Hi Gang,
I've done a corned beef before and it was the best corned beef (and subsequently corned beef hash) that I'd ever had. That time, I'd used a grass-fed whole brisket from our freezer (we get a side of beef from a local ranch each year). But, this year I was hoping to save the brisket to smoke it outright, but I did have a whole 3.2lb eye round and decided to use that.
I used a gallon the "full strength" version of Pop's Brine (as wonderfully described here) last night and added a couple tablespoons of toasted pickling spice, a couple cloves of garlic, and a tablespoon of whole peppercorn. When I did the brisket last time, there was a small brown spot in the middle that I've since learned was a result of the cure not reaching the center of the meat due to its thickness. This time, since the eye round roasts were 2.5 inches thick, I decided to inject. That was my first time injecting and I worry whether I got enough in there (much of it shot out the hole... I imagine there is an art to this process and that with more practice, it'll get easier) but I'll just have to see what happens.
I'm shooting for a 14 day cure and plan to let it dry for a couple days. Then I'll apply a rub (will post the recipe when I decide) and will toss it on the Big Green Egg to smoke to an internal temp of about 150. Will probably use hickory or oak (any light or mellow smoke will likely be overpowered by the rub and cured flavors). I might decide to smoke it for a couple hours and then steam it to 150 degrees... but that will depend on what I feel like.
Here they are floating in the brine before I put a weight in there to hold them down.
Will keep you all posted.
I've done a corned beef before and it was the best corned beef (and subsequently corned beef hash) that I'd ever had. That time, I'd used a grass-fed whole brisket from our freezer (we get a side of beef from a local ranch each year). But, this year I was hoping to save the brisket to smoke it outright, but I did have a whole 3.2lb eye round and decided to use that.
I used a gallon the "full strength" version of Pop's Brine (as wonderfully described here) last night and added a couple tablespoons of toasted pickling spice, a couple cloves of garlic, and a tablespoon of whole peppercorn. When I did the brisket last time, there was a small brown spot in the middle that I've since learned was a result of the cure not reaching the center of the meat due to its thickness. This time, since the eye round roasts were 2.5 inches thick, I decided to inject. That was my first time injecting and I worry whether I got enough in there (much of it shot out the hole... I imagine there is an art to this process and that with more practice, it'll get easier) but I'll just have to see what happens.
I'm shooting for a 14 day cure and plan to let it dry for a couple days. Then I'll apply a rub (will post the recipe when I decide) and will toss it on the Big Green Egg to smoke to an internal temp of about 150. Will probably use hickory or oak (any light or mellow smoke will likely be overpowered by the rub and cured flavors). I might decide to smoke it for a couple hours and then steam it to 150 degrees... but that will depend on what I feel like.
Here they are floating in the brine before I put a weight in there to hold them down.
Will keep you all posted.
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