When I get a corned beef sandwich at a restaurant usually the meat has a grain and is kind of stringy. However, when I buy corned beef at a supermarket it smooth and looks similar to roast beef. What is the difference?
asked Oct 27, 2018 at 0:54
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Are you referring to corned beef sliced (to order) at the deli department?– elbrantOct 27, 2018 at 3:06
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3Corned beef in the USA is a different product than corned beef in the UK. Can you please specify the country or post a photo?– Douglas HeldOct 27, 2018 at 9:39
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Corned beef quality has also declined drastically in US over past 20 years. Most groceries sell junk. The others want $$$. Plus direction of the cut.– Wayfaring StrangerJan 8, 2019 at 17:03
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@WayfaringStranger What constitutes quality in corned beef? How is getting lower quality?– Drisheen ColcannonJan 8, 2019 at 17:11
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@DrisheenColcannon It's generally getting much fattier, up to perhaps 50%. You spend $10, and get 1.5 meals for two around Saint Patrick's day. Around here, that is usually the only time it's available. There is still a better cut. but as I said it's hard to find.– Wayfaring StrangerJan 8, 2019 at 18:05
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5 Answers
In addition to the direction the corned beef was sliced, you need to boil the corned beef just below a hard simmer -- not on a hard boil. I have relatives who crank the knob to 11 and boil the thing into "stringy meat toothpicks", and that's no matter which way you cut it. I cook a 3 pound corned beef in 1 gallon of water on just a hard simmer for about 4 hours and get fantastic results.
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Cooking at a hard boil versus a simmer can affect the stringiness of the surface of the piece of meat (due to the greater mechanical action of the boiling water) but will have absolutely zero impact on the interior. In either case, you're cooking it at 100 degrees Celsius.– SneftelSep 17, 2019 at 8:05
This may be due to the direction in which the corned beef was sliced. In order for it to look smooth, it must be sliced against the grain. If you want stringy corned beef ( sometimes called "pulled corned beef"), you cut it along the grain. You can tell which way the grain is by the lines on the top of the whole piece of meat.
A good restaurant's "corned beef" started out as a big piece of meat, was salted and cured for a while, then was cooked and sliced on a slicer. A supermarket's "corned beef" might be that, or it might be a bunch of miscellaneous beef pieces left over from butchering, which are mixed with salt, curing agents, and as much water as allowed by law, formed into loaves and cooked, then sliced. Since they're made from small pieces of beef, there's very little grain or stringiness.
If you want good corned beef from a supermarket, go to the deli counter and make sure they're cutting it from something that looks like it came from an animal. (There are brands of prepackaged corned beef that aren't awful, but they can be difficult to find.)
Nope.! It’s the point cut that is stringy. The flat cut stays together in slices more uniformly. If you like the stringy cut, you just have to be prepared to remove a lot of fat as the point cuts are about 50% fat whereas the flat cut has less fat - I would guess around 1/3.. You can cut it against the grain Still, and the strings will still be evident... they’ll just shorter…As cutting against the grain will cut the strings in intervals. Or if you want long strings i.e. pulled corn beef you would just fork pull it with the grain. Either way a major fat layer will have to be removed, (Unless you’re one of those people who enjoys the fat)but you will have the most tender corn beef after the fact. Any of the tried-and-true three cooking methods will work with either flat or point cut. Yummm
My experience is it can be stringy. But I think how it's cooked and cut is part of it. I've had it at deli's and not be stringy. I have tried different cooking temperatures and cutting across the grain. When I make it I buy a 3 pound piece. When it cools down I can almost the whole thing. LOL
