Ever since got my new Camp Chef pellet cooker, cleaning out the freezer has become a major priority for me. Did ribs first, then a pork shoulder. Yesterday I pulled out two corned beef briskets from a St. Patrick's Day sale. One was a point and one was a flat, maybe 3-4 lbs each. Decided to try to turn them in to pastrami. I checked out Meathead's recipe but didn't want to invest the extra two days of letting the rub sit on the meat before cooking it. So, I rinsed the brine off and soaked the meat overnight to leach more of the salt out. Then, this morning, I rinsed again, dried them off and then applied a "rub" of a generous coating of coarse-ground black pepper. On the smoker at 6:20 AM. It's now three hours in and I'm at an internal temperature of 149. Looks good to me so far. Hope it tastes that way as well.
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It's going to be fine! -
My only advice would be to make up a quick batch of actual pastrami rub. Coriander is a very important component and it won't really taste like pastrami without it. That said, it should still be pretty good.Comment
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Well, it turned out tasting pretty good. Not really like pastrami, more like peppered corned beef but still good. But, it certainly didn't get very tender. I've had good results with briskets in the past but this was my first time smoking a corned beef brisket. Cooked them low and slow (225° for 9 hours - including "crutch" time). Hit the stall at around 155° so I foiled 'em. Took them off when the internal temperature was 203°, just like the book says. Still, turned out too tough to make a decent sandwich. We ate some slices just knife and fork style. Saved out a few slices to hopefully make at least a couple decent sandwiches but the rest is going to mke some ecellent hash for dinner tomorrow.Comment
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Looks pretty fatty like a point. 208 and a 2 hour hold would have tamed it pretty good.Comment
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So you're sayingI should have gotten it up to 208 and then held it at that temp for 2 hours? Good to know. Back in the day it seems like the magic number was 190 and then hold it for 2 hours. After an 8-year hiatus I rejoined the BBQ world and the new setpoint seemed to be 203. I figured that was the temp one reached after trying to hold 190 for 2 hours Maybe not.Comment
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Time and temp both matter. Finish temp is not the finish indicator. Tenderness is. It just so happens that for a traditional brisket ~203F is is the temp it usually reaches when it’s had enough time.
These are a little thinner overall so they get to temp a little faster, but still may have needed more time either wrapped or in a cambro hold. Checking tenderness with your temp probe is the way to know.
Also. Pre-corned beef is sometimes not the best cut/quality meat and so may be a tougher customer to begin with.
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Thanks all. I'll do better next time. In the meanwhile, it's peppered corned beef hash and eggs for dinner tonight. It's nice when screw-ups are still delicious.Comment
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In my opinion, if you want to do this right, you have to do the whole recipe. I have used store bought corned beef and it is good. However, I don't think the flavor is anywhere close to Meathead's full recipe. (Which is my favorite on the whole site.) There is just soooo much more flavor with Meathead's recipe. Additionally, it gives you the chance to use a higher grade of brisket than what they offer in prepackaged corned beef.
Also, try to use a finer grain pepper for the rub, I like to use a coarse ground black pepper, but I shoot for about #16 mesh. This is pretty easy to find in the bulk spice section of most grocery stores.
Allow the rub to set for a few days, it allows the rub to really adhere and allows for the rub to stand up to the steaming/SV step. I have found this to be helpful in really bringing out the flavor.
All of that aside, some corned beef hash sounds killer!Comment
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