Bad Manners and Brimstone

Hi All,

Thanks so much for the advice. I ended up following the instructions on the pack: I put the meat into my enameled cast iron dutch oven, filling it half way up the meat with cold clear water and cooking it at 250 until it was done (about 3 hrs).

As I was slicing it, my husband said: "Is it supposed to be that color of pink?!!!" Yes, honey, it is...

Well, it tasted almost like sliced corned beef from the deli, but good gravy it was so salty! Thank goodness the rest of dinner was pretty bland (yay for kids who don't like flavor, I guess?), so that calmed down the saltiness.

The next day, I cubed it and made hash with it, which was quite good. And the potatoes sucked out most of the salt from it, so it was palatable.  I think if I ever buy the pre-brined version again, I'll soak it in plain water for a bit before cooking because it really was so salty!

Thanks again for the advice, everyone!