There's been a lot written and many comments on smoking a corned beef,
so I had to give it a try. My approach was to get a Kroger brisket
(flat) and a box of pickling spice to kick it up some. The corned beef
was removed from the bag and the liquid poured into the flat vacuum
marinading dish I use with my Foodsaver. I also sprinkled the brisket
with the packet of spice that came with it, along with another handful
of commercial pickling spice. It was then put under vacuum in the
refrigerator for 1-1/2 days to drive in some flavor.

As an aside, one complaint we have about the commercial bagged corned
beef is that after cooking it with cabbage, it really lacks much flavor.
I was attempting to get some additional flavor into the meat before
smoking it.

The brisket was then placed fat side up on a Bradley rack and smoked at
240f for 6 hours with Hickory. At that time, the internal temperature
was 172f and the meat had a great color. I then removed the brisket
from the rack,wrapped it in foil and returned it for another 6+ hours at
220f. The pit I have uses the BBQ Guru, so the meat's internal temp
sometime during the final 6 hours hit 190f, and was held there until I
removed it. The brisket was then chilled overnight. This AM, I scraped
off the pickling spice on the meat side and cut off the fat cap. The
resulting chilled brisket was thin sliced on a commercial meat slicer
for later use in sandwiches.

The result was a very dense brisket slice with the pinkish color of the
dyed commercial corned beef. There was a dark crust on the very
outside. The taste testers agreed with me that while it was a bit
salty, there was a great corned beef/pastrami flavor without being
overpowering. In retrospect, when I do it again, I'll use a home made
pickling spice that does not have any additional salt. My "take" on the
issue is that since the corned beef is traditionally boiled, the
additional salt from the pickling process is leeched out of the meat to
a large extent and seasons the cabbage. By smoking it right out of the
bag, so to speak, the salt is not rinsed off or leeched out of the
brisket, leaving it a tad salty. This is not any different from frying
up a slab of country ham without soaking it in water, IMHO.

Nonny
--
---Nonnymus---
No matter how large your boat,
the person you are talking with will
have a close friend with a larger one.
---Observation by my son

Nonnymus wrote:

[snip nice writeup]

Sounds really good. One suggestion I would have is to scrape
off the pickling spice before you smoke it. Add some plain ol
rub instead. Coriander and black pepper is traditional, but
use whatever you like. I add in some garlic powder.

--
Reg

Reg wrote:
> Nonnymus wrote:
>
> [snip nice writeup]
>
> Sounds really good. One suggestion I would have is to scrape
> off the pickling spice before you smoke it. Add some plain ol
> rub instead. Coriander and black pepper is traditional, but
> use whatever you like. I add in some garlic powder.

I also soak in plain water for about 6 hours before putting it on the pit to
reduce a lot of the saltiness.
--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

"Nonnymus" > wrote in message
> The result was a very dense brisket slice with the pinkish color of the
> dyed commercial corned beef. There was a dark crust on the very outside.

The commercial stuff is not died. The pink color comes from the nitrites in
the cure. Take a look at a hot dog or a ham.

When I cure my own briskets I get the pink also. I soak it in water for a
few hours to get rid of the excess salt also, then rub with black pepper,
garlic, and coriander before smoking..

On Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:55:11 -0800, Nonnymus > wrote:

>There's been a lot written and many comments on smoking a corned beef,
>so I had to give it a try. My approach was to get a Kroger brisket
>(flat) and a box of pickling spice to kick it up some. The corned beef
>was removed from the bag and the liquid poured into the flat vacuum
>marinading dish I use with my Foodsaver. I also sprinkled the brisket
>with the packet of spice that came with it, along with another handful
>of commercial pickling spice. It was then put under vacuum in the
>refrigerator for 1-1/2 days to drive in some flavor.
>
>As an aside, one complaint we have about the commercial bagged corned
>beef is that after cooking it with cabbage, it really lacks much flavor.
> I was attempting to get some additional flavor into the meat before
>smoking it.
>
>The brisket was then placed fat side up on a Bradley rack and smoked at
>240f for 6 hours with Hickory. At that time, the internal temperature
>was 172f and the meat had a great color. I then removed the brisket
>from the rack,wrapped it in foil and returned it for another 6+ hours at
>220f. The pit I have uses the BBQ Guru, so the meat's internal temp
>sometime during the final 6 hours hit 190f, and was held there until I
>removed it. The brisket was then chilled overnight. This AM, I scraped
>off the pickling spice on the meat side and cut off the fat cap. The
>resulting chilled brisket was thin sliced on a commercial meat slicer
>for later use in sandwiches.
>
>The result was a very dense brisket slice with the pinkish color of the
>dyed commercial corned beef. There was a dark crust on the very
>outside. The taste testers agreed with me that while it was a bit
>salty, there was a great corned beef/pastrami flavor without being
>overpowering. In retrospect, when I do it again, I'll use a home made
>pickling spice that does not have any additional salt. My "take" on the
>issue is that since the corned beef is traditionally boiled, the
>additional salt from the pickling process is leeched out of the meat to
>a large extent and seasons the cabbage. By smoking it right out of the
>bag, so to speak, the salt is not rinsed off or leeched out of the
>brisket, leaving it a tad salty. This is not any different from frying
>up a slab of country ham without soaking it in water, IMHO.
>
>Nonny


I know this is an older post but I'm thinking about giving this a try.
I'm confused though on why you would want the internal temp on a cut
like this so high? It's beef not pork. Is it really necessary to smoke
it that long and that hot? Thanks.

Shinglhed

On 27-Jul-2009, wrote:

> On Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:55:11 -0800, Nonnymus > wrote:
>
> >There's been a lot written and many comments on smoking a corned beef,
> >so I had to give it a try. My approach was to get a Kroger brisket
> >(flat) and a box of pickling spice to kick it up some. The corned beef
> >was removed from the bag and the liquid poured into the flat vacuum
> >marinading dish I use with my Foodsaver. I also sprinkled the brisket
> >with the packet of spice that came with it, along with another handful
> >of commercial pickling spice. It was then put under vacuum in the
> >refrigerator for 1-1/2 days to drive in some flavor.
> >
> >As an aside, one complaint we have about the commercial bagged corned
> >beef is that after cooking it with cabbage, it really lacks much flavor.
> >
> > I was attempting to get some additional flavor into the meat before
> >smoking it.
> >
> >The brisket was then placed fat side up on a Bradley rack and smoked at
> >240f for 6 hours with Hickory. At that time, the internal temperature
> >was 172f and the meat had a great color. I then removed the brisket
> >from the rack,wrapped it in foil and returned it for another 6+ hours at
> >
> >220f. The pit I have uses the BBQ Guru, so the meat's internal temp
> >sometime during the final 6 hours hit 190f, and was held there until I
> >removed it. The brisket was then chilled overnight. This AM, I scraped
> >
> >off the pickling spice on the meat side and cut off the fat cap. The
> >resulting chilled brisket was thin sliced on a commercial meat slicer
> >for later use in sandwiches.
> >
> >The result was a very dense brisket slice with the pinkish color of the
> >dyed commercial corned beef. There was a dark crust on the very
> >outside. The taste testers agreed with me that while it was a bit
> >salty, there was a great corned beef/pastrami flavor without being
> >overpowering. In retrospect, when I do it again, I'll use a home made
> >pickling spice that does not have any additional salt. My "take" on the
> >
> >issue is that since the corned beef is traditionally boiled, the
> >additional salt from the pickling process is leeched out of the meat to
> >a large extent and seasons the cabbage. By smoking it right out of the
> >bag, so to speak, the salt is not rinsed off or leeched out of the
> >brisket, leaving it a tad salty. This is not any different from frying
> >up a slab of country ham without soaking it in water, IMHO.
> >
> >Nonny
>
>
> I know this is an older post but I'm thinking about giving this a try.
> I'm confused though on why you would want the internal temp on a cut
> like this so high? It's beef not pork. Is it really necessary to smoke
> it that long and that hot? Thanks.
>
> Shinglhed

Yes, if you want it tender enough to eat. The beef cuts traditionally used
for corned beef are tough as hell until cooked to death. Thus cooking
low and slow until all/most of the collagen breaks down is the norm.
The corning process does little to tenderize the meat.

--
Brick (Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess.
They always run out of other people's money.
Magaret Thatcher, 5 Feb 1976)

Brick wrote:
> On 27-Jul-2009, wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:55:11 -0800, Nonnymus > wrote:
>>
>>> There's been a lot written and many comments on smoking a corned beef,
>>> so I had to give it a try. My approach was to get a Kroger brisket
>>> (flat) and a box of pickling spice to kick it up some. The corned beef
>>> was removed from the bag and the liquid poured into the flat vacuum
>>> marinading dish I use with my Foodsaver. I also sprinkled the brisket
>>> with the packet of spice that came with it, along with another handful
>>> of commercial pickling spice. It was then put under vacuum in the
>>> refrigerator for 1-1/2 days to drive in some flavor.
>>>
>>> As an aside, one complaint we have about the commercial bagged corned
>>> beef is that after cooking it with cabbage, it really lacks much flavor.
>>>
>>> I was attempting to get some additional flavor into the meat before
>>> smoking it.
>>>
>>> The brisket was then placed fat side up on a Bradley rack and smoked at
>>> 240f for 6 hours with Hickory. At that time, the internal temperature
>>> was 172f and the meat had a great color. I then removed the brisket
>> >from the rack,wrapped it in foil and returned it for another 6+ hours at
>>> 220f. The pit I have uses the BBQ Guru, so the meat's internal temp
>>> sometime during the final 6 hours hit 190f, and was held there until I
>>> removed it. The brisket was then chilled overnight. This AM, I scraped
>>>
>>> off the pickling spice on the meat side and cut off the fat cap. The
>>> resulting chilled brisket was thin sliced on a commercial meat slicer
>>> for later use in sandwiches.
>>>
>>> The result was a very dense brisket slice with the pinkish color of the
>>> dyed commercial corned beef. There was a dark crust on the very
>>> outside. The taste testers agreed with me that while it was a bit
>>> salty, there was a great corned beef/pastrami flavor without being
>>> overpowering. In retrospect, when I do it again, I'll use a home made
>>> pickling spice that does not have any additional salt. My "take" on the
>>>
>>> issue is that since the corned beef is traditionally boiled, the
>>> additional salt from the pickling process is leeched out of the meat to
>>> a large extent and seasons the cabbage. By smoking it right out of the
>>> bag, so to speak, the salt is not rinsed off or leeched out of the
>>> brisket, leaving it a tad salty. This is not any different from frying
>>> up a slab of country ham without soaking it in water, IMHO.
>>>
>>> Nonny
>>
>> I know this is an older post but I'm thinking about giving this a try.
>> I'm confused though on why you would want the internal temp on a cut
>> like this so high? It's beef not pork. Is it really necessary to smoke
>> it that long and that hot? Thanks.
>>
>> Shinglhed
>
> Yes, if you want it tender enough to eat. The beef cuts traditionally used
> for corned beef are tough as hell until cooked to death. Thus cooking
> low and slow until all/most of the collagen breaks down is the norm.
> The corning process does little to tenderize the meat.
>

Brick - Don't make that so negative :-) It's not "cooked to death", it's
cooked with love. Just because the goal is 190F, doesn't mean it's
cooked to death.

Bob

Bob

> wrote in message
>> I also sprinkled the brisket
>>with the packet of spice that came with it, along with another handful
>>of commercial pickling spice. It was then put under vacuum in the
>>refrigerator for 1-1/2 days to drive in some flavor.

>>
>>The result was a very dense brisket slice with the pinkish color of the
>>dyed commercial corned beef.
>>Nonny
>
>
> I know this is an older post but I'm thinking about giving this a try.
> I'm confused though on why you would want the internal temp on a cut
> like this so high? It's beef not pork. Is it really necessary to smoke
> it that long and that hot? Thanks.
>
> Shinglhed

I'd use a rub with coriander and garlic to make a traditional pastrami like
flavor rather than the pickling spices. Personal preference, use what you
like.

The commercial meat is not dyed it is a reaction of the nitrites in the cure
making the meat pink. I get the same thing when I corn my own beef.

As for the temperature, I always cook brisket to at least 185 for the most
tender meat. Brisket is about the toughest meat you can buy and the
collagen has to be broken down. If you have a commercial meat slicer and
can shave it, you can get away with less.