comments:
MSM is about the only way I do brisket any more. I use the Glebe Kitchen recipe, though I skip the sugar in the curing mix. I use the equilibrium cure calculator to figure out the proportions of cure and salt and then just use the recipe amounts for the rest. It sits in a polycarbonate food storage container in the fridge for 5-7 days or until I find time to smoke it. I cut my brisket into 8 pieces as that gives more surface area for the cure and fits my smoker better, and it works better for steaming. For smoking, I just do it until I'm tired. The recipe says 155-165 but you really don't need to hit a specific internal temperature. For steaming, I use a 20 quart aluminum stock pot. I put 3 short glasses in the bottom, a pizza screen on top of them, then enough water to come about halfway up the glasses. The brisket goes in next. I usually put a thermometer into the thickets piece. Then it goes on the stove. I have a gas stove so I can control the heat very precisely and keep the water barely boiling so I don't get much steam leakage. The recipe suggests you should do it outside, and a propane burner would work well for that. I'll start probing for tenderness at 195 degrees or so - it generally takes a little while. Cool, refrigerate, and then slice and divide, and I vacuum pack it unless I'm feeding a crowd. You can steam it the same day as you smoke it if you want.
I do an equilibrium wet cure for my bacon. I think it's easier than dry and less likely too be too salty. I cut mine up into 8 pieces and put it in one of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000R8JOUC to sit in the fridge. The pork bellys I get are usually about 12 lbs. If you want peppered, go all the way cured, drain it, and pepper it the night before you smoke it. I go to 150 degrees internal on the thickest piece.