Smokin' a corned beef brisket?

[Hoorenga]

Is a corned beef brisket a good thing to smoke? The reason I ask is because Costco has a pile of them in 3 to 4 pound pieces for some where just over two dollars a pound. could I freeze these and pull them out later when I have more time? I want to do my first brisket but I want to start out with the right stuff.

Hoo

 

[Bigmista]

If I'm not mistaken...

Smoked Corned beef = Brisket

 

[nmayeux]

Hoo,
Did you ever decide on a smoker?

 

[Bigmista]

Acoording to the Epicurious Food Dictionary, this deli favorite (Pastrami) is a
highly seasoned beef made from a cut of plate, brisket or round. After
the fat is trimmed, the meat's surface is rubbed with salt and a
seasoning paste that can include garlic, ground peppercorns, cinnamon,
red pepper, cloves, allspice and coriander seeds. The meat is
dry-cured, smoked and cooked.


"Corned beef is made by curing beef - brisket or sometimes bottom
round - in a seasoned brine and then simmering it in seasoned water
for several hours.

 

[chad]

Smoked corned beef = pastrami.

Soak it to get some of the salt out and then cook like a raw brisket.

 

[Hoorenga]

I guess what I'm asking is will I get something that tastes like what you all speak of when you say you "smoked a brisket", or am I going to get someting that is compleatly different. The last pastrami sandwhich I had didn't taste like BBQ. I'm thinking, from the above diefinition that I probably should just get a plain old ordinary brisket instead of a "highly seasoned" one and highly season it myself.

To the matter of which smoker I have decided upon. I will probably go for the Bandera. So many brothers can't be wrong! I haven't heard back from Home Depot. I think they ran into a wall. They seemed pretty dedicated to the idea of finding me one at first but after the first call back I didn't hear from them again. They did give me the phone number for Char-Grill. The woman I spoke with was in the parts department and didn't think that they shipped complete units but she checked and they will ship me one for $330 including shipping ($70 shipping). Being out here in Washington, I think that is about as good as I am going to get. I'll probably experiment later on with bricks. I'm keeping my eyes open for a free or cheap source.

 

[chad]

I guess what I'm asking is will I get something that tastes like what you all speak of when you say you "smoked a brisket", or am I going to get someting that is compleatly different

Yes! You are getting something completely different!!

Get a raw brisket and slow cook it for approximately 1.5 hours per pound at temps between 215-250F (times and temps approximate ) and you'll have what we usually talk about.

There's whole thread (fairly recent) about smoking corned beef and making your own corned beef and hence pastrami.

 

[Ron_L]

Hi Hoo!

Because of the curing process that the corned beef has gone through, it will taste different than an uncured brisket, but it will be wonderful! Do a search in QTalk and you'l find a post with a recipe for pastrami rub. The recipe was originally designed to be used with a home-cured corned beef rather than a store bought one, so it needs a slight mod. I used it and my pastrami was too salty, so leave the salt out of the recipe and it should be fine. Also, as mentioned above, soak the corned beef in cold water to remove some of the salt. I soaked mine for three hours, changing the water each hour, but next time I will soak it overnight to get rid of more salt.

I smoked mine until the internal temp was 185 or 190 (I can't remember which) and then let it rest for an hour in the cooler (wrapped in foil and a couple of towels) and then sliced it thin and made sammiches! Even though it was too salty, the flavor was great.

 

[Ron_L]

To the matter of which smoker I have decided upon. I will probably go for the Bandera. So many brothers can't be wrong! I haven't heard back from Home Depot. I think they ran into a wall. They seemed pretty dedicated to the idea of finding me one at first but after the first call back I didn't hear from them again. They did give me the phone number for Char-Grill. The woman I spoke with was in the parts department and didn't think that they shipped complete units but she checked and they will ship me one for $330 including shipping ($70 shipping). Being out here in Washington, I think that is about as good as I am going to get. I'll probably experiment later on with bricks. I'm keeping my eyes open for a free or cheap source.

That doesn't sound too bad considered its being shipped... If you haven't completely ruled out the WSM, I stumbled across this site...

http://www.ewins.com/weber/

They have the WSM for $169 and the site says that it is eligible for free shipping...