What Is Corned Beef?
Corned beef is beef brisket that has been cooked after being cured in flavorful salt water, or brine.
When you purchase raw meat in the grocery store with the label “corned beef,” it has already undergone curing.
Can I Smoke Corned Beef?
Corned beef can be smoked, and it’ll likely be the best you’ve ever had. The pre-cured corned beef sold in supermarkets can be smoked. Brisket that hasn’t been seasoned can also be purchased; you can then cure and smoke it yourself.
How to Prepare Pre-Cured Corned Beef for Smoking
The store-bought pre-cured corned beef is incredibly salty. You should soak it in water for at least two hours and up to eight hours before smoking it. This process will help draw out some of the salt.
Give the corned beef a good rinse even if you don’t have time to soak it. Some of the salt on the meat’s surface will be washed away.
Once the meat has been soaked or rinsed, pat it dry and it’s ready to smoke!
How to Buy Brisket for Making Smoked Corned Beef
The first thing to understand is that it takes 4 to 5 days to make corned beef from scratch. Yes, days. So plan ahead!.
The process starts by buying a brisket. Several big-box retailers, including Costco, consistently stock brisket Call your local supermarket or butcher and ask before you go there; they might need to special order it.
Briskets have two parts called the point and the flat. Either will work for corned beef. Sometimes, a full packer, or the entire brisket, is available for purchase. You can also make corned beef using a full packer.
How to Prepare Brine for Making Smoked Corned Beef
Once youve purchased your brisket, you have to brine it. The brisket becomes more flavorful and tender thanks to the brine.
Typically, 1 cup of salt should be used for every 1 gallon of water when making brine. But corned beef is traditionally heavy on the salt. Use 1½ cups of salt per gallon of water. Other flavoring ingredients like bay leaves, mustard seeds, and other spices should be included in the brine. Additionally, you can use pickling spice, a blend of herbs and spices. This Traeger corned beef recipe calls for beer in the brine, which is another possible ingredient.
There are several different ways to make brine. The ingredients can be combined in a pot and stirred until the salt dissolves as one method.
Additionally, you can toast the aromatic components to bring out more of their flavors. After that, simmer the brine to allow the flavors to meld and the salt to dissolve. The brine is then turned off the heat and allowed to cool until room temperature.
Once youve made the brine, add the brisket. Make sure the brisket is fully submerged. The meat might become spoiled if any of the brisket is visible. Make additional brine if necessary to completely cover the brisket. To ensure that the brine stays below the water, weigh it down with a plate or other heavy object.
After that, put the container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days while stirring every day to let it cure.
Do I Need to Season Corned Beef?
With cured corned beef, additional seasoning is not necessary. The curing liquid seasons the beef for you.
How to Smoke Corned Beef
After the soaking process, the cooking process is simple.
First, choose your smoking wood. For smoking corned beef, some of the best woods to use are cherry, apple, hickory, or mesquite. The cherry and apple fruit woods will add a sweet, delicate smoke flavor. Hickory and mesquite are stronger flavored woods.
Next, youll choose your smoking temperature.
How Long Should You Smoke the Corned Beef?
The internal temperature of the corned beef should be smoked until it reaches 204 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, the length of the process will depend on the temperature you select and the size of your brisket.
A 3-pound corned beef brisket will take roughly 4 to 5 hours to reach the desired temperature when smoked at 275 degrees Fahrenheit.
It will take between 7 and 10 hours to smoke a full packer, 12- to 16-pound brisket at a comparable temperature.
To smoke corned beef brisket, you can set your grill’s temperature to any value between 180 and 275 degrees. Your brisket will take longer to cook and develop more smoke flavor at lower temperatures.
Start the cooking process at a low temperature (180 to 225 degrees) for a few hours, then raise the temperature to 325 degrees and cover the pan with foil to speed up the cooking process. The corned beef will be directly exposed to the smoke at the low temperature and will acquire a woodsmoke flavor. Once the foil covering is applied, there won’t be much additional smoke, but the temperature will be reached more quickly.
Use an internal thermometer to check the temperature after the first few hours of smoking and as needed for the remainder of the cook to prevent overcooking the corned beef. As long as you don’t cook the brisket much beyond 204 degrees Fahrenheit, the brine you used before cooking and the internal fat of the brisket should prevent it from drying out.
Smoked Corned Beef Recipes
Cook time: 5 hours
Serves: 4
1 flat-cut corned beef brisket (3 pounds), with a fat cap that is at least 1/4-inch thick.
1 bottle Traeger Apricot BBQ Sauce
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
Cook time: 5 hours
Serves: 6
1 (3-5 pounds) corned beef brisket
1 quart chicken stock
12-ounce beer, preferably pilsner or lager
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into slices
2 cups baby carrots
1 pound baby or fingerling potatoes
1 head cabbage, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
Cook time: 8 hours
Serves: A crowd
1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
1 tablespoon yellow or brown mustard seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
9 whole cardamom pods
6 large bay leaves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons pink curing salt
1½ cups Jacobsen Salt Co. Pure Kosher Sea Salt
1 (12-16 pounds) whole packer brisket
1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
1 tablespoon yellow or brown mustard seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
9 whole cardamom pods
6 large bay leaves, crumbled
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
3 tablespoons onion powder
3 tablespoons garlic powder
Cook time: 7 hours
Serves: 6
4 pounds of flat, at least 1/4-inch-thick corned beef brisket
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon pickling spice
1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or smashed
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch slices
Washed, halved, and cut into 3/4-inch slices, 1 pound of small red potatoes
1/2 head cabbage, cut into wedges
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
Cook time: 5 hours
Serves: A crowd
3 bottles (12-ounce) dark lager beer, apple juice, or water
3 quarts cold water
1½ cups kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1½ cups Morton Tender Quick Home Meat Cure
5 tablespoons pickling spice
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced thick
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 (9–12 pound) whole packer brisket with a 1/4-inch thick fat cap
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FAQ
How do you smoke corned beef from the grocery store?
A 3-pound corned beef brisket will take roughly 4 to 5 hours to reach the desired temperature when smoked at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. It will take between 7 and 10 hours to smoke a full packer, 12- to 16-pound brisket at a comparable temperature.
Should you smoke corned beef?
Because the smoke adds a flavor that only improves the flavor of the meat, smoked corned beef is even better. A generous rub adds a new dimension of flavor to the meat. My journey to the recipe below was a long one. I adore pastrami sandwiches, which are made from corned beef that has been cured with particular herbs and spices.
How to-cook a store bought corned beef brisket?
Turn your meat over with the fat side down to protect it while you grill or roast. Cooking with the fat side down shields the meat from the intense heat produced by the fire because the majority of cookers and barbecue pots generate heat from below.