Suggestion request - corn beef

[muskyjunky]

Hello , I'm going to smoke a corned beef brisket tomorrow . Other then time and temp I have no real plan . Does anyone have any ideas or experience with this ? I'm talking about a store bought corn beef like you find for St. Patty day . I'll be doing this on my Pit Boss Pellet smoker . Thanks for any feedback !

 

[73saint]

I smoked a corned beef brisket a couple weeks ago. Cooked at 250 until I hit 150-160 internal, then steamed in a pan w a grate and a little water, covered in foil until I reached 203 internal. Then I let it cool and sliced. Cooked with pecan wood and it came out perfect.

 

[muskyjunky]

Thank you 73. I've never done one before .. My only question is , is there a reason you finished it with a steam vs wrap or even no wrap to finish temp ? I only ask because I honestly don't know .

 

[73saint]

Well, I spent a good deal of time reading before attempting pastrami. Some folks didn’t steam, but I wanted mine to be as “traditional” as possible. I think the steaming helps with the texture of the meat. I say that because I usually cook brisket unwrapped to the same temps; and I would never be able to slice my brisket as thinly as I slice my pastrami. Also, after 4 hours, you aren’t getting any more smoke in the meat, so the steaming helps speed up the cook process.

Take this with a grain of salt, I’m no expert but that’s what I’ve experienced.

 

[73saint]

Here is a pic of my strami, under some meatloaf. The pic illustrates how the grate helps keep the water away from the meat...


After cooling, a look at the slices.

 

[muskyjunky]

Wow that looks just awesome . Thankyou !

 

[73saint]

Wow that looks just awesome . Thankyou !

You’re welcome. Good luck and let us know how it comes out!!

 

[crazzycajun]

Do one reading a lot of people soak it in water and change frequently then apply their own spices and smoke. ( cuts down on the saltiness that some complain about)

 

[muskyjunky]

Well I did it ... soaked it overnight in water to try to draw some salt out but didn't really work out in that senses . The cook itself went very good and meat itself performed solid . I would just say that a corned beef for me is just still to salty smoked ... keep in mind I Love corn beef in a crock pot with sauerkraut cooked 8-12 hours .. having said this , I'm gonna shave the rest for subs . Will be very good in that venue I think .

 

[young j]

Make sure you let it sit in water and soak it for hours before you smoke it. Reason being, cured brisket is usually steamed which takes out a lot of the salt. If you don't plan to steam it before you smoke it, it will end up way too salty. I smoked two brisket points for st Patrick's and they were some of the best I've had. Used a traditional pastrami rub and smoked them until they were really tender

 

[muskyjunky]

I soaked it overnight , approx 12 total hours before I started . I'm not unhappy with results , I just feel it was still to salty for a main course meat type thing for me .

 

[gmc2003]

I soaked it overnight , approx 12 total hours before I started . I'm not unhappy with results , I just feel it was still to salty for a main course meat type thing for me .

Did you change the water out a couple of times? If not then you wind up soaking it in salt water.

Chris.

 

[muskyjunky]

I did a couple times in first 2 hours then changed it again and went to bed . Got up and rubbed it in simple garlic pepper and let it warm up to ambient temp before starting my smoke on it . I need to say that other then salt content , it came out really good . Juicy and tender . It was by no means a blown cook , just to salty for a feature meat ( in my opinion) . I only say this so if anyone else try's this they should be aware of what I ran into .... the exchange of info on this site is what makes this place great.