The Laudable CornedBeef Revisited
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| Dovid Tribuch |
Over many years and indeed, well over 200 lbs of eating and processing brisket, I believed I had dialed in the perfect T/T for brisket flat, which was 142℉ at 44-hours. Well, I was happily proven wrong, and I am so glad I tried 131f at 72- hours. If I were to contrast the T/T's, it would be hard without a side by side comparison. I'll just go by my recollection, which can be hard given my age (LOL). The 142℉ at 44 hrs was excellent, but the 131℉ at 72-hours was better. As I recall, the 142f version's fat was a little stringy and not as tasty as the 131℉ version. I am trying to remember, but the texture of the 142℉ was better too, but it's been a while. So let's talk about the 131f version a bit. If cut across the grain, it's virtually flawless in regards to the application {Hash, Sandwich, and Roast} (See Pick Below on how to Slice). I do want to emphasize that the 131℉ at 72- hours, although excellent for the flat, would not be appropriate for the point. Fattier cuts benefit from higher temps. I still prefer 142℉ at 44-48-hours for the point.
Anyhow, as I stated above, this is a Revisit of my original Laudable corned beef. I'll give you mostly highlights in this post.
If you can, buy a whole packer. More bang for your buck! Purchasing an entire packer gets you more fat (for sausage or tallow?), Custom trimming, and two hunks of muscle (Flat and Point).
Separate the Flat from the Point. If you don't know how to do this, there are plenty of vids online.
I took the whole spices and herbs (Bay leaf, Grains of Paradise, Coriander, Juniper berries, Whole cloves, and mustard seeds) and placed them in a dry pan and applied a little heat to them to bring out their essential oils. I then grounded them up in a spice grinder. So here is the "Link" to the cure recipe. So this is my goto cure of Pastrami and Corned Beef. If you have gotten this far, you should know the difference by now. 
I combined the salt and Cure#1 and rubbed it into the meat thoroughly, getting into every nook and cranny.
I combined the ground up spices with the remaining ingredients and applied them to both sides of the meat thoroughly.
Vacuumed Seal up to cure. Place in refrigerator for 21 days flipping it every day. Side note: I used the Point for Burnt Ends LINK.
After 21-Day, this is what it looks like. Rinse thoroughly and dry.
Double Bagged with weights to keep submerged (just in case). Into the bath at 131℉ for 72 hours. First, Bag contained Corned-Beef, and the second bag held the weights. Weights, although food-grade, never came in contact with meat. On long cooks, I always double bag.
Sliced as depicted above...
See the grain?
Just my personal preference but when I make a Ruben Sandwich I prefer to warm up the Corned-beef. I take a skillet and add a little water and steam Corned-Beef for a minute or two and drain on paper towels.
To prepare the above dish, I took the SV-Route for everything. The day before service, I SV-Processed all the veggies (except Cabbage) at various times at 186f. Roughly, and I used the pinch test- Potatoes took 45-50 minutes, Carrots took 30 minutes, and Leeks at 20 minutes.
On the day of service, I took a big chunk of the Corned-Beef Vac sealed and SV-Process at 131f for about 4-5 hours. In a separate pot, I added water and the purge (collected juices in the bag) to the pan. I added some additional seasoning that was initially used in the cure. I brought everything to a simmer and added the cabbage. Once the cabbage became tender, I added the veggies and turned off the heat. Fry the leeks in butter. Plate up everything, and you're done.
Note: The above T/T applies only to the Flat, not the point. I still love 142f at 40-44 hours for the point.
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