Homemade Corned Beef
Homemade Corned Beef
Corned beef is one of my favorites. But I’m sick of low quality corned beef that you get at the grocery store. It is very expensive; the way the briskets are cut are shitty; and they’re overly salty. I’m also sick of seeing people boil corned beef. I know that’s one way to prepare it, but it’s very underwhelming. So I decided to brine my own and smoke it.I purchased a whole untrimmed brisket that was about 15lbs. I trimmed it down to about 8lbs. The brine is simply salt, sugar, curing salts, and pickling spices. For a piece of meat this size, it will need to brine for 10 days to penetrate the center of the brisket. Once brined, the brisket will need to dry out in the refrigerator for a day.Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Allow the brisket to sit at room temp for an hour. Place the brisket in the smoker and wait…and wait…and some more waiting. Depending on the size of your brisket, it will take 8-12 hours to reach an internal temperature of 200 degrees. I started mine at 6AM and it was done at 6PM.
Equipment
- large bin for brining
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 flat cut beef brisket 5-10 lbs
- 1 gallon water
- 1 cup salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp pink curing salt
- 8 garlic cloves smashed
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp allspice berries
- 1 tbsp whole cloves
- 4 bay leaves
Wood Chips
- hickory
Instructions
- Mix all of the brining ingredients together.
- Put the brisket in a large bin. Pour the brine over the brisket. Weigh the brisket down with a plate to keep it completely submerged. Brine for 10 days.
- Take the brisket out of the brine. Pat dry and allow the brisket to dry out in the refrigerator on a rack for 1 day. When ready to smoke, allow the brisket to sit at room temperature for an hour.
- Preheat your smoker at 250 degrees. Place the brisket in the smoker.
- Smoke until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. This can take anywhere from 8-12 hours.
- Allow the corned beef to rest for 30 minutes before slicing.
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