Cooking with Corned Beef
Cooking with corned beef, sometimes called “salt beef” in the United Kingdom, is a staple of many cuisines, including Irish cuisine and Jewish cuisine; in the cuisine of the latter, it is most closely associated with delicatessen culture, while Irish Americans think of it most in its relation to the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. Great corned beef needs to be brined for a very long period of time, so give yourself at least 10 days before the big meal to get ready for your corned beef extravaganza.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts of water
- 1 cup of kosher salt
- ½ cup of brown sugar
- 2 tbsp. of saltpeter (potassium nitrate)
- 1 cinnamon stick, in pieces
- 1 tsp. of mustard seeds
- 1 tsp. of peppercorns
- 8 whole cloves
- 8 whole allspice berries
- 12 whole juniper berries
- 2 crumbled bay leaves
- ½ tsp. of ginger
- 2 lbs. of ice
- 4 to 5 lbs. of trimmed beef brisket
- 1 quartered onion
- 1 chopped carrot
- 1 chopped celery stalk
Instructions
Put your water in a large stockpot and add your first twelve ingredients. Cook the mixture at high heat until both the salt and sugar have dissolved. Take it off of the heat and add your ice, stirring until it has completely melted. Once the brine cools, place your brisket in a very large zipable bag and add your brine. Put the bag inside a container, cover and let it refrigerate for 10 full days. Check in on it regularly to make sure the beef is fully covered by the brine. You should stir the brine occasionally as well.
Once the 10 days have passed, pull the corned beef from the brine and rinse it under cool water. Put it into a pot and add your onion, carrot and celery, covering with 1” of water. Put the pot over high heat and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 3 hours. Slice across the grain and serve your delicious homemade corned beef.
