How to Make "Smoked" Corned Beef

[Jonathon]

How to Make "Smoked" Corned Beef

Learn how to make Corned Beef with Walton's and Meatgistics. Read the guide, and then post your questions or comments below.

What Is Corned Beef?

Corn Beef is Beef Brisket that has been salted and/or cured. The Brisket is a heavily used muscle so if you do not cook it correctly it can be very tough, this is why Corned Beef is cooked to such high temperatures. The collagen and connective tissue in the tough muscle will start to break down around 160 degrees (F). Brisket can be injected and then vacuum tumbled for immediate cooking, injected and held overnight for cooking the next day or it can wet brined, where you create a brine and let the Brisket soak in the brine for 10-14 days to allow the brine to penetrate the meat. Brisket is also a cured meat, which means part of the brine is sodium nitrites, in this case, it will be sure cure. The cure turns the meat a classic pink color, preserves the taste, keeps the food safe from botulism and imparts a cured meat flavor.

Meat Block

10 lb Trimmed Flat Beef Brisket

Seasoning

1 Bag Corn Beef Cure Twin Pack (3.2 oz per 10 lb)

Cure

Sure Cure (included with purchase)(.4 oz per 10 lb)

Additives

Cold Water (1.6 lb per 10 lb)
Sodium Phosphates (optional)

Process for injecting and holding overnight

Fully dissolve the seasoning and cure in the water, you want to have all particles fully suspended. Pump the brisket until it is 20% of its original weight, known as the “green” weight. Vacuum seal and hold in a cooler overnight or for a saltier taste create a 50% strength solution (just double the water) and hold it overnight in that solution. Both of these processes allow the cure time to equalize in the meat, this way everything will get the proper amount of seasoning and cure and the meat will be nicely pink throughout.

Process for bringing

Again, fully dissolve the cure in the water. Using a food-safe container, place the brisket into the corned beef solution and cover with lid or plastic wrap. Place in cooler and let sit for at least 10 days, for larger than normal briskets, or for a saltier, stronger taste hold as long as 14.

Process for injecting and tumbling

Again, fully dissolve the seasoning and cure in the water. Inject your brisket until it is just 15% of its green weight. Take the additional 5% and place that in your vacuum tumbler along with the brisket. Set your speed at 15 rpm and pull a 20 vacuum. Tumble for 1 hour, if you cannot put your tumbler in a cooler you should add ice to the water before you vacuum.

Cooking

A very common way to cook a brisket is to do so in water. This drastically cuts down cooking times and allows you to add cabbage, carrots, and onions to the water during the second half of your cook. However, taking the advice of a Meatgistics fan we went ahead and did a combo smoke and sous vide cook. We smoked for 3 hours at 225 degrees with applewood chips. Start with the dampers open for 30 minutes and then closed them up. After the 3 hours, we took our brisket out and vacuum sealed it in a large vacuum bag. We set our Sous Vide Circulator to 210 degrees and cooked it for 3 more hours until the internal temperature was 190 or higher.

If you have the time, we highly recommend that after the first 3 hours you set your Sos Vide Cooker down to 195 and let it cook overnight. The meat will be perfectly tender.

If you are planning on holding this overnight and reheating (you should do this if possible) before serving, save the juice from your vacuum bag.

Holding

This is the only part that we found to be “hard” in this process. Let your Corned Beef (it is no longer just Brisket!) sit in a cooler overnight before cutting it! This will be hard but try a slice or two after cooking and then a slice or two the next day and you will see why!

Slicing

Slice across the grain as thin or as thick as you want! If you slice it while hot, as you slice the fat cap on top of the brisket should heavily leak down the front of the slices, try to capture as much as this as you can.

Serving

Reheat in an oven (With the leftover juices from the sous vide bag if you saved) until meat is at least 165 and enjoy! You are going to get people raving about this corned beef, trust us!

Wrap up

Corned Beef can be an intimidating thing to cook for the first time but if you take your time it is a wonderful and way to enjoy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Watch WaltonsTV: How to Make Homemade Corned Beef

Shop waltonsinc.com for PK 100 Pro Smoker Smokehouse

Shop waltonsinc.com for Heat Resistant Silicone BBQ Glove

Shop waltonsinc.com for 18 Piece Stainless Steel BBQ Set

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[beekeeper84]

I don’t know it doesn’t look to good better just send it to me.

[Jonathon]

This was amazing, if you can I HIGHLY recommend you sous vide it overnight. I had a few people tell me it was the best corned beef that they have ever had and I know part of that was letting it cook overnight. Plus, using the whole brisket instead of just the flat was nice!

[Steve Risse]

BTW A smoked Corned Beef is also known as Pastrami…

[Jonathon]

Yeah we did a combination of smoking and sous vide but in my mind, the main difference is we didn’t rub it with anything after brining it. Without a rub I don’t see it as pastrami. Now I want to go to Katz’s in NY!

[Steve Risse]

Black pepper and cracked coriander seeds! I have one in the freezer ready to go. Have you ever checked out AmazingRibs.com? Great site! They have a Katz deli pastrami recipe that is cooked via the “sous-vide-que” method.

[Jonathon]

Steve Risse I lived upstate (Albany) and I hated the city, too many people, too loud, too smelly…all of it…but MY GOD the food was good and a Pastrami from Katz’s was near the very top of the best food from there!

[Joe Hell]

Jonathon I make a ‘Katz Deli’ style pastrami weekly at the shop. Prepare your corned beef as you normally do. After the initial cure you will need to rinse and hold in clean water overnight. The following day you will want to rub it down with the spice mixture listed below (I’d advise doubling or tripling the recipe) and hold, uncovered on a rack in the fridge for 2-3 days before going to the smoker. I bring mine up to 160 for deli slicing primarily. After smoking, cool and hold in the fridge. To reheat the Katz way you would then steam it until it reaches 190.

2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns

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

1/2 teaspoon whole mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

[Jonathon]

Joe Hell That sounds amazing, will definitely be trying that! I have another one soaking and this may well be its ultimate fate!

[zbigjeff]

Joe Hell Used your mix on top of 9 lbs of 12 day old corned beef. Placing in fridge 9-28-21 and then will cold smoke on 9-30-21. Will sous vide the following day/overnight. Thanks for your recipe and rub.

[HerbcoFood]

I made some earlier this year with a brisket flat that I found priced incorrectly.

[zbigjeff]

HerbcoFood If mine looks anything like that. I will be sooooo pleased. The 2 day wait in the fridge has now ended and both of the flats are being smoked before going into the sous vide bath tonight. Hoping my lucky stars are bright. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.

[craigrice]

Joe Hell would it be possible to do the corned beef for a boiled dinner ?

[Dr_Pain]

Smoked corned beef in the Montreal Smoke Meat style (slight variance in seasoning and process over the traditional Pastrami)

[badfire2625]

Joe Hell I’ve been experimenting to find a good pastrami recipe for a couple of years now. Thank you for posting this! I’m looking forward to trying this as soon as possible! One question though, are you using the point, the flat or the whole packer?

[HerbcoFood]

Dr_Pain I see your problem…you need paper towels.

[Dr_Pain]

HerbcoFood said in How to Make "Smoked" Corned Beef:

Dr_Pain I see your problem…you need paper towels.

via GIPHY

[johnsbrewhouse]

My last smoked “corned beef”. You can call it that or pastrami, just a corned beef brisket rinsed then coated with coarse black and smoked for eight to 10 hours, then covered and cooked another six to eight hours at 250 degrees to its goodness.

[cdavis]

johnsbrewhouse looks great

[zbigjeff]

johnsbrewhouse I did the smoke on Thursday. The sous vide on Thursday night through Friday and then the placement in the fridge. The slicing will happen soon. Daughter came in from out if town to get inducted into her college hall of fame for soccer on Sat and a birthday gathering for my 4 yr old grandson on Sunday. That’s enough reason for me to delay the rest of the work.