Boil corned beef with the fat trimmed or not?!


Question: I made boiled corned beef yesterday for 6 people. I did two 3 lb. briskets, with the fat on. When it came time to slice, it seemed like half of what was there was fat! I threw the fat away, didn't serve it of course, and we had just enough meat for six people.

Did I do something wrong or is that really how much meat is in a corned beef brisket? Would trimming the fat before I cooked it help? I left that fat on during cooking because I thought it would make it more flavorful.


Answers: I made boiled corned beef yesterday for 6 people. I did two 3 lb. briskets, with the fat on. When it came time to slice, it seemed like half of what was there was fat! I threw the fat away, didn't serve it of course, and we had just enough meat for six people.

Did I do something wrong or is that really how much meat is in a corned beef brisket? Would trimming the fat before I cooked it help? I left that fat on during cooking because I thought it would make it more flavorful.

Brisket has lots of fat on one side. I always cook my C.B. with the fat on, just like you did. It turns out just like yours; you end up cutting off a large part of it because its fat. Just the nature of brisket.
I usually put mine in a slow cooker the night B4 and let it cook for about 18 hours.

I've cooked it a couple times and always leave the fat on for cooking, then trim it before serving. It's just generally a fatty cut of meat--you didn't do anything wrong. I've found that there are usually two cuts of corned beef in stores: flat cut and point cut. I have always had the flat cut, and it's not overwhelmingly fatty-just a layer on one side of the meat. Perhaps the point cut is fattier and that's what you had.

I trim the fat. There is usually a higher percentage of fat to meat with corned beef.

I would trim all the fat off. Boiled meat still shrinks, but at least you can see before hand if you'd need a bigger cut or not.

The amount of fat you paid for is not going to change by trimming the meat before or after cooking. Cooking witht the fat will do two things: it will make the dish more flavorful AND more fatty. (fat = flavor, after all).

Brisket is an extremely fatty (and without the fat, tough) cut of meat. This is why it is often served after a long, slow cooking process, like braising or boiling...that makes it less tough.

Still, I find the fact that you had about 3 lbs of meat, and only made it stretch for 6 people, a bit difficult...either there was a LOT more fat than you estimate (read waste), or you gave people really large portions...a normal portion of meat should be about the size of your palm. (2 - 3 oz).

Find a better butcher & dont buy such a bad cut of meat.
Do you really want to be eating all the animal fat? Not good for you!

And dont boil your meat - simmer it, takes same amount of time but is much more tender.

I worked in a restaurant that sold a lot of corned beef... both in the restaurant and in the associated deli...

You did the right thing. You can cook it with fat on... but when you serve it, better trim that fat way back. You did it exactly right.

Cook brisket on a low light for a long time with the fat on.





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