Corned beef and or cured roast beef

[ginsu14]

I want to make homemade corned beef and roast beef for deli type meat. I have a 18 lb. Bottom round. I want to use cure so it can handle smoking and increasing shelf lif but I don’t want it overly salty. Should I inject with brine or just put in the brine?? And how long for each methods? Time isn’t a problem for me. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated

[processhead]

With a piece that large, it would take a long, long time for the cure to penetrate with a simple brining.
I would be inclined to pump it, rather than run the risk of having gray spots at the core where the cure didn’t reach.

[ginsu14]

processhead and how long after pumping should I brine or pickle

[processhead]

I would have to look up the details I use when making pastrami. The seasonings are different than corned/cured beef, but the curing process would be about the same.

[ginsu14]

processhead thanks a lot

[processhead]

Rytek Kutas’s book has some good information on curing whole cuts of meat with specifics.

[processhead]

Another thought, with a 18 lb cut like that, you might find cutting it half and processing just one or both halves separately makes sense. Curing and smoking a whole cut like that as a single piece presents some practical challenges and is not something most of us would take on.

[Jonathon]

ginsu14 I am on board with processhead inject it. brine method would take a long time and you’d never be really sure it penetrated all the way.

[Unionguy1019]

I just finished doing 77# of top round for various cuts of corn beef. I however do the EQ method of curing. I cut each primal into 3 pieces, trim heavy suet, which still left 6# plus pieces. I do 2.25% salt, 0.25% #1 cure, Coriander-Ground 0.07%, Mustard Seed-Ground 0.02%, Pepper-Black Coarse 0.40%, Cinnamon-Ground 0.07%, Cloves-Ground 0.02%. Vac seal and allow to cure a minimum of 3 days per pound. The nice thing about EQ curing is you will never over salt, no matter how long you leave it in the vac bag…

[Unionguy1019]

processhead curing process is identical, however the spices and cooking process are different.