Most of the grocers in my area have stopped carrying reasonably-priced pre-packaged corned beef slices for sandwiches. You can still get sliced corned beef, but not in what I consider a reasonably-priced range. So I decided it's time to start making a corned beef roast on the weekends from time to time, and just chop it up for sammies during the week. Only I have had mixed results with cooking corned beef over the years - sometimes it's perfectly cooked, sometimes underdone and too chewy, and sometimes overdone and dry. I've boiled it on the stovetop, roasted in the oven both dry and half-way up with water, made it in a crock-pot, etc.
This morning I took a 2-1/2 pound packaged corned beef, drizzled some olive oil on it then wrapped it tightly in foil. Preheated the oven to 400F, slapped the roast in there for half an hour, then turned the temp down to 200F and left it in there another hour and a half. Internal temp was 190F when I took it from the oven, which was higher than I intended. At any rate, although it was by no means too chewy, it wasn't quite as tender as I was hoping for, but the moisture content was fine - it didn't end up drying out after cooling down. I am thinking the next time I try it, I'll only start the oven at 350F, but also aim to get the internal temp no higher than 170F.
However, I would appreciate your input - when you're making a simple corned beef roast, what method, temperature, internal temp, and/or timing have you used, when the result was moist and tender enough for sammies on a fairly consistent basis? I am familiar with the "hour per pound" rule of thumb some people go by, but have had mixed results with that, so that's not what I'm looking for here. Also, I don't have a smoker, so that option is out.
This morning I took a 2-1/2 pound packaged corned beef, drizzled some olive oil on it then wrapped it tightly in foil. Preheated the oven to 400F, slapped the roast in there for half an hour, then turned the temp down to 200F and left it in there another hour and a half. Internal temp was 190F when I took it from the oven, which was higher than I intended. At any rate, although it was by no means too chewy, it wasn't quite as tender as I was hoping for, but the moisture content was fine - it didn't end up drying out after cooling down. I am thinking the next time I try it, I'll only start the oven at 350F, but also aim to get the internal temp no higher than 170F.
However, I would appreciate your input - when you're making a simple corned beef roast, what method, temperature, internal temp, and/or timing have you used, when the result was moist and tender enough for sammies on a fairly consistent basis? I am familiar with the "hour per pound" rule of thumb some people go by, but have had mixed results with that, so that's not what I'm looking for here. Also, I don't have a smoker, so that option is out.
