Barbecued Corned Beef...

I want to thank everyone again for joining in the tailgate fun. Dom I hope you enjoy your prize. I know I promised to post a picture and list of the winning prize, but I forgot my camera at home and have not had a chance to upload the pictures.

Anyway, I don't know about you, but now that football is over it seems more difficult to find excuses to BBQ. Tailgating is always the perfect excuse to spend a couple of days in front of the smoker. My wife finds it odd that I am willing to brave frigid temperature and snow just to BBQ, but is more willing to deal with it during football season. I figure for now at least I have all these new recipes from the tailgate contest to try. I mean what kind if a person would I be if I didn't try each and every recipe a few times. That would just be wrong. It is my responsibility to honor all my talented contestant by grilling and barbecuing their tasty entries. This weekend I am going to try smoked corned beef for the first time... Thanks, Al I can't wait for Saturday.

Al & Natasha's Smoked Corned Beef...

Corned Beef:

• Al prefers a 3-4 pound round cut of corned beef as it contains more fat, but the flat cut works fine.

The Rub:

• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon course ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 finely crushed and ground bay leaf

How to cook it:

Apply the rub the night before. wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night. Do not add any salt the meat has plenty. Remove the beef from the refrigerator about thirty minutes before you are ready to put it on the smoker.

Prep and preheat the smoker

Smoke at 225 to 240 degrees with your choice of wood for about 2 hours. Al only adds wood for the first 2 hours of smoking and only use 2" by 2" chunks as not to overpower the meat with smoke. He adds 3 chunks every half hour for the first two and prefers mesquite wood for this recipe.

After smoking for 2 hours he wraps it tightly in heavy duty foil and returns the meat to the smoker for 2 to 3 more hours. The longer the better. He also recommends you be careful when wrapping the meat as the foil collects the juices and make a great gravy.

Remove the meat from the smoker and open the tasy package in a bowl to catch the gravy. Slice thin, return to gravy and serve hot. One 3-4 pound corned beef will shrink by 30% after cooking and serve about 6 people. Enjoy!!!