# Store bought corned beef brisket



## chazman24 (May 18, 2021)

Hello all, I'm going to be smoking some store bought corned beef brisket for the upcoming holiday and wondering if I can soak it in cold water the day before, then wrap it up and put it back in the fridge and smoke it the following day?  Also wondering how long of a soak has worked for others? Thank you guys!


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## sandyut (May 18, 2021)

I assume you are making pastrami?

I soak mine overnight with a few water changes.  I find the store bought corned beef to be VERY salty and I have never made one that to under-salted due to too much soaking.  So there is a wide safe area there of time.

if pastrami is the goal this rub is good:
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns (i omit this)
▢2 tablespoons fresh coarsely ground black pepper
▢1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
▢1 tablespoon coriander powder
▢1 tablespoon brown sugar
▢1 tablespoon paprika
▢2 teaspoons garlic powder
▢2 teaspoons onion powder
▢½ teaspoon whole yellow (white) mustard seeds
▢½ teaspoon mustard powder


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## forktender (May 18, 2021)

Soak it overnight 2 days before you want to smoke it.  The first night is the soak with at least one water change. Then the second night is to firm it up by leaving it in the refer uncovered on a rack.


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## smokerjim (May 18, 2021)

As far as soaking some people soak for a few hours or as sandyut said some soak over night, if you are putting rub on be careful if you use salt in your rub, I wouldn't add to much or any at all. Yes you can soak the day before but I wouldn't wrap it just let it air dry in fridge


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## chazman24 (May 18, 2021)

sandyut said:


> I assume you are making pastrami?
> 
> I soak mine overnight with a few water changes.  I find the store bought corned beef to be VERY salty and I have never made one that to under-salted due to too much soaking.  So there is a wide safe area there of time.
> 
> ...


Yes, I want to end up with pastrami. Thank you for the rib recipe!


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## chazman24 (May 18, 2021)

chazman24 said:


> Yes, I want to end up with pastrami. Thank you for the rib recipe!


Oppps, I ment rub, not rib.


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## chazman24 (May 18, 2021)

forktender said:


> Soak it overnight 2 days before you want to smoke it.  The first night is the soak with at least one water change. Then the second night is to firm it up by leaving it in the refer uncovered on a rack.


Kind of like forming a pelica


forktender said:


> Soak it overnight 2 days before you want to smoke it.  The first night is the soak with at least one water change. Then the second night is to firm it up by leaving it in the refer uncovered on a rack.


Kind of like forming a pellicle for bacon? Thank you for the advice.


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## Chasdev (May 18, 2021)

Here's the best pastrami rub ever, it's the second half of how to make a pastrami from scratch.
Just omit the brine part.









						Primetime Pastrami
					

Get Primetime Pastrami Recipe from Food Network




					www.foodnetwork.com


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## chazman24 (May 19, 2021)

So should I put my pastrami rub on just before going on the smoker, or should I rub it well in advance?


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## xray (May 19, 2021)

chazman24 said:


> So should I put my pastrami rub on just before going on the smoker, or should I rub it well in advance?



Either way would be perfectly fine, just what is more convenient for you.

I apply my pastrami rub the night before. For me, it’s just one less thing to clean up or do before smoking.


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## smokerjim (May 19, 2021)

I usually put my rubs on night before also, but as xray said what ever works for you.


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## chazman24 (May 29, 2021)

I hope didn't already mess up. I soaked my corned beef briskets overnight and changed the water 4 times. The flats have a lot of grey on them. Is this normal?  I'm also a slight bit worried about the sent of the corned beef.  It doesn't smell spoiled really,  but because it has a lot of gray, of course I gave it a whiff. It does smell like corned beef. Also, every time I  changed the water, I  ran the faucet to make sure it was as cold as comes out, but didn't add ice as I read this morning while reading everywhere I could about this process. What do you experienced folks think?


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## chazman24 (May 29, 2021)

Hopefully I'm just nervous from having never done this before, and just overreacting.


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## smokerjim (May 29, 2021)

your fine, it's pretty normal. as long it doesn't smell sour your good to go


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## chazman24 (May 31, 2021)

I want to thank you all for the great advice.  It turned out great! I will definitely do pastrami again.  Thank you.


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