If it is second cut brisket, it can take a lot more cooking time to get tender then first cut brisket takes. Also, for long slow cooking, I don't think the weight makes much difference to the cooking time. It is coming up to the cooking temp (which was already done by bringing it to a simmer and then sitting there soaking at that temp so a small piece may take about as long as a large one.

First cut is usually very tender after 2 and a half hours, but second cut can go for 4 hours or more hours to get tender (and still may be more chewy than the first cut.

This is a flat cut, but I don't know if it is 1st or 2nd. I buy and cook corned beef brisket about once every 2 years. We like it but it just doesn't come readily to mind when I'm at the grocery.

Flat is the 1st cut and it just needs a bit more time to become "knife" tender. When a sharp knife slides in easily it's done. Don't cook further, or else it'll be tough to slice intact and will "pull" more like pork bbq.

It needs to hit 205 degrees in the middle of the meat, that's when it's done. Trying to time it exactly is never going to work. Once it's cooked, you can hold it for hours at temperature in a hot box.

It is now out of the oven and cooled. I've sliced a bit of it and it is fine. I think, however, that the last time I cooked it, I must have roasted it instead of cooking in water. I seem to remember that the taste of that one was a little stronger (in a good way) and a little more concentrated. This one seems a little watery. It'll be fine for sandwiches, but if anyone has a good method for roasting, please post it!

For me, I always toss it in the crock pot with whatever seasonings and sauce, go to work and return, add in veggies and wait another hour. Serve. Easily 10 or 11 hours. Very tender by then, but not shreddy.

I made Slow-Cooked Brisket and Onions from The Kitchn, and it was delicious. I don't have a slow cooker, and made it in the oven. There's oven instructions at the end of the recipe.

The onions are to die for. Don't cut the caramelization time.

Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds yellow or red onions (about 2 large onions), sliced into half moons
3 1/2 pounds beef brisket
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari, if gluten-free)

Heat a deep sauté pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat with the olive oil. Add the onions and cook on medium-low to medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes or until the onions have caramelized lightly.

While the onions are cooking, take the brisket out of its packaging and pat it dry. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat and turn on your vent or fan, if you have one. Sear the brisket until a golden brown crust appears on both sides of the meat. Remove and place in a slow-cooker insert, fatty side up.

Sprinkle the minced garlic over the meat. When the onions are lightly browned, pile them on top and around the meat. Mix the broth, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce, and pour into the slow-cooker insert.

Cover and cook in the slow cooker on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or until the brisket is very tender. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before serving in the slow cooker set on WARM. (If your slow cooker doesn't have a WARM setting, transfer to a baking dish and cover tightly with foil while resting.)

The brisket can be sliced or shredded immediately and served with the onions and juices. Or let the meat cool then refrigerate overnight. Before reheating, scrape away and discard the layer of fat that has formed around the meat.

To reheat: Heat the oven to 300°F. Transfer the brisket and all its juices to a baking dish and cover tightly with a lid or two layers of foil. Warm in the oven for 1 hour or until warmed through (time will depend greatly on the size and shape of the brisket; cut into smaller pieces for faster reheating).

Recipe Notes

• Cooking time: Personally I like brisket very tender and shredded, almost like pulled beef. But if you prefer to slice the meat for a more formal presentation, aim for the shorter end of the recommended cooking time. Final cooking time will depend on the size and shape of the meat.
• Oven instructions: No slow cooker? Cook in the oven instead, in a baking dish covered tightly with foil or in a Dutch oven, covered with a lid. Cook at 325°F for 3 to 4 hours or until very tender.

• Link to original recipe:
• http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-slow-cooker-brisket-and-onions-recipes-from-the-kitchn-45437

Oh, and my notes (or shameful confessions rather):

I used canola, not olive oil

Instead of beef broth, I used Knorr's Real Chicken bouillon

I ran out of soy sauce, so used only Worcestershire (Heinz)

I took all the time that was needed to properly sear the meat and caramelize the onions. It's worth the trouble. Great dish!

Winter cat, I believe your recipe is for a plain brisket, not a corned beef brisket, isn't it? I've never cooked a plain brisket, although I've eaten some fantastic ones. Out here in the boonies, a plain brisket is a special order item. I'll have to ask the butcher to see if he can get one in for me.

LindaC, there was a thread at one time about corned beef brisket. I saved your instructions to Pepperplate. Good thing I did because I can't find the thread now. Seems to me I cooked the brisket in the oven and it was perfect. The one yesterday was very good too, but the meat seemed to have a diluted, slightly watery flavor. It was certainly not pronounced, and DH couldn't detect it, but I could. It will not keep us from eating every morsel and enjoying each bite.

For dinner last night, we had really really good Rueben sandwiches.

I always wrap it in foil and do it in the oven at 300 degrees...the time depends on how large the piece of meat is. It always comes out fork tender.

I sous vide corned beef for 72 hours.

dcarch

I always did the corned beef in the crock pot, because I could start it, go to work all day, and it was done when I got home. I did have to cook on low, or it would fall apart and shred. That was a problem for sandwiches, but not for hash.

I've done it in a dutch oven, but I did it in a low oven something like 4 hours, longer than yours cooked. I've also roasted corned beef brisket, and that was OK too.

I really like the hash that I make the next day better than the original dish!

Annie

dcarch (who iPad thinks ought to be called Darcy), I've got to learn more about sous vide.

Annie, I'm with you. I like the leftover phase of corned beef best. In fact, the piece I just cooked is going to be used for sandwiches mostly. The hash sounds daunting. Tell me more. Do you just cut up potatoes, onions, and the brisket very very small and then fry in a dab of oil? If I see it on a menu, I order it, but I've never cooked it myself.

enegiram, do you put any seasonings in with your foil-wrapped corned beef brisket?

bbstx, you're right! Just realized it. I never cooked corned beef brisket. Didn't even know there was such a thing.

I was sort of wondering why on earth should corned beef be cooked? Googled a bit and found this:

http://cooklikeyourgrandmother.com/braised-corned-beef-promising-idea/

Amazing....there was absolutely no fat cap on that meat she cooked! I have cooked easily more than 50 corned beef briskets and never seen one that looked like that out of the package.
No one mentions how salty a corned beef is...unless you either soak it in several changes of water before cooking, or simmer it in a pot of water.
We cook corned beef on St paddy's day, but it's an American dish. New Englanders corned beef and salted cod to preserve them then soaked the cod to remove some of the salt and boiled the beef.

Bacalhau is Portuguese salted cod. My son loves this stuff. They make a dish up in Mass where I used to live with salted cod and potatoes that my son still talks about and my mother in law brings him down when she comes to visit. I am not a fan, this ol polish girl just can't get past all the salt and appearance of it.

In New England they make a lot of boiled dinners with Corned beef. cabbage and other vegetables. I find their spicing and additions to be a tad different that traditional corned beef and cabbage but that could be just because of who made it, not sure. I also find it to be quite greasy but again that could be due to the person cooking and not particular to the dish.

Salt cod should be well soaked before cooking with it....Mention of Salt cod and potatoes, mixed and made into patties and fried....made me start drooling!
Every commercial brand of corned beef is a little different in spicing....but mostly are very similar. Perhaps your Portuguese MIL adds some spices of her own to the New England boiled dinner.
Bacala is Italian Salt cod.
Growing up, the salt cod came in a wooden box and my mother who's ancestor was Col Prescott of Bunker Hill fame, would soak it over night, shred it, boil potatoes and mash with a fork, add the cod and at least one egg, make patties and fry them. Served with stewed tomatoes. She called them "cod fiish cakes"...and I loved them!

This is what I am talking about when I talk about the Portuguese version of salted cod. It is probably same thing as the Italian but spelled differently.

Bacalhau

These are some of the dishes my son loves with salted Cod and Potatoes. Me not so much lol

Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo (literally Bacalhau Zé do Pipo's way) is a common codfish (bacalhau) dish in Portugal. It is an oven baked dish, consisting in layers of bacalhau (previously boiled in milk), onion (or pickles), mashed potatoes and mayonnaise.[1] Although mayonnaise is not traditionally used in Portuguese cuisine, this dish is considered typical. It is usually garnished with olives and/or peppers. The recipe originates from Porto and is named after its creator, Zé do Pipo, who owned a famous eatery in that city during the 1960s. He won a national gastronomic contest with this main course making many restaurants to adopt it in their menus and popularizing it through the country to this day.

Bacalhau com natas (literally "cod with cream") is a popular way of cooking salted cod (bacalhau) in Portugal.[1] It is an oven-baked dish consisting of layers of bacalhau, onion, diced fried potato and cream. [2] Use of dairy such as cream or cheese is not common in traditional Portuguese main courses, however the popularity of this dish—in households and restaurants—make it a classic. The origin of this dish is unclear, but a similar one using cod and cream was invented by chef João Ribeiro in the 1930s.[citation needed]

Bacalhau com todos (literally meaning "codfish with everyone" in Portuguese[1]) is a common bacalhau recipe in Portuguese cuisine. It consists of boiled codfish, boiled vegetables (such as potato, carrots and cabbage), and hard boiled egg. It is served seasoned witholive oil infused with garlic and, depending on taste, also white wine vinegar.

No seasoning other than the little packet of spices that usually comes with, just sprinkled on top, wrapped it and into oven.

The corned beef has been soaking in seasoning for weeks. The recipe I have ( Annie's) calls for a quart of water a cup of salt...plus 8 cloves of garlic and 3 Tablespoons of pickling spice and 8 bay leaves....for about 8 pounds of meat. Commercially corned beef has even more salt.