Smoked Corned Beef on the Traeger

Corned Beef on the Traeger

This time of year, the iconic dish of corned beef is starting to be on people’s minds– as it’s delicious and memorable, even if we only eat it once per year. My wife’s family is Irish and her mom makes an amazing boiled corned beef– she adds a touch of whiskey to the pot and I think that really makes the meat tender and delicious.

Of course, as someone who likes to try to cook everything on the Traeger, all the time, I have taken on the challenge several times of trying to make my own riff on corned beef. You’d expect nothing less than for me to do it on the Traeger, right? I have tried several different versions, and there’s a really good version in my cookbook.

There are also a smattering of recipes on the internet for corned beef cooked on a grill, and one of my variations is below. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

What is Corned Beef?

Corned beef is usually a brisket point or flat that has been brined in a salty mixture of spices. This time of year, you can find them frequently in the grocery store meat department, in cryovac packages. The piece of meat (usually about the size of a notebook) is in a goopy mixture of seasonings and spices and ready to be cooked. I find that these pre-prepped meat options are pretty salty when cooking it yourself at home on the smoker, so definitely rinse it well before grilling.

Alternately, you can make your own brine and use a brisket point or flat. Check out Serious Eats for more info about corned beef. I often get my corned beef sourced from Snake River Farms and they sometimes have an eye of round as their corned beef option instead of brisket. It also comes out delicious and I highly recommend you give it a try!

What’s in the brine?

Corned beef brine is usually a salty mixture with a lot of seasonings mixed in. I mean a lot– you should see the spices and herbs in the package when you pick it up from the store, and they should offer some extra seasoning to use later as well.

If making it at home, I’d recommend a blend of the following herbs and spices:

• Black pepper (whole peppercorns)
• Mustard seed
• Coriander seed
• Allspice
• Cloves
• Bay leaf
• Fennel seed
• Red pepper flakes
• Ground ginger
• Garlic powder
• Salt

Combine all these ingredients into a well-balanced blend and use this for your corned beef smoked on the Traeger. Whether or not you choose to boil the beef for smoke and braise it, these are important flavors in a great corned beef!

Corned Beef or Pastrami?

I have to be honest… the way that I prepare my corned beef might actually be considered pastrami. Because when you google corned beef vs pastrami, you get a fairly clear answer:

Corned beef is boiled and pastrami is smoked and steamed.

So maybe really I do something in between. Corned pastrami?

My technique is to smoke the meat for a while to get some of that good wood fired flavor. Then it goes into a bath of water, beer, broth and seasonings and cooks/boils/braises until tender. So somewhere in between the two categories, and you get an amazing finished product.

Ingredients:

• 3-5 pound corned beef flat in brine (from the grocery store)
• beef rub of your choice – I use my Garlic Junkie from Spiceology
• 4c chicken broth
• 2c Colorado pilsner
• 2c small potatoes, quartered
• 2 large carrots chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 small head of cabbage cut into 3 inch pieces 

Directions:

• Start smoker grill at 225°. 
• Remove brisket flat from brine. Rinse 2-3 times thoroughly, to reduce the salt on the meat. 
• Pat dry with paper towels.  Season sparingly on all sides with your preferred beef rub. 

• Place meat in smoker, fat cap down and smoke for 2 hours. 
• Move meat to aluminum pan. Sprinkle with reserved spice packet. Add chicken broth and beer until meat is nearly submerged. Dot with a few tabs of butter, reserving half. 
• Increase smoker temperature to 325°. 
• Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and return to smoker. 
• Cook, covered about two hours more. 
• When meat reaches 170° internal, add potatoes and carrots, dot with remaining butter, cover and return to smoker. 
• When meat reaches 185° add the cabbage pieces, cover and continue cooking 10-15 more minutes until probe tender and cabbage is soft. 
• Transfer vegetables to a platter.
• Slice brisket against the grain and serve!

Make Corned Beef on the Traeger Tonight!

St Patrick’s day is the 17th of March– in just about 10 days. Now is the time to get a corned beef ready for your family– pick one up from the store or order from SRF so that you’re ready. Be sure to serve it with boiled potatoes, cabbage and carrots, and a good dollop of grainy mustard.

Not sure what to do with the leftovers? I recommend making reuben tacos– like featured here on my blog!