I started smoking by jumping in the deep end with brisket, I wish I had smoked corned beef brisket first. This is such a great first smoke to an amazing dinner no matter the occasion. Keep in mind how good sliced corned beef is, make an extra one for homemade cold cuts.
If this is your first time smoking, remember to keep it simple, or as we say in the SEAL Teams, KISS. The first thing to do is bring the smoker or BBQ up to temperature. Then rinse off the corned beef and put it on the grill grates to smoke. Wait until the bark forms and wrap it in aluminum foil until 200°F internal temperature.
Recipe Highlights
Beyond the recipe: When you find corned beef on special grab two, so you have a wonderful dinner and sliced corned beef cold cuts for the next week. Another smoking recipe that gives more than one meal is our smoked pork butt. It takes longer but is so worth it.
Equipment you will need: Smoker or BBQ with an indirect cooking setup and a remote meat thermometer.
Time for this recipe: A bit over 6 hours.
Servings: A 3 lbs. smoked corned beef brisket fed the 4 of us with leftovers as sliced beef for lunch that week.
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Sliced corned beef
What is so great about smoked corned beef is that it can be used as the main course or cold cuts for sandwiches. It just comes down to how you sliced the corned beef. For a main course, I go about a ¼ inch thick. When making cold cuts with the smoked corned beef brisket it is a personal preference. I’ll go nice and thin for a cold sandwich. If I’m doing corned beef brisket sliders, my slices are an ⅛ inch thick.
Ingredients
Remember, KISS, you just need a corned beef brisket. If you want, we have a homemade corned beef seasoning pack, too. It is made with staple spices right from your cupboard.
Keep reading down to the recipe card for specific ingredients and amounts.
Smoking corned beef brisket
Smoking a corned beef brisket is so uncomplicated. Buy a suitable size corned beef brisket, 3 lbs. fed the four of us easily. Pick your smoker or BBQ smoking wood and put the corned beef on the grill grates to smoke. If you prefer your corned beef with a more subtle taste, you can soak it overnight to lessen the salty flavor.
Season & Prep.
Smoke.
Wrap.
Slice & Enjoy!
Smoker tips
- I used cherry wood for smoking the corned beef. It brought a nice sweetness. For more options, check out the section on “smoking wood” in our smoked sausage post.
- Unlike a whole brisket, you will not be taking the corned beef to 185°F before wrapping. You wrap at around 160°F, once there is a light bark.
- If using a drip pan, BBQers, fill it full of water or have a heatproof container with water to bring moisture into the smoking chamber.
- Smoke two corned beef and use the second to make cold cuts. You can freeze them to have later.
How about some potatoes
Equipment
- Smoker or BBQ with indirect cooking setup
- Remote thermometer with sensors
- Drip pan or heatproof container
- Heavy duty aluminum foil
- Smoking wood
Storage / Reheat / Leftovers
- The smoked corned beef brisket can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. 🤫You can freeze sliced corned beef for up to 4 months.
- You can quickly reheat some slices in the air fryer at 350°F for 2 – 4 minutes depending on thickness and number of slices.
- If you made extra for leftovers, you made the right call. You can take the remaining corned beef and slice it thin for cold cuts in a sandwich. I like to warm some slices on the griddle for corned beef sliders.
Smoked corned beef brisket
Equipment
- Smoker or BBQ with indirect cooking setup
- Remote thermometer with sensors
- Heavy duty aluminum foil
- Disposable aluminum pan (10 by 14)
- BBQ tongs
Ingredients
- 2 Corned beef briskets
Corned beef seasoning pack
- 3 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3 teaspoons onion powder
- 3 teaspoons brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons ground thyme
- Mustard (Optional)
Instructions
Season & Prep
- OPTIONAL: If you want to lessen the salty flavor of the corned beef you can unpack it and rinse it off the day before. Then add it to a pot or bowl big enough to soak the corned beef brisket in the fridge. I poke it with a fork to aid in removing the brine. I empty the water and repeat once more before bed.
- Preheat the smoker or BBQ grill with an indirect cooking setup to 250℉.
- Unpack the corned beef brisket, rinse it, and pat it dry. Set aside on a tray to season.
- Make the homemade corned beef seasoning pack by combining all the spices in a bowl.
- Coat the corned beef brisket with our homemade seasoning and insert the remote thermometer sensor.(OPTIONAL) For a bit more flavor coat the brisket with the mustard before applying the seasoning.
Smoke
- BBQers place a drip pan under the grill grates full of water and the remaining seasoning. Smokers you can use a heatproof container to do the same in the smoke chamber.
- Place the corned beef brisket on the grill grates and close the lid.
- Smoke until a light bark has formed and an internal temperature of around 160℉.
Wrap
- After 4 hours the smoked corned beef brisket was at 161℉. I pulled and wrapped it with two pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil.NOTE: I smoked two briskets. One was soaked overnight and the other was right from its packaging.
- Continue smoking until 200℉ internal temperature.
- It took 2 hours to reach 200℉. I pulled and rested the smoked corned beef brisket for 45 minutes. 😉We had to wait for the potatoes to finish.
Slice & Enjoy
- Time to enjoy the sliced corned beef brisket. For a main course, I do ¼ – ½ inch thick slices.
- We enjoyed the sliced smoked corned beef brisket with roasted potatoes.
- For smoked corned beef brisket cold cuts wait for it to cool completely. Then slice it to ⅛ of an inch for sandwiches or thicker ¼ – ⅛ of an inch for a patty melt.
Wow!!! I’m making this for the weekend and St. Pat’s
Cas,
You will love it! Let us know how it turns out.
-Sean