Because of this thread, I bought and cooked corned beef brisket last week. It was wonderful!! Very tender and very flavorful. I wondered why I don't cook them more often. Because of this thread I learned to buy a "flat." Until this thread, I did not know there was a difference, or even a choice. I opted for the long simmer in the oven, rather than the bake. I wanted something that would take little of my attention because I was in the middle of making the "car bomb" cupcakes. Rather than cooking the veggies with the brisket, I cooked them separately, mainly because I wanted to make skillet-roasted potatoes (not a fan of boiled potatoes). We got 2 meals out of it, then I got a corned beef sandwich and to finish up the "crumbs," I made a dab of corned beef salad to munch on with crackers. I ♥ CF

It's very lean, and thus easy to dry out when cooking. I like to use it for making jerky. If you’re trying to go low-carb, you need some snacks that are low-carb, tasty and satisfying. Beef jerky meets those criteria, but buying $4 bags of jerky will bankrupt you. If you have a dehydrator, you can make large quantities of jerky far more economically than buying it. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can get cooling racks that fit a half-sheet pan, or vertical racks on which you hang the seasoned raw beef strips, which you then place in the oven at its lowest setting for several hours. (You’re drying this, not cooking it.) --Here's a basic recipe for beef jerky that I worked up and find to be quite tasty: Guinness Beef Jerky Marinade (This amount of marinade is sufficient for about 5 to 6 pounds of beef, which I find fill my Nesco dehydrator's eight trays fairly full) 5 to 6 lbs lean beef, sliced thinly--see Note 1 2 bottles (12-14 oz each) Guinness Stout 2 tablespoons kosher salt OR 3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce--"see Note 2 2 tablespoons garlic powder 2-4 tablespoons hot stuff --see Note 3 optional: liquid smoke, 1 to 2 tbsp In a large bowl pour stout and add salt, whisking to dissolve salt and decarbonate the stout. Add the garlic powder and hot stuff and mix well. Put the beef strips in the marinade by handfuls, swirling around to make sure all surfaces have come in contact with the marinade. Place the beef in a nonreactive container (a stainless stockpot works fine), pour the remaining marinade over the beef, mix well and refrigerate for at least an hour (more is better--overnight is fine). If you have time, mix up the beef strips every so often in the marinade. Place the strips flat on the trays and dry to your desired amount of dryness. I prefer crisp to leathery, but do it however you want. Note 1: Before slicing the beef, trim all extra fat off the surface of the meat. I like to use round roast because it's very lean; whenever possible, slice the strips across the grain. Slicing it with the grain results in a stringy final product. Eye of round costs a little more, but is very lean and also is very easy to slice across the grain, and that yields a less stringy product. Don't use a fatty cut of meat because it won't dry as thoroughly and won't have the storage properties of a leaner cut. (The fat can turn rancid.) Note 2: I have found mushroom flavored soy sauce at an Asian market. It works great in this recipe. Note 3: For the hot stuff, cayenne works well; you have to judge for yourself how hot your particular cayenne pepper is. (Mass market cayenne from brands like McCormick is relatively mild; powdered chili peppers from a Mexican or Indian market will be much hotter.) If you’re unsure, go easy with the hot stuff. You can always sprinkle a little more hot stuff on the finished product if you wish. I have used chipotle powder with good results; 4 tablespoons in this recipe makes a quite hot product, and 2 tbsp makes a pleasantly zingy one. If you want something quite mild, use sweet Hungarian paprika which would make a product not at all hot but would still have a very good flavor. You can also use smoked Spanish paprika (‘pimenton’) which comes in three degrees of hotness (sweet, bittersweet & hot). If you use that, though, or chipotle powder, don’t use any additional smoke flavor. --Don't use a hot sauce that's vinegar based (like Tabasco or Sriracha)--the vinegar taste will be concentrated in the finished product. The finished product can be stored in plastic ziplock bags in the freezer, and can be moved to the fridge when you open one. I find that a quart ziplock bag holds one Nesco tray's worth of dried jerky. Note that this recipe does not contain any curing agents like nitrates or nitrites, so I can't vouch for what would happen if you left this jerky at room temperature for several days. Storing it this way, though, I've never had any of it go bad. That's partly because it tastes so good, a bag never lasts that long once I open one.

Thanks everyone. I will take the advice...low and slow. I think with that much meat, 6 briskets, it could take as long as 3-4 hours. I may use a large dutch oven on top of the stove for a couple of the briskets. I think trying to cram them all in the Nesco may not work. I'm planning on refrigerating the meat and slicing it the next day. I'll take it to work in several zip locks, and then reheat in the nesco with some of the cooking broth doused on top to moisten. I will cook some small new potatoes in the broth in a crock pot and ditto with some cabbage. Every year I organize a Green Food Day on St. Pat's. It is fun. People bring in all kinds of cakes, cookies, dips, and veggies. Donna, your recipe sounds good. I will try that one for my family.

I just cooked one Sunday and it was delicious! I use to do the marinade and barbecue sauce and all that junk.I prefer serving my homemade barbecue sauce on the side.Liquid smoke is very strong so if you have never used it be careful.My DS used a whole bottle of it once for marinading one and it was so strong I couldn't eat it. For the past couple of years the only seasoning I use is salt,pepper and garlic powder.Sprinkle all three liberally over both sides of the brisket.Cut a large onion in quarters and place on top.Wrap tightly in a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil,(or if you have a big enough slow cooker or electric roaster,use that on low heat),fat side down and place in a large baking pan.The pan should be deep enough to catch any juices that might "accidentally" seep out.Trust me,I know this from experience.LOL Briskets produce a lot of juice. Preheat oven to 400* and place the pan in the middle rack.Let it cook for about 30 minutes then turn the oven down to 300* and cook for about 6 hours for a 7-8 lb. brisket.I usually put it in the oven before I go to bed around midnight.After the 400* temp bake,I turn the oven to 200* and let it cook all night and turn off the oven around 7-8 AM.After it is done you can pour off the juice and add barbecue sauce or anything else you like or make gravy from the liquid.Let it stand for at least 30 minutes before slicing.Slice against the grain. Lately I have been buying the trimmed briskets.They are a little more expensive per pound but in the long run it is a bargain because you aren't paying for 3 pounds of fat.The ones I buy have just enough fat on the bottom to keep them tender and juicy.I cook them the same way as the whole ones. Briskets are one of the easiest cuts to cook in my opinion.Very little preparation and no watching! Leftovers,if you have any,can be made into sandwiches. Enjoy your brisket! Here is a link that might be useful: Cooking times for Brisket