Well, I didn’t get time to cook it Tuesday or Wednesday and so I ended up doing it Thursday.  By then it had had nearly an entire week in the brine.   I was a little concerned about the meat being tough, or stale, or…you know, there are a million things that can go wrong with a recipe that you are trying for the first time, right?

I shouldn’t have worried at all.

I rinsed the corned beef according to directions and placed it in a large stock pot.  I added about 2 teaspoons more pickling spice, some more peppercorns, two bay leaves, and three peeled cloves of garlic.  I covered it with water, covered the pan and simmered for about 4-5 hours.

Wow.  It was amazingly flavorful.  I think it picked up a little too much salt from the extra two days in the brine but it was still, by everyone’s vote, better than anything that came in a package (complete with chemicals) from the store.

Sliced thin, stacked on the plate, served with potatoes and steamed cabbage, with citrus rolled sponge cake (recipe forthcoming), it was an amazing meal.

Next time I will add a couple of hot dried peppers to add a bit more spice.  It was very tender, though, and the flavor was just what it should be.

There is seriously no reason not to take the time to make corned beef yourself.  It is simple and delicious and even a great money saver.  Well, kind of.  It is so good that your family will eat all of it and there won’t be leftovers.  In fact they ate it so fast that I did not get the pictures I wanted to!

image: (c) marye audet 2009 all rights reserved

Post from: Baking Delights

We love corned beef but it can be pretty expensive.  Consider that brisket sells for an average of $1.49  a pound here, and can often be found for 99 cents a pound, and corned beef sells for upwards of 4.99 a pound, making your own corned beef just makes sense.

Just before Christmas brisket went on sale for 99 cents a pound.  I picked up a 12 pound brisket planning on using it for 3 meals.  Two corned beef and one BBQ sandwich meal.  I just started the corned beef today and it will be five days before it is ready but I thought I would share the process so far.

It wasn’t so difficult.  I cut the large brisket in 3 pieces.  Because the meat needs to be submerged in the brine in a glass pan I couldn’t do one big one.  I used my large crockpot insert to hold the meat while it is corning.

Next, you want to carefully trim the fat so that it is about 1/4 inch thick.  I would not choose a pretrimmed brisket because they take too much fat off and you end up with dry meat.  You can probably also ask the butcher to trim it right at the store.  Again, much of the flavor and tenderness will be dependent on the amount of fat so make sure that a good amount of fat stays on.

Once you do that you are going to rub the meat with 1/4 cup Kosher salt.  Once the salt is rubbed on all sides of the meat sprinkle it with the pickling spice, the peppercorns, and the bay leaves.  Toss three cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped, on top of the meat.

You bring the remaining salt and sugar to a boil in 16 cups (one gallon) of water.  Stir it just until the sugar and salt disolve and then pour the mixture (brine) over the meat.

Weigh the meat down so it is covered completely by the brine.  An upside down crockery plate works very well.  Leave it (covered) in the fridge for three to five days.  Check on it once in awhile and make sure that the meat is beneath the brining liquid.

This would not be the time to chill creme brulee or any other delicate flavor dessert.  You might find that it tastes a bit like corned beef.

I will update you as the week, and the beef, progresses.

Here is the basic recipe:

Homemade Corned Beef

• 4-8 lbs brisket, fat trimmed to 1/4 inch or so
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon pickling spices
• 1 tsp peppercorns (I used a mixture of red, black, white, green, pink)
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 c koshes salt
• 1/2 c sugar
• 16 cups water

1. Rub the meat with 1/4 cup salt, place in a large glass pan
2. Sprinkle with the pickling spice, peppercorns, bay leaves, and garlic
3. Bring remaining salt and sugar to a boil in the 16 c water, stir until dissolved
4. Pour over meat
5. weigh meat down under the brine and leave for 3 to 5 days

Image:marye audet (c) 2009, all rights reserved

Post from: Baking Delights