CORNED BEEF - EVERYTHING YOU WANT OR NEED TO KNOW

trevorh · Mar 20, 2014

Morning fellas and ladies...or evening, afternoon whatever time it is.

Looking to start a thread, not reinvent the wheel on SMOKING CORNED BEEF

There are some good threads on here already but I personally need a few answers, and want to start a good thread that will cover it all.

Mission:

I am doing two corned beef roasts this weekend. Yes I will take pictures and post. I use a GMG pellet DB model

They will be store bought and pre corned

I do not know which cut yet (brisket, tri-tip or round). I have to see what is still available.

Questions:

1) How long and to what internal temp for the cuts I mentioned above

2) Pre-soak to remove some saltiness?

3) smoke then wrap with foil?

4) Introduce fluid (apple, cider vin) inside foil wrap

And finally, past experiences...

Are these wonderful pieces of meat heaven worth smoking, or should we stick to the basics and throw them in a crock pot for 6 hours.

Happy cooking and I'll be sure to post some pics.

driedstick · Mar 20, 2014

Sounds good - I'm in!

Cheers

papadon · Mar 20, 2014

1) I went to 200 & let them "chill" in the cooler for 2 hrs.
2) I did 4, 6 pounders on Saturday; I soaked all day Friday ~9 hrs in the same water.
3) In the smoke till 170 then wrapped with foil, finished at 200.
4) I was going for pastrami so I just put ~ 1 cup of water in each wrap.

Finally, if you asked me Saturday I would have told you to stick to what we know. Now, I say smoke everything!!
I got some great advise in here. After smoking the corned beef you need to let it sit for minimum 2 - 3 days. LET IT SIT!!
What a difference, I was ready to throw away everything, now I'm the smoking king at work!!
I do like plan corned beef though.

Good luck!

worktogthr · Mar 20, 2014

I second the let it sit for a few days! And steam it to reheat...like butter!

worktogthr · Mar 20, 2014

I'll make this very easy... Check out Amazingribs.com. Find e section on pastrami and follow it exactly. Only thing I did different from those directions is foiled it out of necessity because I couldn't stay up too late that night. It's incredible!

trevorh · Mar 21, 2014

Okay. The race has started. I went to the store this morning and bought two corned beef brisket roasts. 3 pounds and 3 1/2 pounds respectively. I plan on soaking them until about 11 o'clock tonight. That will be about 11 hours. Then I will rub them down with Montreal steak seasoning. I'm a little short on time and that rub has salt, Pepper, garlic, and paprika. I will let them rub all night long. And then start my smoke at about 7 o'clock Saturday morning.

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trevorh
Mar 21, 2014

trevorh · Mar 21, 2014

image.jpg

trevorh
Mar 21, 2014

worktogthr · Mar 21, 2014

I am going to sit back and enjoy... Looks like a good start!

papadon · Mar 21, 2014

Good luck!

trevorh · Mar 21, 2014

Pulled from the water. Paper towel dried. Rubbed with veg oil and rubbed down with Montreal seasoning. Sit in the fridge all night and then into the smoker in the morning.

image.jpg

trevorh
Mar 21, 2014

chestnutbloom · Mar 21, 2014

May I ask how many times (if any) did you change the water out during the 11 hour soak? Thanks -Rich

trevorh · Mar 21, 2014

I didn't change the water. I used a 5 gallon bucket and prob put 2 gallons of water inside. We shall see

worktogthr · Mar 22, 2014

When I tried it I didn't change the water either and it came out great!

trevorh · Mar 22, 2014

image.jpg

trevorh
Mar 22, 2014

Here we are on hour 5. Looking and smelling good. Pretty good shrinkage, but looks to be right on track.

trevorh · Mar 22, 2014

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trevorh
Mar 22, 2014

Finished product

trevorh · Mar 22, 2014

So above you see the finished product.

If I could do it over again, the only thing I would do is smoke about 6 of these at once. Completely unbelievable.

The Montreal Steak Seasoning is the perfect rub in my opinion for pastrami. I didn't use a ton of it but didn't skimp either. Pefect pepper. Perfect salt.

I smoked these two at 225. I forgot to look at the time when I took them off, but I have to say that it took about 8 hours. I pulled them off when they were 205 IT.

I almost pulled them at 185 because they felt like they were getting to the point where I wanted them to be. SO GLAD I left them on there to the temp above.

I did however, pull them at 175 IT and wrap with foil. I poured about 1/2 cup of apple juice into the foil when I wrapped them,.

The pre-soak with water helped a lot I believe. The salt flavor is perfect.

Great way to do these corned beef briskets. Have to say that I doubt I will be RUINING one by boiling it in hot water ever again.

Recap:

8 hours fresh water soak on pre-corned brisket (3-4 lbs)

Drain, dry then brush with vegetable oil

Montreal Seasoning - moderately

Smoke at 225 unwrapped until IT reaches 175 fat side up

Wrap with foil and add 1/2 cup apple juice

Smoke at 225 until IT reaches 205

FAILPROOF...

Enjoy!!!!

worktogthr · Mar 22, 2014

Looks great!!! I have about six in my fridge haha. Very tempting for tomorrow...

chestnutbloom · Mar 22, 2014

Thank you for the post. That pastrami looks succulent! Enjoy that tender goodness!!!

trevorh · Mar 23, 2014

My kid said it was the best sando he's ever eaten so that's gotta put a smile on my face. However, he just got off of work and was starving LOL.

My wife said it was a bit salty, so if you plan on doing this method and you're not into salt all that much, I'd change the water once and perhaps use a pepper fennel rub with a little less salt. The smoke was subtle and perfect to me. A nice finish to corned meat.

I looked at the second roast in the fridge today, which I guess will be pastrami in a couple of days. It's rock hard so that's making me happy. Can't wait to introduce it to the slicer in a few days !

worktogthr · Mar 23, 2014

I am so jealous... I wish I had some pastrami.. Have 6 corned beefs in my basement fridge, just dont have the time to smoke them. As far as the salt goes, I soaked mine overnight without changing the water, but the rub I used had no salt at all and the end product was perfect. Also, I love Montreal seasoning but it does tend to be a little salty. My wife and I like salty food so maybe we will try it.

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