You've heard of smoked brisket and smoked pastrami, but have you ever considered making a smoked corned beef brisket? This smoked corned beef recipe is the last recipe you'll need to make a flavorful smoked corned beef brisket for St. Patrick's Day or any time of year!
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Do you like the idea of smoking a brisket but aren't fully committed to spending a ton of money on a large brisket? Or maybe you don't want to spend days brining a brisket to make pastrami? With this easy smoked corned beef recipe, you can smoke your corned beef brisket instead!
Buying a corned beef brisket, saves you about a week of brining that is required for making a proper pastrami. Instead, you can go straight to smoking it!
Moreover, a whole brisket includes both the flat (the lean part) and the point/deckle (fatty, more flavorful part of the brisket). It can take 16+ hours to smoke! Not only is a full brisket more expensive, but it may be too much for someone who is single or has a smaller family.
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Smoked corned beef is absolutely delicious and a fun way to breathe new life into an old recipe.
- Smoking corned beef is a cheaper alternative to smoking an entire brisket.
- The smoking time is much shorter since the average corned beef is much smaller than an entire brisket.
- You can make amazing Reuben sandwiches with fermented cabbage and smoked corned beef leftovers. Or make tacos, nachos, and corned beef hash.
🔖 Ingredients and Substitutions
- Corned Beef: One 3-5 pound corned beef brisket.
- Spices: You know that little spice packet that sometimes comes with store-bought corned beef? Find it and toss it in the trash! Instead, we're making corned beef spices from scratch. The proper spice mix can make all the difference! And you'll have more than a teaspoon of spices to properly season the brisket.
- Cooking Liquid: After you smoke the corned beef on the grill, you will want to wrap it in some kind of liquid. This step will make the corned beef even more tender. I like to add Irish beer, however, you can substitute chicken/beef broth, or apple juice.
*A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Brisket Flat vs Point Cut
Did you know that you can purchase 2 different cuts when it comes to corned beef? It's true! You can get a flat cut, which as the name suggests, is the flat part of the brisket. It is leaner than the point cut and usually larger.
The other option is a point cut. This portion of the brisket is thicker, smaller, and marbled with fat. This makes it more flavorful and tender than the flat. You can use this recipe with either cut or buy both and see which one you prefer!
Here's a detailed post describing the difference between the point cut vs the flat cut.
🔪 Helpful Tools
- pellet grill
- meat thermometer
- foil, butcher paper, or disposable aluminum pan
🍖 How to Smoke Corned Beef On A Traeger/Pellet Grill
Smoked corned beef, or any brisket for that matter, needs to be cooked low and slow due to the long muscle fibers in this cut of meat. If you try to speed up the cooking process, the end result will be a tough cut of meat. For this reason, I highly recommend starting as early in the morning as possible so that you don't need to rush the process!
Step 1: Begin by rinsing your corned beef to remove the salty brine and soaking it in cold water for at least 2 hours or overnight to remove the excess salt.
Step 2: Prepare the corned beef seasoning and coarsely grind them with a coffee grinder. Pat the corned beef dry with paper towels, puncture all over it with a sharp knife, and insert slivered garlic into the holes. Season the corned beef generously with corned beef seasoning.
Pro Tip: Sprinkle the seasoning over the corned beef so there is no cross-contamination by using a spoon. Store the remaining corned beef seasoning for another time.
Step 3: Add your favorite pellet flavor to your smoker (I used cherry) then preheat to 225°F. Choose super smoke if you have that option. When the smoker is ready, place the corned beef directly on the grill, fat side up. Pierce with a probe in the thickest part and set the probe to 160°F.
Pro Tip: Resist the temptation to lift the smoker's lid. Each time you do, you will let the heat out and lengthen the smoking time. My 4.75 lb corned beef took 6 hours to reach that temperature on a cold, snowy day.
Step 4: Remove corned beef from the grill and turn up the temperature to 275°F. Place corned beef in a disposable aluminum pan. Pour the beer over the brisket. Re-insert the probe, if you removed it, then cover it with foil and crimp to seal.
Pro Tip: Another option is to use 2 layers of heavy aluminum foil or butcher paper and butcher twine. Also, if you want to cook some cabbage with your corned beef, this might be the perfect time to add it!
Step 5: Continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 200°F-203°F on a meat thermometer or your grill's probe. Mine took an additional 1 ½ hours.
Pro Tip: If you start early enough, you can keep the temperature lower (225°F-250°F) instead of turning it up to 275°F for the second part of smoking. This will ensure that the tough connective tissues break down and will result in corned beef that is fork tender.
Step 6: Wrap the covered aluminum tray in a large towel and place it in a cooler if you need the brisket to stay warm until everything else is ready. Otherwise, place the wrapped brisket in the microwave or oven to rest for 30 minutes. Slice the corned beef with a sharp knife against the grain and serve.
Pro Tip: Don't skip resting the brisket. During this crucial time, the juices will redistribute throughout the meat. If you slice the meat too soon, the juices will seep out, resulting in a tougher brisket.
🍽 What to Serve With Smoked Corned Beef
You can serve smoked corned beef with the traditional St. Patrick's side dishes or a roasted cabbage steak, roasted rainbow carrots, or these delicious foil-packed potatoes.
Whatever you do, make sure you serve it with some honey mustard sauce on the side! I'm never serving it without it again. Here are a few more side dish ideas:
And if you are looking for dessert ideas, try these Lucky Charm Rice Krispies or this delicious shamrock shake recipe!
What Readers Are Saying
This turned out great! I used a 3.5lb corned beef instead of a 4lb but it turned out marvelous all the same. Just follow the recipe! -Anna
🌮 What to do with corned beef leftovers
If you're lucky enough to have smoked corned beef brisket leftovers, here are some ways to enjoy them!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Corned beef gets its name from the large "corned" kernels of salt that are used to brine the brisket.
Smoking corned beef is an excellent way to prepare a corned beef brisket. When smoked low and slow, smoked beef is not only tender but has an amazing smokey flavor!
Pastrami is prepared by first brining a brisket for up to a week in a salty, seasoned solution. Once the beef brisket is finished brining, it is rinsed off, dried, then seasoned with corned beef spices and smoked directly on the grill. The final step to flavorful pastrami is to steam it, which is a necessary step to make the pastrami extra tender.
The length of time to smoke a 3-pound corned beef will vary depending on what temperature the smoker is set to, the temperature outside, and how many times the lid is lifted during the smoking process. A rough estimate would be approximately 4 - 5 ½ hours (1 to 2 hours per pound) when smoked at 175°F.
At 225°F, it will take approximately 1 ½ to 2 hours per pound to smoke a 3.5 lb brisket, for a total time of 4 ½ to 6 hours. The temperature outside and how many times you lift the lid also play an important part in this time.
Corned beef spices are made with a mixture of spices including crushed bay leaves, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, dill seeds, anise seeds, and crushed red pepper.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Do not trim the fat off the brisket. Doing so can not only dry out the brisket but also yield a less flavorful corned beef.
- If you want the smoked corned beef brisket done sooner, you can smoke it at 275°F the entire time, but it won't be as tender. If you have extra time, you can smoke it at 225°F the entire time.
- Store leftover smoked corned beef brisket in an airtight container or a ziplock bag for up to a week. Freeze for longer storage.
- Besides making sandwiches, tacos, and nachos with the leftovers, you can also make this easy chile relleno recipe!
If brisket is out of your budget, try this smoked chuck roast instead!
🥩 More Smoker Recipes
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📖 Recipe
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Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Begin by rinsing your corned beef to remove the salty brine and soaking it in cold water for at least 2 hours or overnight to remove the excess salt.
- Prepare the corned beef spices and coarsely grind them with a coffee grinder. Pat the corned beef dry with paper towels, puncture all over it with a sharp knife, and insert slivered garlic into the holes. Season the corned beef generously with corned beef seasoning.
- Add your favorite pellet flavor to your smoker (I used cherry) then preheat to 225°F. Choose super smoke if you have that option. When the smoker is ready, place the corned beef directly on the grill, fat side up. Pierce with a probe in the thickest part and set the probe to 160°F.
- Remove corned beef from the grill and turn up the temperature to 275°F. Place corned beef in a disposable aluminum pan. Pour the beer over the brisket. Re-insert the probe, if you removed it, then cover with foil and crimp to seal.
- Continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 200-203°F on a meat thermometer or your grill's probe. Mine took an additional 1 ½ hours.
- Wrap the covered aluminum tray in a large towel and place it in a cooler if you need the brisket to stay warm until everything else is ready. Otherwise, place the wrapped brisket in the microwave or oven to rest for 30 minutes. Slice the corned beef with a sharp knife against the grain and serve.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- Sprinkle the seasoning over the corned beef so there is no cross-contamination by using a spoon. Store the remaining corned beef seasoning for another time.
- Resist the temptation to lift the smoker's lid. Each time you do, you will let the heat out and lengthen the smoking time. My 4.8 lb corned beef took 6 hours to reach that temperature on a cold, snowy day.
- If you don't have a disposable aluminum pan, use 2 layers of heavy aluminum foil or butcher paper and butcher twine.
- Don't skip resting the brisket. During this crucial time, the juices will redistribute throughout the meat. If you slice the meat too soon, the juices will seep out, resulting in drier, tougher meat.
- Do not trim the fat off of the brisket. Doing so can not only dry out the brisket, but yield a less flavorful corned beef.
- If you want the corned beef done sooner, you can smoke it at 275°F the entire time but it won't be as tender. If you have extra time, you can smoke it at 225°F the entire time.
- Store leftover smoked corned beef in an airtight container or a ziplock bag for up to a week. Freeze for longer storage.
- Besides making sandwiches, tacos, and nachos with the leftovers, you can also make this easy chile relleno recipe!
Bob says
Thank you for sharing this great recipe, we loved it!
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Bob! I appreciate the review and the feedback! 🥰
Jim O. says
Legit recipe. Comes out just as stated. But who in their right mind would bother to smoke a 3-5 pound roast? I don’t fire up my camp chef woodwind for anything less than 15-20 lbs. I did a full 22 lb corned beef brisket the day before and it turned out great. Six hours high smoke to get to 160 then additional four hours in covered braising using 50/50 beer and chicken broth to get to 205. Save the braising liquid let brisket cool completely overnight in fridge. Slice next day and add boiling braising liquid to pan and be a hero. Tender moist and amazing.
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks for your comment!
Scott David Parsons says
Great recipe , family loved it, loved the idea of using Guinness (1 for the beef and 1 for the cook), will definitely be using this recipe again.
Hilda Sterner says
Haha, yessss! Cheers & enjoy!