Corned Beef Brisket Question

[ecac]

Hi,
I am going to be smoking my first Corned Beef Brisket. I bought a 5lber from the butcher. I have read different things about preparing it for smoking. Since this is from the butcher and not store brought do I have to soak this in water for any length of time or just rinse of?

With that said anyone have any go to recipes for smoking corned beef brisket?

 

[mneeley490]

If you're going to smoke it as is, i.e. corned beef, then probably a quick soak would do, depending on how much salt you like.
But why not up your game and make it into pastrami? Soak in cold water for a few hours, changing out the water a few times, and then coat overnight with with mustard and Chef Jimmy J's recipe here?

Better 'en NY Pastrami Rub

2T Turbinado Sugar
2T Black Peppercorns
1T Coriander Seed
1T Dill Seed
1T Dry Minced Onion
1T Dry Minced Garlic
1tsp Allspice Berries
1tsp Mustard Seed
1tsp Dry Thyme Leaves
3 Bay Leaves, crumbled
1tsp Juniper Berries

All Spices are Whole and were toasted in a dry pan over Medium heat until fragrant.
Let the Spices cool then Grind in a cheapo Coffee Grinder until slightly less than Coarse. The Garlic and Onion do not need to be toasted. If grinding do so only slightly as the Minced size is pretty close to perfect for Pastrami.

 

[Chasdev]

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[Wurstmeister]

Welcome to SMF from SC! Question, did you buy a 5# brisket or a 5# corned beef brisket? If the brisket is already brined/spiced, here is a link that might be helpful: Smoked Corned Beef Brisket for New Years Day (smoking-meat.com) BTW - Pastrami is a corned beef brisket seasoned with a special blend of spices and then smoked until tender. If you have to prepare a seasoning brine, I yield to those with more experience than I. It's not hard to do, just have to pay attention to details and not rush through it.

 

[ecac]

Thanks for the responses. This is a 5lb corned beef brisket from the butcher. I don't want pastrami so I am guessing maybe smoking is not the way to go? Going to do some more digging and see what I can find. Thanks!

 

[chef jimmyj]

With or without the Spices, the following will yield a great produc...JJ

Quick Corned Beef to Pastrami

Most Grocery Stores sell Corned Beef Brisket but Flat and Point portions. The Flats are usually trimmed very lean and the Points are quite a bit more fatty but MUCH more flavorful and tender! These cuts can be made into Pastrami in just a few hours of smoking and make great sandwiches, especially Rubens. Purchase either cut and soak in fresh water for one to two hours to remove some of the salt. Apply a thin coat of Yellow Mustard then generously apply the Pastrami Rub. You can rest over night or go directly into the smoker. Smoke at 250 to 275°F to an Internal Temp (IT) of 190°F or until a Toothpick slides into the meat easily. This can take 6+ hours depending on cut. To speed the process up you can Smoke the meat for 4 hours then Steam the meat until it is tender. If you wish you can Smoke and Refrigerate the meat one day and then steam it tender up to 5 days later.

 

[ecac]

So if I have the flat and the point - can I separate the point from the flat and smoke the point for pastrami and then cook the flat in the oven for corned beef?

 

[Wurstmeister]

Definitely. I do that with most of my briskets. What I don't use, I'll cut into halves and freeze them for future meals. It'll be a matter of timing due to difference in toughness of the flat vs. point.

 

[SmokyMose]

Welcome to the forum, ecac!

 

[Nole4L]

if it's already cured you could do the point as pastrami and the flat as corned beef. Basically pastrami is corned beef with additional spices that is then smoked. If it's not already cured it's borderline to cure it for St. Patty's Day at this point. I put mine in the cure on Thursday. Our daughter will be home from college for a few days and she asked for burnt ends so I'll use the point for those.

Here's a good guide:

Our Homemade Corned Beef Recipe Outshines Store Bought

Why spend the time making our homemade corned beef recipe? Because it is so much better than anything you could buy at the grocery store!

amazingribs.com