Technically, what you get when you smoke a corned beef brisket is Pastrami. I've done homemade Pastrami before, and I even did it at of all places, a NASCAR race. Imagine that, a Yankee dish down in Alabama; yet everybody at our campsite absolutely raved about it.
I started with a corned beef brisket, and I soaked it for 24 hours, changing the water every 6 hours or so, to draw out as much brine as possible. Then I patted it dry; then made a rub consisting of black pepper, dry mustard powder, coriander, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. (Recipe for Pastrami rub? Google is your friend...)
At the same time, I marinated a second "regular" (non-corned) brisket in store-bought brisket marinade, and then rubbed it with a store-bought bbq rub. (I was brining the regular brisket, while "un-brining" the corned beef.)
I put them both in a vertical box smoker, and smoked them with pecan wood. I smoked them both overnight for 12 hours.
The next day, I carved them both up, and served the traditional brisket on pistolette rolls with bbq sauce, horseradish sauce and banana peppers; while the corned beef Pastrami went on rye bread, with Thousand Island dressing, brown mustard, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese. Both got totally devoured; but the Pastrami was the first to go completely.
