Smoked corned beef or...

[PZ]

... as it is also known, pastrami. I go to Cash and Carry a restaurant supply place for most of my BBQ meats - this time it was a packer corned beef (consists of the point and the  flat) - it is cheap that way; I paid $2.69/lb about 8 months ago (has been in the freezer for this occasion). My wife likes me to make this for St. Patrick's Day.

• Wood: fruit wood blend pellets
• Temperature/Time: 250F until an internal temperature of 180F (measure both in the point and the flat)
• Wrapped in foil and into the 220F house oven until an I.T. of 195F
• Rested and sliced

Setting up the cook
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The left probe is in the point, and the right in the flat
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Almost done in the smoker part of the cook
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Some of the point cut up into 1 cm thick slices - the point is the fatty part of a brisket
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The slices were cubed and then into a hot pan to render the fat and crisp up the outside
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My wife/s favorite part of a brisket - these crisp cubes were tender, spicy, and delicious
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[Art Blade]

oh DEAR just doesn't it look delish 

[PZ]

Thanks AB! 

Evidently I did a cook just like this almost exactly a year ago - my Google albums automatically created an album of what I was doing a year ago, and I saw the same brisket that I did the other day 

[Art Blade]

I'm not sure what to make of that. The meat you just used is almost as old..

Seriously, if I found a pack of meat in a fridge of a supermarket labelled "this stuff is 8 months old" I wouldn't touch it. More likely, call the police 

How long can you eat frozen stuff? I mean, you probably wouldn't sample a frozen mammoth..

[fragger]

I thought frozen meat kept for as long as it stayed frozen. Since you mentioned a mammoth Art, I remember reading about some explorers or something who found a perfectly preserved frozen mammoth. They cut some of it up, thawed out the meat and fed it to their sled dogs, who suffered no ill effects. But that's dogs, they have cast-iron stomachs. I don't think I'd risk it

That looks wonderful, PZ. Man, there must be some fantastic aromas emanating from your house at times

[Art Blade]

did those dogs grow massive tusks after that meal?

[fragger]

  Yep - and very long noses

[Art Blade]

wait a little and you may be able to watch them picking up some peanuts and bananas with those noses. 

Come to think of it, it's probably a bad idea to feed mammoth to narcotics detection dogs. They'd stick those very long noses into a duffel bag and completely vacuum-clean it before you could pull them away.

[PZ]

It sure does smell good fragger, especially when returning inside after being out 

The meats I save are always vacuum packed AB, and I have kept steaks for as long as a year and a half or more, and when removing from the package, they look as red and fresh as the day I vacuum packed them.  In contrast, if one just wraps meats in any kind of wrapper, you can just about guarantee freezer burn.

As far as vacuum packing, about a week ago I opened a package of prosciutto that I'd vacuum packed about 4 years ago - was still most excellent, and I enjoyed it immensely. 

For anyone wanting to purchase bulk quantity meats at bargain basement prices, invest in a good vacuum sealer - you'll save many times the cost of the unit in the first year alone. 

[Art Blade]

right, I never thought about vacuum-sealing stuff. sounds reasonable

[fragger]

Thanks for clearing that up PZ. I've never owned a freezer as such (only the one in the fridge, which doesn't stay full for long) so I'm not knowledgeable about the effects of long-term freezing. Vacuum sealing certainly makes sense, now that I think on it.

[PZ]

One thing I forgot to mention is that the prosciutto that has been vacuum sealed for about 4 years is that it has been in the fridge, not the freezer.  In addition to the vacuum packaging, the salty nature of the pork has kept it perfectly preserved, and finely aged, almost like a good wine. I actually trim the fat and skin from the pork to use in the pressure cooker where it transforms the skin into gelatinous goodness just like you would get with pigs feet.

[Art Blade]

Like fragger, I've never had a freezer.. just the ice cube compartment in my fridge that looks like a wild polar region minus the animals

[PZ]

 

I not only have a freezer in my fridge, but also a separate one in the garage - both full of food. I save lots of $ by purchasing in bulk when the food is on sale.  About the only fresh items I purchase on a regular basis are fruits and vegetables.