Corned beef is a salt-cured beef product. The term comes from the treatment of the meat with large grained rock salt, also called corns of salt. It features as an ingredient in many cuisines.moking corned beef, typically with a generally similar spice mix, produces smoked meat (or  smoked beef ) such as pastrami. In both the United States and Canada, corned beef is sold in cans in minced form.