12 hours it would be about done. 12-13 hours. I haven't had one go over 13 hours for a while and I usually don't buy smaller than 10 pound brisket. If I had a 6 pounder on for 12 hours it would be very well done. I also usually cook at 250-275 so that may be quite the difference.

As I sit here and reminice my first couple of brisket cooks I seem to remember having the same experience as you. I remember using foil the first few times I cooked brisket. I don't know why I had problems but it works now. I think I was cooking at around 225 back then. It is hard to remember anymore.

 

[Jim Smithson]

Pastrami seems much fatter than corned beef to me...maybe from the point vs. the flat?

Also much more peppery and potentially smokey.

 

[Robert Clark]

So if I am understanding correctly, a Pastrami is smoked and cured with different spices than Corned Beef.

Is Corned Beef done on the WSM or some other cooking method? I see on TVWB cooking topics page the recipe for Pastrami, but I see no recipe for Corned Beef. This led me to believe Corned Beef was not smoked?!?!?

 

[Steve_P]

I was looking to do Alton Brown's Corned Beef recipe for St Patty's day but I do not have enough time to properly brine it. I made the pastrami from the recipe section with success and was wondering if I could combine the two.

I was thinking about taking the instructions from the pastrami recipe and dry curing the brisket with some of the spices in Alton's recipe. I would then boil(gasp) the brisket to make it corned beef.

Is my logic flawed here?

Thanks for any input. I am a new poster but have lurked for a while. This site has taught me a tremendous amount.

 

[Dan H.]

this show was on tonight if anyone is in the proper time zone to still have a chance to watch it. I know hes not always accurate or whatever but to a guy like me who cant make toast I do enjoy the show. "Man Vs. Food" is more my style and my favorite though!

I think I could handle a few of those dishes!

 

[Jason Howard]

What is the best wood for corned beef?

I am going to smoke one tomorrow (early I know) cause I'm swamped next week.

Got it soaking already, just trying to prepare.

Thanks!

 

[K Kruger]

Steve-- If you purchase an already prepped corned beef it's already cured so brining isn't necessary, saving time. You can then rub it and smoke it, or roast it without wood.

You certainly could boil it but you'll lose the rub flavors. Alternatively, you can smoke or roast till 165 then steam it to finish, steaming it either immediately or resting/cooling then steaming to finish closer to the time you're serving. With smoke, you'll essentially have pastrami; without, the flavor is more corned beef-like but with the rub ingredients --but without the boiled-finish texture of most corned beef. If in fact you want that texture then you'd want to consider flavoring the water with your spices and then boiling it from the get-go.

Jason-- Corned beef isn't typically smoked, pastrami is. (It's the smoking of cured beef that makes it pastrami, not so much the cure ingredients or rub). In any case, I like cherry but nearly anything (except mesquite, imo) will work.