Corned Beef Brine Saltiness

[bellevueduck]

Bought a St Helens 16lb corned beef(not brisket) from SmartnFinal(cashncarry).

Cut it up into 3 5ish lb sections. On Monday night cooked a traeger smoked corned beef(2hours) and then finished it off simmering(225 for 4 hours) in the oven.. Got a 5 Star Thumbs up for all taste testers... Had the slight smokiness of mesquite/apple and then was very moist from the simmer process.

The other 2 pieces have been in a brine in the fridge since Monday. Tomorrow I want to do another 7 lb smoked corned beef same recipe as above and try to make a pastrami with 4 lbs remaining.

My question is since the other pieces have been brining for 6 days now. How can I tell the salt content? I've read a bit and some suggest to soak the brined beef in water before I put it on the smoker.

 

[Bearcarver]

Any time there is any doubt, I soak it, but I've been cutting my salt intake for 6 years now, since a Dr screwed me up inside.
It's always a guess with a Corned Beef.
If it's too salty at the table you can't do much, but if it needs salt at the table you can always add some.

Bear

 

[motocrash]

You brined/are brining corned beef?

 

[bellevueduck]

I'm thinking I better soak some salt out. I used the Alton Brown Corned Beef brine.. Only 1 cup of kosher salt in 3 quarts of water and spread that over 16lbs of corned beef in 3 containers.

What is your process for soaking and how long?

I've read soak in tub of cold water overnight. Will be putting on both the corned beef and pastrami
on Traeger smoke mode tomorrow AM.

 

[bellevueduck]

I'm brining corned beef yes. It was bought at cashncarry.
Label said St. Helens corned beef but it was not in a brine. Had a spice pack in it.

 

[Bearcarver]

I'm thinking I better soak some salt out. I used the Alton Brown Corned Beef brine.. Only 1 cup of kosher salt in 3 quarts of water and spread that over 16lbs of corned beef in 3 containers.

What is your process for soaking and how long?

I've read soak in tub of cold water overnight. Will be putting on both the corned beef and pastrami
on Traeger smoke mode tomorrow AM.

I soaked mine in a big bowl in my fridge, from 4 PM to 9 AM, changing the water at 10 PM. (18 hours)
However like I said, I wasn't afraid of removing too much salt.

Bear

 

[motocrash]

What is your process for soaking and how long?

I normally soak corned beef in cold water for ~ 8-10 hrs,changing the water ~ 3 times to remove the excessive salt used by most producers.I'm afraid your experiment is gonna be waaay over the top salty.

 

[bellevueduck]

I have 24 hours to soak the corned beef so there will be a way...

On Monday I used 5Lbs of the 16lb corned beef. It was soaking for a day.
Turned out perfect with the smoke/simmer method.

 

[Bearcarver]

I have 24 hours to soak the corned beef so there will be a way...

On Monday I used 5Lbs of the 16lb corned beef. It was soaking for a day.
Turned out perfect with the smoke/simmer method.

 

[Braz]

Definitely soak it and change the water a few times. Packaged corned beef is already brined in the package and you have added even more salt with your brine.

 

[DanMcG]

I don't understand why you're brining a corned beef that's already been cured and has probably been pumped to 20-25%. Not criticizing , just asking.

 

[bellevueduck]

This is a pic of the full packer brisket that was turned into corned beef.
I could not tell the amount of brine so I made my own and used the Alton Brown recipe.

On Monday it was not too salty and everything turned out great.
I kept the corned beef in the brine until today.

So since the dinner party is tomorrow(Sunday) I've come up with a plan based upon the thread
feedback. I've had the 2 pieces in water since 8am..that's four hours. will put keep one full and
cut the other one in half. Put them on the smoker today instead of tomorrow.
Cook them fully after the 2 hour smoke which means simmer till fork tender...
If too salty will make something else as a Plan B tomorrow.

 

[chopsaw]

I was in the middle of typing when you posted above . What does the sodium percent say on the label . That's a daily value percent per serving size .

 

[chopsaw]

https://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm315393.htm

 

[bellevueduck]

Good Question. I saw this when buying but have always bought the other corned beef
with much more liquid... hard to believe 30% of the mass is a solution...
It's compared to the other large packer briskets the bbq houses buy at cashncarry.

 

[bellevueduck]

here's the full label with sodium content.

1160mg of sodium...sounds like quite a bit

 

[chopsaw]

Yeah it's pumped like Dan said . Look at the amount per serving size also . I would soak as long as you can . That link I put up is more for understanding and reading whats in what you're buying .

 

[chopsaw]

Yes . I look up labels online all the time , and had already looked at that . Just wasn't sure if it matched what you had . So that's a percentage of daily value in a serving of 4 oz. Before you soaked it . Read thru that link I sent if you have time . It tells a recommended daily amount .

 

[bellevueduck]

OK very good education thanks.. .So based on the 1160mg per 4 oz serving I'm giving all
my guests high blood pressure... Glad St. Patty's Day only come around once a year...

Does smoking draw any of the salt out? I looked through prob 10 recipes this AM and thought
I saw some discussion on one of them regarding that.

 

[chopsaw]

Does smoking draw any of the salt out?

My opinion would be no .
Test fry a piece when you think it soaked long enough , before you smoke it .
The label speaks to a intake amount , not so much to a " taste " , but you can see how much was already in the meat .
Good luck with it , and now you can check labels when you buy .
Lets us know how it came out .