Corned Beef, Sous Vide

[rotuts]

would I save it 'as is' or desalt it now or later?

[FeChef]

I suppose because you used point cut it was a bit harder to slice thin then flat cut. I would have left the fat on while cooking and trimmed it off after. Instead of reducing the temp, maybe reduce the time to 20 hours for point cuts. I think also that all these store bought CB use meat tenderizers and some may use more then others so they break down faster then others.

[rotuts]

Yar. the packs I have used said that they contain Papain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papain

I really dont mind it this way. but for my next test ( W/O pickle spice ) Ill try that at 20.

thanks. this will be stunning 'thick cut cold' then fall apart for Hash!

[FeChef]

Yar. the packs I have used said that they contain Papain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papain

I really dont mind it this way. but for my next test ( W/O pickle spice ) Ill try that at 20.

thanks. this will be stunning 'thick cut cold' then fall apart for Hash!

You should not have grinded the pickling spice. I always leave the spices whole and only use 1-2 tsp per bag.

[rotuts]

good tip. ... but once the most of the salt is gone ... why not other things: granular garlic spanish smoked paprika ( Penzy's) etc?

mine tasted like spice cookies!

but on my side i did luck out with " On Sale " ( a key ) of point cut what was not too fatty and single muscle

Pic next Bag to Plate!

[FeChef]

good tip. ... but once the most of the salt is gone ... why not other things: granular garlic spanish smoked paprika ( Penzy's) etc?

mine tasted like spice cookies!

but on my side i did luck out with " On Sale " ( a key ) of point cut what was not too fatty and single muscle

Pic next Bag to Plate!

You do realize that being not too fatty is a bad thing? I understand if you are on a diet or allergic to fat, but when it comes to brisket, or CB you want that fat while cooking. Im not saying eat the fat, just let in on while its cooking and trim it off when its done, right before slicing. It practically falls off after 24 hours of cooking.

Edited March 26, 2013 by FeChef (log)

[dcarch]

Corned beef comes with thick layers of fat. Insisted of throwing them out, I make them into crispy corned beef fat cracklins. Amazing taste! I say better than bacon.

Corned beef with potatoes topped with corned beef cracklins powder.

dcarch

Sous vided corned beef is indeed fork tender.

[Ttogull]

Dcarch

You are my hero. That is an excellent idea! One question - what is the layer of white between the cracklin powder and the yellowish potatoes?

[rotuts]

well Id love to find out how you made the crackling!

on my point cut ( pics to follow on the next batch ) there is enough fat within the meat for flavor to be there. the 'bad' pointcut is just one big blob of fat surounding very little meat for the $$/lbs.

beef fat for me in on the 'watch list' Id rather put my fat credits for butter.

now duck fat is a different matter entirely ...

[rotuts]

on the CB crackling: do you just melt the fat in a pan, bring to a boil and sizzle down to the crackling stage and then skim off the crackling bits?

will try that on the next batch.

[dcarch]

Chop the slab of corned beef fat into 1/2" cubes.

First just render the fat out using low heat until you can't get anymore fat out and the fat cubes (cracklins) are nice and brown. I had done it on low fire and I had done it using the microwave, both worked.

Drain off all the fat.

Get a lot of paper towel and squeeze the remaining fat out. I used a cleaver to press out the fat. There will be a lot of remaining fat.

Once the cracklins cool down, they are nice and crispy. You can snack on them or use a little coffee grinder to turn them into powder like I did.

Don't worry about the fat. They have a lot less fat than butter if you use them instead of butter.

dcarch

[dcarch]

Dcarch

You are my hero. That is an excellent idea! One question - what is the layer of white between the cracklin powder and the yellowish potatoes?

White potatoes and yellow potatoes.

dcarch

[ElsieD]

I cooked a couple of corned beef last week @145 for 24 hours. This is the first time I have cooked them this way. I could not believe the difference between that and my usual braise. This sliced cleanly and was tender and moist. It actually looked more like pastrami. I'll never cook it another way again.

[Charcuterer]

I have a question of semantics, if you were to prepare a piece of pork in the identical way to corned beef (brine, spices, cure, etc.) would that be corned pork or would it be ham? Is corning specifically referring to beef? Could you corn duck? Lamb?

[rotuts]

what an interesting question !

Ham as I understand it having seen

http://www.rivercottage.net/shop/product/pig-in-a-day/

is a salted leg. and I do have the Vids.

so similar but the leg or pork is dry cured with lots of salt around it then hung to dry for the time you want it to

[gfweb]

I would say that the term corn is currently used only with beef.

In antiquity, corn was the term for a granule, and it had no relation to maize. (this is why ancient English Bible translations spoke of "corn" growing in Biblical Israel long before the New World was discovered...they were referring to grain).

Why corning is only applied to beef and when a similar process is done to duck it is called "duck pastrami" probably reflects that the duck dish is not only corned but smoked ala pastrami and using similar spices. Don't think I've ever heard of corned duck.

Ham, in the US sense, is salt/nitrate cured and smoked; so it is more pastrami-like though with a different set of spices.

Re pork smoking...(perhaps interestingly), I once rubbed a pork tenderloin with garlic and rosemary and a little salt, and then smoked it; expecting something like porchetta with a smoky note. What I got was a tenderloin that tasted just like a hot dog.

Edited March 27, 2013 by gfweb (log)

[dcarch]

I make corned pork sometimes.

After the corned beef is cooked, I use all the salty seasoned liquid from the corned beef to marinate pork and cook the pork in.

dcarch

[rooftop1000]

Now corned beef is all well and good, but what I have been doing with the "on sale" prepared corned beef is turning directly into pastrami.

After rinsing the packaged corned beef I let it dry overnight in the fridge and then rub it with coursely ground coriander, black pepper and a little garlic and smoke it for 6 hours. Another overnight chill and oven braise the meat tightly wrapped and there you go Pastrami.

tracey

[scubadoo97]

Now corned beef is all well and good, but what I have been doing with the "on sale" prepared corned beef is turning directly into pastrami.

After rinsing the packaged corned beef I let it dry overnight in the fridge and then rub it with coursely ground coriander, black pepper and a little garlic and smoke it for 6 hours. Another overnight chill and oven braise the meat tightly wrapped and there you go Pastrami.

tracey

I've been doing pastrami from prepared corned beefs. I let em soak 24+ hours dry in the fridge, apply pastrami spices and smoke to about 160-180 and steam the rest of the way in the oven to 195-200

[rotuts]

I really like the idea of turning the CB into something with a touch of smoke. In my case as Im committed to SV Ill use some pepper, garlic and some of the liquid smoke. let it sit for a bit to let the liquid smoke enter the meat and dry a little and then

SV at 140 for 24.

[rotuts]

scubadoo97

I let em soak 24+ hours dry in the fridge

Im not sure what a 'dry soak' is ....

[FeChef]

CB pastrami is one of the times you really need to soak overnight with a few fresh water changes. I wouldnt smoke or use liquid smoke pre SV though. Your house will stick to high hell. I would SV @ 135F for 16 hours and smoke in a smoker for 4-6 hours @ 175F till it reaches 155F. Chill overnight and slice thin for some damn good ruebens.

[rotuts]

good tips. thanks!

[FeChef]

good tips. thanks!

Its basicly how i do my smoked briskets aside from not being corned and a different rub altogether. But the temp and timing SV works great, and the temp you smoke @ doesnt dry it out. But I use a cold smoke generator and an electric smoker to keep a low temp/smoke flow. Works great for smoking beef jerky @ 140-150F

[scubadoo97]

scubadoo97

I let em soak 24+ hours dry in the fridge

Im not sure what a 'dry soak' is ....

Soak 24 hrs, then dry in the fridge