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roastntoast
03-04-2009, 08:59 AM
Doe's anybody have a good brine for making Smoked meat or corned beef. I've been looking around but have not found anything good.

Jules

cmcadams
03-04-2009, 09:06 AM
You're asking for very different things. I don't brine much that I'm going to smoke, and corned beef is a whole process that takes days to complete. About all I brine are birds and sometimes pork chops.

thirdeye
03-04-2009, 10:56 AM
Although I have fine tuned pastrami using store bought corned beef, I still like to home corn some from scratch. Pastrami is smoked corned beef, if you like corned beef, give pastrami a try.

For years I have used the brine below as the basis for my regular corned beef, using it on chuck roasts and briskets. By regular I mean corned beef that I will pressure cook or simmer, like the stuff you have on St Patricks Day.

When I'm making pastrami from scratch corned beef I use the Old Dave (http://olddavespo-farm.blogspot.com/search/label/Corned%20and%20Pastramied%20Beef) method. Dave has a great technique for scratch corned beef which uses an inject-able brine, then surface seasonings, with plenty of garlic. In my opinion it is excellent. Dave does not post here, but is an accomplished outdoor cook. Dave has given me plenty of advice and is also the guy that helped me get headed in the right direction on my Pastramied Turkey Breast, which also uses an inject-able brine.





CORNED BEEF BRINE

4 to 6 lbs. of meat (chuck, brisket, or other large roast)
6 bay leaves
4 qts. Of water
10 garlic cloves – sliced
3/4 cup of canning salt
3T Tenderquick (this will give it the pink color, for grey corned beef leave it out and increase the salt to 1 cup)
1 onion – sliced
2 Tbls. brown sugar
2 Tbls. pickling spice

Put all ingredients in water EXCEPT onion, garlic, and meat. Bring to a boil, stir well and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool for several hours to let everything blend.

Add meat, onion, and garlic to mixture. A large zipper-lock bag works best because the meat must be submerged in the mixture. Do not use a metal bowl. Plastic or glass is ok.

Keep in refrigerator for 10 to 14 days. Turn zip-lock every day or two to keep spices mixed.

Drain mixture, soak in cold water for 2 to 6 hours, (depending on your threshold for salt), then use your favorite cooking method, pressure cooking, simmering in liquid, or smoking for pastramil.