Smoking corned beef brisket

Back in March of this year, just after St. Patrick's Day, I purchased a point-cut corned beef brisket for the bargain price of $1.99 a pound. I stashed it in the freezer for future use, as at the time, I was "corned beef burnt-out" having enjoyed multiple meals. On the last day of June, I took it out of the freezer and decided to prepare corned beef brisket in an unusual way: Smoked in my outdoor smoker using oak wood.

Photo: It's late Saturday morning, July 01, 2023, and I've loaded my smoker with oak wood, and have the fire going. I've loaded up the smoker with corned beef brisket, potatoes and corn, and am trying to keep the temperature as close to 225 degrees as possible, which takes practice in a low-tech smoker. I used charcoal briquettes to get the fire started, and when the briquettes were ready, I added oak wood, which I used to smoke my meal.

Around Roseville, oak wood grows both abundantly and naturally, as it's everywhere. All you have to do is gather it, bring it home and cut it to size. I don't have a chainsaw, as I simply use a large carbide-tipped blade in my sawsall, and it works well to cut wood to size in logs up to around 4" in diameter. Oak is 98% similar to hickory, so it makes for great smoking and barbecuing.

My smoker is made by Oklahoma Joe's and I purchased it for less than $300.00 on sale a few years ago. It has served me well and will most likely serve me well for the rest of my life.

Photo: After I got the desired temperature, I put the food into the smoker and went inside to make homemade barbecue sauce. This is "Texas Redeye Barbecue Sauce," which uses coffee as one of the main ingredients, and over the years has become one of my favorites. Check out the RECIPE with I've posted on this website.

Photo: It's a hot day - 104 degrees - on this early July afternoon, as I relax on the patio and watch my smoker doing the magic. I checked the temperature every 15 minutes or so, and adjusted the vents to keep the temperature where I wanted it, and added more wood as necessary.

Believe it or not, I really didn't much wood to smoke my food, as I burned maybe a half cubic feet of wood. When the food was ready, I closed everything up tight, let the fire die, and as a result, when I cleaned the smoker the next day, I had charcoal to use for another fire.

Photo: After five hours smoking at 225 degrees, my meal was ready to take out of the smoker. I prefer to put my food in cast iron frying pans, as it makes clean up a breeze and helps to capture all of the juices. Smoking is a totally different process than grilling!

Photo: I'm a happy guy as I open the "pit" and display my food, ready to remove from my smoker.

Photo: Like any roast, when the cooking/smoking is finished, you want to allow the brisket to rest for a half hour or so before slicing it.

Photo: As the brisket was resting, I made gravy using pan drippings, cut off fat, butter, masa harina, a little milk, with salt and pepper for seasoning. I love gravy!

Photo: Brisket is sliced across the grain of the meat, and ready to enjoy. I used the little packet of seasoning the comes with the corned beef to add to the seasoning. Note after the resting period the great "smoke crust" the meat has. It's juicy, moist, tender, and most, if not all of the saltiness has been smoked away. I highly recommend smoking corned beef in your smoker!

Photo: Corned beef brisket, baked potato and gravy, along with corn made for a simply delicious dinner on this early Saturday evening.

Photo: At the last minute I decided to add some of my homemade barbecue sauce to my meat for additional flavor. It really added an extra dimension of flavor!

Photo: The next day - Sunday, July 02, 2023 - I enjoyed cut up corned beef, corn, salsa verde, potatoes, diced red onion, with lots of barbecue sauce for dipping. No better dinner to enjoy on a sizzling 106-degree evening!

Photo: Breakfast for dinner on Monday, July 3rd. I made corned beef hash, fried a couple eggs sunnyside-up, toasted two corn tortillas, and topped it off with Valentina Mexican hot sauce. Delicious! There is no limit of what you can do with corned beef!

Photo: Tuesday, July 04, 2023... dinner from leftovers. Three cuts of corned beef, corn, along with twice-baked potatoes, and more of my Texas Redeye Barbecue Sauce on the side, for dipping to enjoy, in the style of Texas. Great way to enjoy leftovers!

Photo: Cut up version of corned beef, corn and stuffed, twice-baked potatoes. Such a great dinner tonigh to celebrate the 4th of July!

I can truthfully say that if you're interested in a tender, juicy, salt-free to prepare corned beef, particularly the less expensive point-cut brisket, smoke it using your smoker, with either oak or hickory for wood. You'll love the results!

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