Over Salted Corned Beef - Snack Stick?

[Sidewyz]

I need some ideas for this one. By no means am I a great cook and can and often do screw things up. This time I used Mortons kosher salt in the brine for a brisket. The recipe called for a less dense salt and it's over salted. I used the point for corned beef and the flat for Pastrami. The corned beef part is tossed and I still have the pastrami. Flavors are great with exception of over salted. My thoughts are to mix this salty corned beef into some ground pork, adding very little seasoning (no salt), stuff into snack casings and dry. I obviously don't want to throw good money after bad so I thought I'd ask over here for some thoughts. Pitch it or might this work?

 

[TNJAKE]

Share your recipe and meat weight please. Have you considered soaking it in water to get some of the salt out?

 

[SmokinEdge]

What Jake said. Soak it in cold water changing every hour or so for 3-4 hours should bring the salt under control. Unless it’s already cooked in which case you could try boiling it.

 

[Sidewyz]

It is already cooked.

Not sure about weight anymore...
2 gallon water
3.5 cups salt
8 teaspoons Salt #1
6 tablespoons pickling spices
(Small print: reduce salt to 2 cup if using Morton's Kosher)

 

[tallbm]

It is already cooked.

Not sure about weight anymore...
2 gallon water
3.5 cups salt
8 teaspoons Salt #1
6 tablespoons pickling spices
(Small print: reduce salt to 2 cup if using Morton's Kosher)

Hi there and welcome!

Even though its cooked you can still soak a corned beef to draw out the salt. I would give it a try for sure.

Now I see the issue why it is too salty and it is a common one.

Most recipes online for stuff like brining and curing give a generalization of how much salt/seasoning to use but dont address the "science" of it that nails it every time.

A sure fire way to nail this every time is to do the following anytime you brine or cure (brine+ cure#1 salt).

Add up the weight of your meat in grams or ounces (grams is for easier math).
Add up the weight of your water in grams or ounces (1gallon of water is a little over 8 pounds = 8 x16 for ounces or around 3,632 gm).

Now take the total weight which is water weight + meat weight.
Multiply that total weight by 0.0165 (this is 1.65%) to get the weight of the salt you need to use.

If you do this you will NEVER over salt your meat again no matter how long it brines.
This is what is called an equilibrium brine.
I also highly recommend you dissolve the salt and liquid together and then inject it into the meat all over and let it sit. This will drastically speed up the brine time in big cuts of meat like turkeys, whole chickens, etc. because the brine is working from inside out as well as outside in.

Doing this math for a brine eliminates the possibility of ever being too salty or too bland. You nail it every time and you know why where following a random recipe that doesn't tackle the problem like this will be hit or miss on your results and definitely not consistently repeatable... as you have found out :)

I hope this info helps :)

 

[Sidewyz]

Wow Great info. I will soak and see.

 

[bellarozes]

Ever wonder why your corned beef always comes out salty? Well, if course it's salt, but you can do something about it! Place it in a large bowl and cover it with cold water. Leave it in the fridge for 12-24 hours, changing the water every 4-6 hours. It's a process called desalinating, and it will make all the difference in the world. I learned this trick when attempting to turn corned beef into pastrami in the smoker where you lose much larger water content. It's required for smoking, but it's worth doing regardless of how you cook your corned beef. After desalinating, I rub my corned beef with brown sugar, but it in a baking dish with a bottle of Guinness, and sprinkle a half of a season packet into the beer. The results are always a crowd pleaser, and the desalination makes a world of difference.

Tutuapp 9Apps Showbox​

 

[xbubblehead]

I soak commercial hams to lower their salt, wife can't have too much. Stupid I guess but I never thought of soaking corned beef, just haven't eaten it for years. Glad I saw this thread. Wonder if soaking works for spam and oversalted bacon?

 

[Brokenhandle]

I soak commercial hams to lower their salt, wife can't have too much. Stupid I guess but I never thought of soaking corned beef, just haven't eaten it for years. Glad I saw this thread. Wonder if soaking works for spam and oversalted bacon?

One good use for oversalted bacon is fry it up as crumbles then add it to other dishes such as green beans or any casseroles.

Ryan

 

[DougE]

For next time.



I believe I'd go a little lighter on the salt and sugar than he has in his recipe, but doing it in this way, you control how much salt goes into the meat. It will never get over salted no matter how long you leave it curing.