The ex Mr Pasta got in trouble as a grad student in the U.S. when he was teaching, and referred to a "rubber" to use on a chalk board...it's an eraser over there ;)
This is going back a good number of years...before there was so much exchange of slang between us.
Our 8 year old daughter followed her Daddy into a petrol station shop and called to him, across the shop Ask if they sell rubbers Daddy, you wore mine out last night. Almost a call to Judge Judy!
You can buy raw 'corned beef' in Supermarkets in North America and you cook them like you would cook beef brisket. Once cooked you weigh down the meat with a board with something heavy on it and leave it in a cool place overnight.
Our traditional corned beef is made from very lean, ground raw beef, salt added and then canned -it is then cooked in the can at a very high temperature. This ensures the meat will not go off for years as long as the can is not dented or punctured.
It should be remembered that US meat control legislation is different so there may be a generous dose of growth hormones etc included. That said their corned beef tastes pretty good from personal experience.