Monster Corned Beef Patramization (lots of pics)

Is that a word? If not, it should be :-D

Avid readers may recall my dilemma on how to handle this huge corned beef from Restaurant Depot.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123162

I decided to cut it up and vac-u-suck some pieces for later and cook a couple of chunks for pastrami. Here's the progress so far...

The corned beef is Bea's Best brand from Restaurant Depot.



I have not tried this brand but friends have and say that it is excellent. However, the local RD (Lombard, IL) only had monster briskets in stock. Here is the brisket with a ruler so you can get an idea of the size. It is sitting on a Smokey Mountain Smokers 18" x 24" disposable cutting board.





This was the smallest one in the case and it weighed almost 20 lbs!



Here it is out of the cryovac, before any trimming.





I trimmed it much like I would for a fresh brisket, removing the hard fat and thinning the fat cap to about 1/4", then I removed the point and cut the flat into four chunks.



I vac-u-sucked the point separately and vac-u-sucked the two smaller flat pieces in one package and put them in the freezer for later use. The two larger flat pieces went into gallon zip bags with fresh water to soak. Since I've never used this brand I went for 48 hours with two changes of water.

This morning I pulled the Memphis Pro out of the garage and started it up.



I gave the two corned beef flat chunks a nice coating of ThirdEye's pastrami rub and let them sit while the Pro came up to temp.



The corned beef chunks went into the Pro at 250 degrees at about 8:15am.



The plan is to smoke them until they hit 165 - 170 internal (or until tender) and then foil and rest for an hour, then chill before slicing. Then we'll have pastrami Ruebens for dinner :-D

More to come later...

hamiltont said:

Looks fantastic!! Personally I like to take them to 160F internal, foil with some water (AKA steam) and then to 200F. Then towel & cooler for at least an hour. Oh so tender. Cheers!!!

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Thanks... I've read about that method here. Since I have two chunks I may try that with one of them. Is it too tender to slice thin if you take it to 200 internal?

Phubar said:

Dang....that's a big piece of meat you got there Ronelle.:shock:

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Phrasty said:

:heh: was thinking the same thing...

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Thanks for noticing, guys! :redface:

halfasian said:

Love me some home made pastrami. How much per pound was the brisket? I need to stop by RD for the family's restaurant today, maybe I'll grab one. Side note, its always funny when I go to RD for Chinese food restaurant supplies and walk out with a random piece of meat that doesnt fit the standard Chinese food bill.

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It was $2.59/lb.

Here are the pastrami chunks after 4 hours...



Both were around 160 internal so I foiled both with beer. I'm going to pull one at 170-ish and rest and chill. The other I am going to let go to around 200, rest and chill. We'll see how the two methods compare.