Corned Beef- came out dry

[Chicagoland Chef du Jour]

Hi all!

I made my CB in a crockpot w/ beer last night. It was tender, great taste but it was dry. This has happened a time or 2 over the years but I gotta wonder......

HOW does that happen? I am guessing it was overcooked somehow. Ideas?

[Zeldaz]

If your slow cooker is relatively new, it probably runs hot. If the temperature gets above 210 degrees it is too close to boiling and the meat can overcook.

[Chicagoland Chef du Jour]

Hmmm. Interesting point. I will have to check into that. I don't use this crock pot very often.

Should I have cooked on low as opposed to high? do you suppose that would help?

It was also a very lean brisket. No fat what so ever.

[Zeldaz]

I would definitely have gone for low. Maybe you can fill it with water, power it up, then take the temp of the water to find out? Time consuming, but it could be interesting to compare the low setting to the high.
I gave away my fancy new-ish slow cooker because it wasn't slow enough, I prefer my Le Creuset cast iron dutch oven on a low gas flame with a "flame tamer" in between, or else put it in a very slow oven. I also have an electrric rice cooker that has a "slow cooker" setting, but I find that not to be as slow as I would like.

[Chicagoland Chef du Jour]

Thanks Zel, all very good things to explore. I would have never thunk it!

I guess I have some work to do....... I may be back with more questions.

What are the ideal temps for low setting & high setting (I know you mention 210° earlier for high)?
I suppose I could google........... you're much more resourceful than google!

I do have a "coasting" feature on my stove. Handy feature but the clicking is maddening!
I only use the crock cuz I'm lazy.

[Zeldaz]

Well, you know that 140 is the minimum for safety, as most bacteria grow betweeen 40 and 140. The faster the food reaches 140 or above, the better, and it should definitely be there before 2 hours go by. The pot should cook between 170 and 200 on low, and many cook at 300 on the high setting, which is well above boiling and too hot for real slow braising. I think I'll check the "slow cooking" temp on my rice pot later today, just out of curiosity. Let me know if you find anything else.

[SarasotaCook]

I've always cooked mine on low, a couple of times I used medium for the start and then reduced, but never high. I could used high on my old pot, but the cb wouldn't of fit, so I have to use my newer larger one, but yes, it does run much hotter.

[Chicagoland Chef du Jour]

Thanks ladies!........ between checking out my 3 crocks and Sarasota's previous recommendation to check and see if my meat thermometer is working, OY VEY!

I so appreciate all your expert help! Y'all are the best!

[Auntie Jan]

I have a newer crockpot that I only use for soups, sauces....it boils the heck out of everything even on low.... ...makes me very sad!

[SarasotaCook]

Auntie Jan wrote:
I have a newer crockpot that I only use for soups, sauces....it boils the heck out of everything even on low.... ...makes me very sad!

I still have my old rival which is 25 years and it works like a charm. Not big enough for some things however. So I use my newer one. I still love them both. But I trust my old one better.

[John DOH]

Hi Colleen

To Late to dig all the advice things up..

Run this by me tomorrow night after I get back from the road trip, and I might have some thoughts.

Slow cookers and Crock Pots are not necessearily the same across the board, neither would "fat free" brisket turn out the same, or even "well", and so I can understand some of your issues

John

[Chicagoland Chef du Jour]

John DOH wrote:
Hi Colleen

To Late to dig all the advice things up..

Run this by me tomorrow night after I get back from the road trip, and I might have some thoughts.

Slow cookers and Crock Pots are not necessearily the same across the board, neither would "fat free" brisket turn out the same, or even "well", and so I can understand some of your issues

John

Thanks JD, any info and advice is helpful.

Have a safe & good road trip!

[Msmaris]

My corned beef came out super dry as well. It was also very very salty. I think I will stay away from cooking corned beef in the crock pot and stick with the traditional method.

[SarasotaCook]

One thing you do have to do in rinse very well. I don't soak it or anything; but, I do rinse mine very good. The crock pot doesn't have anything to do with the salt.

The dry is probably the type of crock pot. I never cook on high, always low. and, you also want to make sure that the crock fits the beef.I includes the onions right from the start; as well as the beer which really gives it a nice braising type of technique.

[Karyl Lee]

If you have any left, try barbecuing the remainder by shredding it and cooking it in a slow oven or pot on the stove at low temp.I use a honey mustard style sauce for this, you'd be surprised how good it is!