Friday's Schedule: Corned Beef Brisket Points


 
B

Bill Elwell

TVWBB Pro
I picked up 3 of these, 2 for Friday and 1 for a future smoke.

I've been searching for hours on ways to de-brine them. One thread here mentioned a water bath with 3-4 changes of water over 24 hrs., but the results were iffy...1 good, 1 still a salt lick. The smoke is scheduled for Friday, but if soaking needs more time, I have 2 extra days to "get 'er done".

I don't really want pastrami (although I have a rub already for it). I was hoping to desalinate them, inject with low sodium beef broth and add (just) pepper to the outside, ala Texas-style with the smaller one (2#) dedicated solely for burnt ends.

I'm hoping someone, anyone, will bring their knowledge and expertise to the table.

Thanks in advance.
 
Thanks for the lead. It sounds like the way I'll go. I was already thinking a smaller crush on the pepper was needed before you recommended it.
 
If you don't want pastrami I would just buy a flat and season it as you wish and then smoke it. If you want the cure taste you can rub it with pink salt and brine if for a few days and then smoke but then that's pastrami.
 
Robert T said:
If you don't want pastrami I would just buy a flat and season it as you wish and then smoke it. If you want the cure taste you can rub it with pink salt and brine if for a few days and then smoke but then that's pastrami.
Click to expand...
Thanks, but too late (not your fault). The points (3.3#, 2#, and a 4# in reserve) are already corned. I made pastrami last year that was IMO, too salty.

I was basically looking for desalinization advice. I got them for $1.99#. Flats were $2.99# (which I did not buy). If Friday's smoke goes well I'll try to pick some up on Saturday since they will probably drop in price. Plus I already have 2 - 13+# packers in the freezer.

I'm going to soak them to remove salt then marinate them overnight before injecting them with beef broth and just apply ground pepper before smoking and make burnt ends with the 2#. I want to use a Texas rub (that's more like a pork butt rub) for the smaller one. I used the same rub for my last brisket and it was great.
 
Last edited:
Robert T said:
So how did it go Bill? I was rooting for you!
Click to expand...

Sad to say, it was my worse cook...EVER. 5 - 1 hour soaks removed most of the salt, and was pretty good though not as tender as it should have been at 205F.

I REALLY LIKE cabbage, (been to Korea 6-7 times and like kimchee) but I could not get 1 swallow down. It had a really concentrated odor, akin to nail polish remover. It reminded me of Brussels Sprouts (I had them once about 40 years ago...ONCE). My wife did her kitchen magic and fried up the cabbage. She saved it.

The smaller piece cooked up pretty good before I cubed it for burnt ends. One hour later and I made cubed sticky jerky again. I'll stick with brisket and "fauxstrami" next time.

The only saving grace to the day were the rack of Baby Backs I made.

FWIW, I ran the smoker at 250F the entire time.

Sunday is church day for the wife and brew day for me. I brewed a batch of East Coast Amber Ale and munched on the jerky throughout the day.

I have 6 kegs on tap. Last weekend I cleaned and sanitized over 15 empty kegs in preparation for refilling. I have
10 gals of Oktoberfest Ale (not lager), 10 gals of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, 5 gals of Boddingtons Mild, 5 gals of Hard Cider ready for kegging and bottling...but my back's hurting a bit. :)
 
Last edited:
Sorry to hear it wasn't what you wanted. You will have to plan a comeback meal to get your mojo back! As far as the homebrew goes, I'd drive to Illinois for that stuff. I used to dabble in homebrew and always liked it. Looks like you got it down to a professional level!
 
Robert T said:
Sorry to hear it wasn't what you wanted. You will have to plan a comeback meal to get your mojo back! As far as the homebrew goes, I'd drive to Illinois for that stuff. I used to dabble in homebrew and always liked it. Looks like you got it down to a professional level!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the pick-me-up. It seemed like it was going to be a good day too.

I've been home brewing since 1994. I had one of my Hefe Weizens last night that took my flavor buds back to Germany. They sent me over there for 9 years (2 tours) to work, but I put a lot of time and money into "research". One thing I found out real quickly is you can not drink Germany dry. :rolleyes:

That reminds me, I'm down to under 2 cases...I need to brew some more for Spring and Summer...

I have an interesting brew in the works now that a variation of a Creme Ale (on the sweeter side of balance due to low hop usage) where I use infuse 2 C of vodka with 3 navel orange peels and it's juice added to the brew and add Mexican Vanilla to the final mix. It tastes EXACTLY like an Orange Creamsicle in a stick.

What part of Montana? I've been there a few times.
 
Bill;
Your comments regarding German beer took me back twenty years ago. My oldest son was stationed in Germany for several years. We spent a total of 9 weeks there over a period of three years. We really liked both the German people we met and spent time with and also their beer. My son lived in a small town, Marksteft (sp) and the Kesselring Brewery was just across the street. Their Weiss Beer was just absolutely the best beer I have ever tasted. I preferred it with the yeast (you can get it both with and without). They delivered beer door to door, just like they used to deliver milk here in the USA when I was a kid.

Good stuff, for sure!

Dale53
 
Yeah, I remember back in the '70s we had the "beer man" sign to put in the window if you anted a delivery.

Well, the wife did her magic again tonight. I sliced the corned beef about 1/16" and she cut up the taters and carrots into the frying pan with butter until they got a little crispy then added the cabbage and the meat (some crisp here too)...in a hash-like manner. YUM to the 3rd power. It was great! So, all was not last from last week's smoke. She didn't have any of the meat and suggested I have the rest in "hash" for breakfast. I added "with 2 eggs and some rye toast, you bet".

Well, it didn't start like I had anticipated, but the ending of this story is fairy tale perfection. ;)
 
It just goes to show Bill that our partners know a thing or two about making stuff taste good! I know Kim has rescued many of my meals!
 
Robert T said:
It just goes to show Bill that our partners know a thing or two about making stuff taste good! I know Kim has rescued many of my meals!
Click to expand...

I have to admit this Jersey guy I got lucky with a Missouri farm girl. As for the hash, she chopped everything up and I fried it. When it got nice and crispy I tossed in 2 scrambled eggs and made some rye toast. It was a great finish to a sad song. :) It's all gone now...except for the cabbage (which is also good, but just not for breakfast).
 
Hi Bill I was stationed in Germany/Kaiserslautern for 18 months, thanks to my uncle Sam:)..Ate some of the best bratwurst ever, while over there.. I'm trying to make my own Bratwurst, can't come close to what I had over there..
Beer & wine were also great!!!
Dan
 
DBono said:
Hi Bill I was stationed in Germany/Kaiserslautern for 18 months, thanks to my uncle Sam:)..Ate some of the best bratwurst ever, while over there.. I'm trying to make my own Bratwurst, can't come close to what I had over there..
Beer & wine were also great!!!
Dan
Click to expand...

I hear you. I was in Augsburg (40 miles from Munich) and Bamberg (30 miles from Nurnburg). Been to K'town a few times. I hear you. Brats und bier...I make my own Hefe Weizen.
 
Bill
Do you have any recipes for home made Bratwurst? Any good package mix? I tried a few package mixes didn't come close to what I had in K-town.
Thanks Dan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top