Hickory Smoked Corned Beef and Cabbage

First let me say that I love Corned Beef and Cabbage and have always simmered my Corned Beef for hours before preparing the cabbage, onions, carrots, and potatoes.  I have never cooked a Corned Beef in the oven so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I chose to smoke my first Corned Beef.

Soaked the Corned Beef in water for 3 hours.  Changed the water every hour.  The Corned Beef had a pale appearance.  Dusted a small amount of spices just for grins.

PID @ 250º / 2 hours of hickory / pulled when Internal Temperature reached 158º. It  took 4 ¼ hours (it was 3.77 lbs).  It sure looked and smelled great!!  So far so good …

Here is the Corned Beef brisket after resting in foil for 20 minutes.  Certainly had a great smoke infused flavor and was quite moist … BUT as I sampled a slice I found it to be very tough, leathery, to the point where I could have used it for stick of gum cause I chewed, chewed, and then chewed but it kept it’s consistency.  Wasn’t anything like the boiled Corned Beef that I have enjoyed for so many years.  But it sure smelled and looked great.

Popped it in the oven at 450º for 20 minutes to see if it would become chewable.
Here is the $$shot served with some boiled cabbage, onions, carrots and steamed potatoes.

Alas, it was still tough!  Tried my best to chew a few pieces of Corned Beef but to no avail.  Since I love vegetables I decided to turn this into a vegan meal.  My thoughts are that I don’t think I did anything wrong since the Corned Beef was certainly cooked.  For now I will just revert to simmering my Corned Beef for hours on the stove.  Maybe those that have smoked a Corned Beef for immediate consumption might share their thoughts on the subject.  Should I have smoked the Corned Beef and placed it in the fridge overnight and served it tomorrow?  For clarification, I was not trying to make Corned Beef Pastrami.