Introduction: BBQ Corned Beef!

We all have had barbecue brisket. We have all had corned beef brisket. This instructable we combine the two..

Corned beef briskets are available in many areas year round, but the best deal is to buy them around St Patrick's day when they are in plentiful supply at discount prices. They keep very well in the deep freeze.

Step 1: The Recipe...

Our recipe

1 Corned beef, this is a "point cut", they tend to be less expensive then a "flat cut" but it makes little difference.

The Glaze:
2 TBS light brown sugar, you can use dark, but white sugar is out
4 TBS Prepared yellow mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried onion
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove fresh, finely chopped.
1/2 tsp prepared horseradish (optional)

For the fire:

hickory (or any other hardwood chips you prefer)
cheap red wine
Don't forget the charcoal! Hardwood lump.

Step 2: The Night Before.....

The night before:

This step is optional, I do it because the corned beef has a strong salt flavor of it's own, this ensures some smoke flavor.

Place a big handful of wood chips in a container with a cover
Pour some of the red wine over the chips

Save the rest of the wine for sangria!

Step 3: Early in the Morining..

Get up early on the morning of the cooking and start prepping the corned beef. Because we are not boiling it we need to get rid of some of the "saltiness" in the meat. To do this we need to soak the brisket at room temp for a couple of hours.

Un-pack the brisket rinse it off and place it in a large pot. Cover the brisket with water and wait.

Spoilage isn't a concern due to the salt and sodium nitrate already in the meat.

Step 4: 2 Hours Later

Pull the brisket out of the pot and pat it dry. Lay it in a prep pan.

Mix up the glaze:
In a bowl mix up:
2 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS prepared yellow mustard
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dry onion
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder or about 1 clove fresh, chopped finely
1/2 tsp prepared horseradish (optional)

Mix the above and brush it on the brisket top and bottom.

As an aside note, this glaze is also very good on ham for those times you want a "different" flavor.

Step 5: Out to the Barbecue...

While the brisket sits and adsorbs some of the flavor from the glaze it's time to fire up the barbecue. I used a "kettle" type barbecue for this.

I start the fire with a chimney type charcoal starter, no extra "fuel" to add obnoxious flavors. I also use "lump" charcoal which is charcoal made from wood lumps. I don't like briquettes for slow cooking foods, I am fearful that the binders used don't get burned completely and end up in the food. Save the briquettes for the hamburgers and hot dogs!

Once the coals are burning I place a water pan on the lower grate next to where the fire goes and then place the coals in. Fill the pan with water. It's function is to catch the drips and provide a little "moisture" to the heat. It also helps keep the coals off center as this it an "indirect" heat method. What ever you do, do not place this directly over the coals, as the sugar in the glaze can ignite if it drips onto the fire.

Once the lit coals are in I top up with additional charcoal and the wood chips soaked in red wine.

Step 6: The Meat..

After the barbecue is lit and heating up go grab the brisket and place it on the grate, fat side up.

Cover and adjust the vents you want the temp in the barbecue to be around 250F plus or minus about 20F. This is the hardest part, you'll have to fiddle with the vents every 15-20 min or so until the temp stabilizes. Once it does just check it every 30-40 min to make sure the temp is in the desired range. If for some reason it starts dropping you may have to add more charcoal (for example on a cold day).

After 6 hours or so you can start checking it for "tenderness". I like my corned beef a little tougher than some (I gotta enjoy my teeth while I have them...right?) so when a fork goes in just shy of what some would call "fork tender" is when I pull it off. Leave yours until you get the desired "tenderness" level. Depending on the brisket this can take up to 10 hours.

Step 7: Carve and Enjoy!

Rest the brisket for around 10 minutes.

Slice the brisket thinly across the "grain". Serve it with your favorite sides and enjoy!

Since I came up with this recipe we almost never have "plain" corned beef. I'm not claiming to be the originator of this style of corned beef. I took my ideas from what I have read on the internet and elsewhere and experimented extensively. Your welcome to modify this to suit your tastes.

This is for the "Low and Slow" barbecue contest. This is something my family really enjoys and I hope you will too!

Low & Slow BBQ Contest

Participated in the
Low & Slow BBQ Contest