Old neighborhood "corned beef brisket" cooking?


 
Eric-NH

Eric-NH

TVWBB Pro
Saw this cut at market basket and decided to try it. Cooking on the performer, snake method with the ceramic insert to hold the heat better. I will say that it's held a near perfect 200⁰ from midnight until now, over 6 hours with outside temps in the 20's with a strong wind (20+mph)
What's strange is how this meat is cooling. Anyone ever seen shrinkage like this? You can see how much it shrunk looking at the grill grate. Never experienced this before. Google didn't have a lot to say about this cut either. PXL_20250309_112759834.MP.jpg
 
Bob Bass said:
Very common with briskets. Did you also notice an increased thickness ?
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I didn't really look at it that way, but I think you're right. I've done probably a half dozen briskets so far and never had this. This is an experiment being that it's the "corned beef" brisket. I may end up with pastrami
 
That's where it gets confusing. " Beef Cured with up to a 35% solution "
A Cure is supposed to draw out moisture compared to a brine which adds moisture.
 
I found this on the USDA website that is thankfully still working. My quick read comes out to 30% over so can shrink 30%.
B. Corned Beef Brisket
In preparing corned beef brisket, the application of curing solution to the beef brisket shall not result in an increase in the weight of the finished cured product of more than 20% over the weight of the fresh uncured brisket. In other words, the green (fresh uncured) weight of the beef briskets CANNOT be increased by more than 20% without the presence and amount of the added ingredients indicated on the label. Any corned beef brisket whose weight after pumping exceeds 20% over the weight of the fresh uncured brisket may be prepared if the products are descriptively labeled to indicate the presence and amount of the additional substances. Examples of product names include: “CORNED BEEF BRISKET CONTAINS UP TOX% OF A SOLUTION OF WATER, SALT, NATURAL FLAVORINGS, SODIUMERYTHORBATE, GARLIC AND SODIUM NITRITE” or “CORNED BEEF BRISKETCONTAINS X % OF A SOLUTION OF WATER, SALT, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, AND Processing and Labeling Course 10 Cured Meat and Poultry Product Operations 03/09/2020 SODIUM NITRITE.” X% percent labeled products are discussed in the next module. The actual percentage is determined by subtracting the green weight of the beef brisket from the pumped or treated weight of the product and dividing by the green weight of the beef brisket. This calculation is for uncooked product.
 
I’ve got a couple of flats which we will have for Saturday’s family dinner! Crockpot slow cook on Thursday evening, remove, chill, slice when cool, then reheat with some braising liquid while I cook the sides. It makes for a very easy “Feast Day” in Lent!
 
The owners of the local diner make the best corned beef I've every tasted, his sauce is phenomenal. They also cater a corned beef & cabbage lunch at the taproom's annual anniversary party (this year is this coming weekend,) and we will be there to get plates as soon as they're set up. I've gotten one of his corned beef briskets before cooking, and smoked it to turn it into pastrami, oh, man, was that GOOD.

I've always had shrinkage on everything I've ever smoked (or grilled, for that matter,) and I just don't worry about it.
 
Is anyone familiar with gray corned beef? If not, gray corned beef is a type of cured beef brisket that is typically salt-cured without the use of nitrates, resulting in its gray color. It is often considered a New England specialty and is saltier and potentially healthier than the more common red corned beef, which uses nitrates for curing.

Anyway, I buy one of these every year and like tradition, usually boil it unt fork tender, 3 to 4 hours. My question is: can I smoke this and get the desired taste and texture? Also, my wife may kill me if I deviate from boiling it but you only live once!
 
Tim O said:
Is anyone familiar with gray corned beef? If not, gray corned beef is a type of cured beef brisket that is typically salt-cured without the use of nitrates, resulting in its gray color. It is often considered a New England specialty and is saltier and potentially healthier than the more common red corned beef, which uses nitrates for curing.

Anyway, I buy one of these every year and like tradition, usually boil it unt fork tender, 3 to 4 hours. My question is: can I smoke this and get the desired taste and texture? Also, my wife may kill me if I deviate from boiling it but you only live once!
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I wouldn’t think there is much to gain by smoking a corned beef since it’s already got a built in flavor.

We have corned beef fairly often. Usually it’s consumed in sandwiches. Bulkie roll and mustard. Maybe 1 boiled dinner with potatoes and cabbage per year

Corned beef doesn’t seem to benefit from additions like lettuce tomatoes and onions in a sandwich like deli meat does
 
Tim O said:
Is anyone familiar with gray corned beef? If not, gray corned beef is a type of cured beef brisket that is typically salt-cured without the use of nitrates, resulting in its gray color. It is often considered a New England specialty and is saltier and potentially healthier than the more common red corned beef, which uses nitrates for curing.

Anyway, I buy one of these every year and like tradition, usually boil it unt fork tender, 3 to 4 hours. My question is: can I smoke this and get the desired taste and texture? Also, my wife may kill me if I deviate from boiling it but you only live once!
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I had and exactly what I did with it. It had a nice flavor, albeit too salty for most. We had fun finding out though, and now we are having fun deciding what to do with it. Thinking it'll be great in hash, used in soups like a potato soup or a corn chowder, and I even sliced it up and cooked it like a beef bacon type thing. It was a fun experiment!
 
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