How much does it cost to heat "corned beef brisket" for 2 hours at 350 degrees?

[Home Guy]

So if you are also in Ontario (you don't say) then you must live in a low-density, rural area (so you're paying a lot less for property taxes).

If you look at this:

You'll see that if you're served by Toronto Hydro (and you're on time-of-day billing) then you're paying 6.3 cents for off-peak and 11.8 cents for peak rate. On top of that, you're paying about 3.3 cents for transmission / distribution / regulatory, and a flat $19 per month for Toronto Hydro to pay their executives a nice big salary.

So including these extra charges, that works out to 15 cents per kwh for peak demand hours, and 9.6 cents for off-peak.

I think you need to get off the grid - or move to an urban area where you aren't being gouged paying for electricity. But take heart - at least you/we are not being screwed up the ass like they are in California.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Use a crock pot. Oven is too inefficient for that much meat.

Where do you live that you pay those rates? I thought we were high at

19¢.

[Me]

$11,456.83

[George]

Since typical corned beef is around that weight maybe just cut it in half. That way you only need to run the oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes each time?

[George]

And the slow braising in the crockpot is perfect for a tough cut. Throw it in the pot with some root vegetables and open 8 hours later for some good eating.

[trader4]

Why would you run the oven twice, instead of once? Two pounds is small for a corned beef. I just bought one that's almost 4 pounds. You cook it once and you can keep it for a week in the fridge. I just use it for sandwiches. And whateve weight you start with, you lose probably 25% during cooking.

[Ed Pawlowski]

It does not work that way. Half the weight does not equal half the time. In order to make a tough cut, like brisket, tender, you have to bring it up to 163 degrees and hold it there until the collagen breaks down.

Same idea when making bbq. You have to take the time.

[Mitt Romley]

If your wife is a good cook, STFU and enjoy the brisket! Sheeeesh!

[Banter]

Now that I know it's only about a quarter an hour to run the oven, I can.

[George]

Just being cynical. The OPs main point seemed to be that a very large piece of meat was chosen because of "saving money"

Agree that you handle corned beef like any large cut or roast. Cook it then get a couple meals and sandwiches etc out of it.

[trader4]

His point about what was being saved wasn't clear. I took it to mean that the wife was saving money by buying a piece of corned beef and then cooking it herself as opposed to buying corned beef that was already cooked. Especially since the size given, 2 lbs, isn't large for a brisket, it's actually small. Typical piece is more like 2.5 to 4 lbs. Which is what you want, because it probably loses 25 to 33% when cooked. And most folks don't just eat it at one meal, because it's even better IMO, when used for sandwiches. That 3.8 pound one isn't gonna last long here....

[dennisgauge]

She is. $2.69 a pound is a phenomenal price.

Plain old flat cut, raw, un-brined brisket is $3.99 a pound around here. She should buy 10 pounds and freeze it at that price.

[Arthur]

George wrote on Mon, 18 Mar 2013 09:25:37 -0400:

Actually, I was comparing a simple T-bone steak to the corned beef. The steak seems to cook much faster, even though it costs most to buy.

[Ed Pawlowski]

If he really wants to save, he'll toss a chicken and a meatloaf in the oven at the same time. One part of dinner is then done for the week.

[krw]

You don't even live in a _real_ country. The only way you can voice an opinion is through USENET. If the queen finds out, she'll give you a public peepee whacking.

[Metspitzer]

Where do I get in line for the peepee whacking?

[krw]

Gee, a Usenet fraud trying to be me. I would be impressed, but it's just another AIOEer (just below Google Groupie on the scum scale).

[krw]

If you eat two pounds of brisket at one sitting you're some glutton.

Brisket is *always* worth it. There's a Mexican restaurant here that sells brisket enchiladas (as well as other such brisket dishes). Yum!

Those words are written in stone.

[krw]

The volume isn't all that important[*] air doesn't take much energy to heat up. Once it's heated it doesn't matter. Insulation is the key difference.

[*] However, surface area does matter, which does increase as volume does, albeit at a 2/3s power.

[krw]

Not for HomoGay the impersonator.