New England Boiled Dinner

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Hi Gang -
Know this is a little late, but some of you asked for an after action report on my 1st attempt at corning my own beef brisket, & better late than never. After lots of research, & consideration of the generous input of BGE forum members, I elected to go with a dry pack/rub rather than brining this time around. General consensus seems to be that this method produces a saltier, & perhaps spicier product than brining, but I figured that since the brisket was going to undergo an extended simmer for New England Boiled Dinner, that a lot of the corning essence would go into the broth, & make for a good veggie cook. Rub was simple - 1/2 cup each of brown sugar & Kosher salt, mixed with 5 tablespoons Penzys' corned beef spice (coarse ground). Rubbed & packed the 4.15 lb brisket, put in a vacum bag, & let sit between 2 cutting boards w/brick weight on top in fridge for 5 days - turning daily. Rinsed, soaked 1 hour in cold water, & then slo-simmered 3.5 hrs. Removed brisket to covered dish w/some fluid & put in warm oven - cooked veggies (rudabaga, potatos, carrots, boiling onions, & of course cabbage)in broth, adding each veggie at it's appopriate time. Served with traditional mustard & horseradish condiments. Results were excellent - beter than I had hoped for. Great flavor & texture - only thing I'd change next time is that I would change the water at least once during the slo-simmer, as the brisket was still quite salty, altho not unpleasantly so - & I should point out that I don't normally use a lot of salt in/on much of anything, so do as your preference dictates. That's it - really easy, & great flavor. Next attempt will be a smoked/pastramied corn beef; have taken some of the advice I got to heart, & will not forget it. For New Years it's lookin' like Mr. Toad's Pork Loin....See Ya Later - ERIC