I’m very new to the world of sous vide. But, making corned beef using the technique is something I have been wanting to do for a long time. Usually, I smoke my corned beef to make ‘fauxstrami’, or as it is sometimes called, ‘cheater pastrami’. This time I was going for just classic corned beef flavor and super tender meat. And that’s what I got.
For 48 hours all I could think about was a Reuben sandwich. Sous vide corned beef on pumpernickel with a homemade Thousand Island dressing, kraut and Swiss cheese. Lunch was fantastic!
I don’t think that the spice packet added much flavor to the corned beef. I would actually consider it borderline optional. I did learn that if you are using it don’t place it directly on the meat. As the vacuum seals the bag, the spices get embedded in the corned beef. And there they will stay until you scrape them off, which isn’t fun. So I pour it into a corner of the bag. It does get mixed in with the liquid from the meat, so perhaps it did add a little flavor. It certainly was not overwhelming.
I think the technique I used for sous vide corned beef can be used as a starting point for making pastrami, so that’s the next thing I will try. After the 48 hour sous vide, I will prepare the corned beef as I do my homemade pastrami, then smoke it just long enough to get a little smoke flavor to it. I will certainly post my results!
Corned beef using Sous Vide
Ingredients
- 3 pound corned beef with the spice packet
Instructions
- Bring your sous vide setup to 140 F.
- Remove the corned beef from the packaging and rinse well several times under cold water.
- f you want to use the spice packet, open it and pour it into one corner of a large sealable bag.
- Transfer the corned beef to the bag. Seal well. I prefer to double seal for long cooks.
- Add the bag to the sous vide and cook for 48 hours.
- Remove corned beef from water and let cool slightly before opening and slicing against the grain.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.