I decided to attempt corning some beef for St. Patrick's Day. I was originally going to get a brisket to brine. However I did some reading and was reminded that corning is about the curing process and not the cut of meat. The article also recommended using top round rather than brisket. I figured it might be worth a try. I love corned beef and Ruben sandwiches, but I've been trying to revamp my diet go with leaner cuts of meat.

I went to pick up  a couple of top round roasts at Gordon Foods, one for the corned beef and another for jerky. I noticed they had a cut that was labeled beef knuckle. It wasn't something I was familiar with, but from what I can tell it is quite lean and comes from the sirloin tip. It was a little cheaper, so I thought I'd give the knuckle a go.

The big question now is which cut would be best to brine and which would be better for jerky, or does it even make much of a difference? Also, any tips on brining would be appreciated. Since I have not done a lot of it I thought I would go with Tender Quick rather than pink salt.

 

I think I used beef knuckle for jerky once or twice.

I think I used beef knuckle for jerky once or twice.

Beef knuckle is an uncommon name for sirloin tip.  If you ask the butcher for sirloin tip you will get a roast.  If you ask for sirloin tips, you will get the same roast diced.

Put your hand on the front of your thigh (the anterior or anti-gravity muscle).  That is the sirloin tip on a head of beef.

I see them at gordons all the time and finally looked in to it. It seems to me that Knuckle is the same as a whole sirloin tip. It has different muscles running in different directions, If you check out youtube some nice videos of cutting them up. Top round to me (I think London Broil type roasts) is more tender or less dense, if I use it for jerky I get a different texture than using eye or bottom round.

 so I guess i would be the way you would want your corned beef to come out. texture wise. Grain not as tight together like the London broil roast or a tighter more solid grain as in the Sirloin roasts. I have seen suggestions of using eye of round for pastrami, so could e good for corned beef also.

I've used top round, london broil, eye of round, and bottom round for jerky too.  I got to the point that the least expensive of those cuts are what I will buy when they are on sale and use them for jerky.

I think it was on the Smoke, Fire & Food website that I saw someone had made CB from an Eye of Round.  Seemed like a really smart idea.  My only issue is I do like a fatty CB, so I love the Point.  But I believe the next time I go to RD I will try and Get an Eye of round.

As far as the curing process.  I do not think you can go to wrong with a cut.  Now having said that, I think a larger cut will do better.  I do not think a 7 bone roast (Pot Roast) would be good just because it has so many pieces.  Sirloin, Round, Ball Tip, any roast that is affordable...all good for jerky!

You can cure it with a wet brine or a dry rub.  I have become a dry rub curing fan after being taught better techniques due to Members on this site.

I believe TQ has amounts on the bag, it is like 1/12 as powerful as Cure#1.  Just because you don't have to deal with the lager vessels for the wet curing I would advise you to try the rub 1st.  Easier to store in the fridge and much easier to turn every few days.  And I realize you may want the traditional pickling spices and if so, all you need to do is grind them up and add them to the rub!

My experience with Sirloin Tip Roast is that they have a lot of tough connective tissues. A while back I bought several when they were on sale but ended up using sous vide for 40 hours to make them eatable. They did turn out very tasty.

As far as the curing process.  I do not think you can go to wrong with a cut.  Now having said that, I think a larger cut will do better.  I do not think a 7 bone roast (Pot Roast) would be good just because it has so many pieces.  Sirloin, Round, Ball Tip, any roast that is affordable...all good for jerky!

You can cure it with a wet brine or a dry rub.  I have become a dry rub curing fan after being taught better techniques due to Members on this site.

I believe TQ has amounts on the bag, it is like 1/12 as powerful as Cure#1.  Just because you don't have to deal with the lager vessels for the wet curing I would advise you to try the rub 1st.  Easier to store in the fridge and much easier to turn every few days.  And I realize you may want the traditional pickling spices and if so, all you need to do is grind them up and add them to the rub!

Great tip, I was trying to figure out the best logistical way to do it!

Great corned beef (for me) is when it still has a thin left over layer of fat between the point and flat and is cut very thin so you can pile it up thick. On kosher rye, with mustard or hot mustard, and thin sliced half dil pickle with or without swiss cheese will be on my mind until I can make one. Maybe tomorrow?
I don't think the leaner cuts will make great CB. IMO

Here is an update on the end results for the knuckle and top round.

The knuckle was quite versatile. I watched a couple of YouTube videos on how to cut it up. I used a lot of it for jerky, which was very good. I cubed some for Beef Stroganoff and then cut some thin steak slices. They cooked up quick and were good with eggs for breakfast or as a sandwich. The knuckle was a different cut of meat for me and I will try it again in the near future.

I had two top round roasts. The plan was to be able to take food downstate upon the arrival of my first grandson, whose due date was on St. Patrick's Day. I dry brined one of the roasts for corned beef. That was absolutely the way to go. Bentley, thanks for the heads up. I used Tender Quick and pickling spices, and brined it for 12 days.

We are staying at my mom's house and she has a new Instant Pot that she was itching to use. The one thing that bothered me about it was that I couldn't find any way to use a probe to keep track of the IT. As it turned out we kept it in there way to long.  (2 corned roasts a little over 2 lbs. each for 1 hour). The IT was 187, which would have been well and good if it was brisket and not so much for top round. They turned out very dry and tough, but the flavor was good. I sliced them really thin and used them for Rubens and hash, so it worked out OK.

The other top round roast I was going to grill for Italian sandwiches. I was having trouble with my controller, so it ended up in the electric smoker. It was good, but would have been better on the pellet grill.

Merrill John Messner was born on March 15th at 7:25 a.m. 8 lbs. 13 oz. 21 inches long. They arrived at the hospital at 7 a.m. You can't cut it much closer! Everyone is healthy and doing well.

Top round an corned top round
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Corned beef out of the Instant Pot
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May have found the controler issue
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Third generation pellet griller!
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Corned beef looks good.
I can see where you might have a problem with controller operation.

We have a 4th generation pellet griller in our family.  He's about 18 months old.

Ya cant beat 212° water for cooking CB!