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

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