puffy bag - corned beef

adamjleigh

just put corned beef in a bag at 154 and within 30 minutes of going in the bath, the bag had an air pocket that lifted it to top of water-- added some flatware that sunk it for another 30-40 minutes and puffed again. Took bag and and re-plunged into water and looks like it's puffing again.

Bag is not vacuum sealed.

Meat is pre-brined corned beef, Wellshire Farms brand from Whole Foods.

Only thing I've done is take from vac pack, rinse and wipe off the spices from the package, and apply the dry rub before bagging.

Do I have a bad piece of meat? Should I discard and start over?

brian_martin2001

If it's already pre brined, and you've handled it properly, you should be good to go. This happens to me now and then, most commonly with pork ribs, but it's happened a few times with brisket and chuck. As long as there's no obvious odor, I'd say you're fine.