Corned Beef At Home: Recipes, Tips, etc.

[Martin Fisher]

On 3/4/2017 at 11:27 PM, gfweb said:

I don't see why a corned beef brine needs to be so salty if one is corning for taste rather than preservation.

 

Yeah, it definitely doesn't. And why waste extra ingredients when it's not necessary?

Equilibrium brine (and pump if you like) for consistency.

[Martin Fisher]

On 3/6/2017 at 5:34 PM, Tri2Cook said:

I've been assured by people I've discussed the subject with that ten (or even more) days isn't going to hurt anything even if it was fully brined and ready to go at the five or seven day mark so I tend to go a little longer than I think I actually need to.

 

Yes, that's usually fine.

But with thick pieces of meat there may be a salt, cure, sugar, etc. gradient that's undesirable (personal preference)—so some folks pump/inject for even distribution of ingredients.

[Tri2Cook]

5 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

Yes, that's usually fine.

But with thick pieces of meat there may be a salt, cure, sugar, etc. gradient that's undesirable (personal preference)—so some folks pump/inject for even distribution of ingredients.

If the beef starts pushing towards 4" or more thick, I split it into thinner planks. I'm not at all opposed to pumping, just haven't needed to so far. If I ever decide to brine something on the larger side that I don't want to cut first, I'd probably do it.

[rotuts]

here is the bulk SV for the Cb's ive bought ;  20 ++ bags in the cooler w the old SousVIdeMagic on the bottom ' bubbling ' away :

 

 

the bubbles come from an aquarium pump that pumps air through a porous ' stone ' built into the SVM

 

this has the standard hollow top.  once im at equilibrium , I tape the sides w clear packing tape ( to minimize

 

water vapor loss ) , cover the top w

 

plastic , then several blankets to cut down on heat loss.  works very very well for large SV'ds

 

Ill do 143 for 24 hours plus and lightly smoke about 1/3 and rabidly chill the rest and freeze

 

good eating coming soon !

Edited March 10, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[Tri2Cook]

I gave in to my wants and have two different cuts partying in the brine bucket. The top sirloin is still going in the sous vide tank but I really wanted something I could cook more traditionally with cabbage and potatoes. Thick cut (~2") well-marbled blade steaks were on sale so I grabbed a pack with three nice ones in it and tossed them in the brine as well. I frequently use blade roast when I want to do beef in my smoker and it turns out really nice, tender and not at all dry. So I'm going to cook the blade with the vegetables to get my corned beef dinner fix and use the sirloin for sandwiches.

[kayb]

Good Lord, @rotuts, you'll have enough corned beef to feed the entire island!

 

[scubadoo97]

1 hour ago, kayb said:

Good Lord, @rotuts, you'll have enough corned beef to feed the entire island!

 

But his freezer is clean and has plenty of room now to store  cooked CB.  Makes for an easy dinner 

[rotuts]

all told and added up :  w the various experimental early groups  at least 30 lbs

 

its very cold here so when  i remove the CB from that large cooler early this PM , I might try some cold smoking after i throughly chill; the lot

 

I did have a CB dinner  last PM.  tasty .  I used the iPot for the veg

 

a la @HungryChris  

 

and a Fz CB which I thawed and rewarmed in the Anova set up.

Edited March 11, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[HungryChris]

@rotuts,

You may have noted that the latest S&S flyer extends the madness for yet another week.

HC

[rotuts]

indeed    

 

but I think Im OK w 30 lbs.    I did note on my last pick-up of 5 the quality is slowly declining

 

in the sense there is more fat on the points than before.

 

the week of St.P's day evey year they have run out of O'Donnell's brand and subbed other brands in the final days

 

those were terrible.

 

with experience Ive gotten fairly good as guessing what's on the side of the CB that you can't see.

 

this is the most Ive ever made and im glad the papain ended up not mattering at all.

Edited March 11, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[ElsieD]

I was going to corn my own beef but saw some nice ones at the grocery store yesterday so ended up buying one.  The brand I bought is Maple Leaf.  The other brand they had was Rachel's which, the few times I've tried it, was terrible.  A LOT of gristle and fat, well hidden until you open the package.  I now stay away from that brand unless I see it at 50% off which makes trimming it worthwhile.

[rotuts]

the rest on my CB's this year is here :

 

 

[rotuts]

mustard is indeed on sale at S&S :

 

 

 

several more CB points ended up in my basket too !

[johnnyd]

Found Ruhlman recipe in 3/8 NYT so here's my first ever CB brine w/allspice, mustard seed, coriander, bay, cinnamon, clove, peppercorns.  Found a butcher who measured out exactly the amount of pink salt needed for this 4.5lb point.  After reading this thread I guess I should cut the butcher string and unroll the sucker, no?

 

 

[Lisa Shock]

5 hours ago, johnnyd said:

  After reading this thread I guess I should cut the butcher string and unroll the sucker, no?

 

 

Yes, I would cut the string. If you want to cook it in a shape, I'd re-tie it just before actually cooking it.

[gfweb]

@johnnydRolled up will take forever to cure. The cure penetrates about 1/2" a day...1/4 " on each side.

[Shelby]

Sigh.  I can't decide how to make our corned beef.  In the IP?  Sous Vide?  Slow cooker?  Every single method looks so good.  I have a corned venison roast and a store bought beef one.

[rotuts]

SV I feel turns out the best item.   but it takes time , which is unattended

 

w something so rare  as a Venison Roast , it has to be SV.

 

I just checked High and Low , and I don't have any 

 

once set up , if you have room , consider adding the beef.   I cut mine up into ~ 1 lbs hunks.

 

hungry now ?   iP the beef .  SV the Venison for later. 

Edited March 14, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[Toliver]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

Sigh.  I can't decide how to make our corned beef.  In the IP?  Sous Vide?  Slow cooker?  Every single method looks so good.  I have a corned venison roast and a store bought beef one.

The nice thing about using a slow cooker/Crock Pot is that your home smells like corned beef (most of) the day.

Yes, that's a good thing.

[Tri2Cook]

6 hours ago, Shelby said:

Sigh.  I can't decide how to make our corned beef.  In the IP?  Sous Vide?  Slow cooker?  Every single method looks so good.  I have a corned venison roast and a store bought beef one.

You can join me in the land of overkill. I'm doing a lean cut sous vide for sandwiches and a fattier cut either in the slow cooker or stove top. Both will be cooked this weekend so, while not even coming close to rotuts' corned beef insanity, there will be definite corned beef overload happening.

[rotuts]

today was a Bad Weather Day and the night is still Pending.

 

My CB is really good , point cut , 143  x 24 hrs +

 

but not as perfect as it might be.  

 

as it was a snow day , I took out a pack from the refrigerator and put it in the Anova ReHeater at 145.  it was there for say 4 hours while

 

I decided about the SnowIssues.  

 

the veg were iP'd  4 min LP 5 minute release  w the cabbage above the liquid.

 

 

the carrots were perfect and the potatoes were a tiny bit over done , but still very good.  better that than underdone w a bit of a crunch

 

the cabbage was the best Ive done in the iP so far :  some resistance but not too much

 

here is the plate :

 

 

the CB was perfect !   so if your CB  ( in bulk ! ) is a tiny bit underdone , it can be fixed in the Anova ReHeater for several hours at a degree or two more

 

than original.

 

it will still slice up thin as is for a good sandwich  as I had it the other night for dinner w/o the additional time and 2 degrees more F and it was

 

very good then.

 

 

[ElsieD]

16 minutes ago, rotuts said:

today was a Bad Weather Day and the night is still Pending.

 

My CB is really good , point cut , 143  x 24 hrs +

 

but not as perfect as it might be.  

 

as it was a snow day , I took out a pack from the refrigerator and put it in the Anova ReHeater at 145.  it was there for say 4 hours while

 

I decided about the SnowIssues.  

 

the veg were iP'd  4 min LP 5 minute release  w the cabbage above the liquid.

 

 

the carrots were perfect and the potatoes were a tiny bit over done , but still very good.  better that than underdone w a bit of a crunch

 

the cabbage was the best Ive done in the iP so far :  some resistance but not too much

 

here is the plate :

 

 

the CB was perfect !   so if your CB  ( in bulk ! ) is a tiny bit underdone , it can be fixed in the Anova ReHeater for several hours at a degree or two more

 

than original.

 

it will still slice up thin as is for a good sandwich  as I had it the other night for dinner w/o the additional time and 2 degrees more F and it was

 

very good then.

 

 

 

That looks delicious!

[FeChef]

rotuts, what was your soak time to desalt this brand of CB?

[rotuts]

I ended up not desalting it.    there is some jus in the bag after 24 + @ 143 F  and Ive been using and saving that for use in the iPot

 

for the cooking of the veg.  I add water to this to just get the potatoes and carrots submerged.

 

Ive also after adding some water in the iPot added bay leaf , mustard seed , and granulated ( penzey's ) garlic and 

 

iP'd this for 2 - 3 min at LP then 5 minute release , and then removing the bay leaf and then adding the veg w the cabbage on top of the other

 

two veg.    I then save this liquid , chill and use again w the addition of what ever liquid is in the next CB's bag , about 1/4 cup , not measured

 

chose not to study desalting this year as the first attempts gave me CB didn't seem to me to have too much salt in it.

 

the meat was so nicely trimmed and the papain didn't seem to matter if I cooked the meat with in a day or two of buying it

 

a few years ago  the meat sat in the refrig for a while and then I cooked it , well before the ' Use By Date '

 

that gave me mushy CB.   I can't say if the extra time in my refrigerator had anything to do with the mushiness.  my refrigerator is quite cold.

 

I will say that times in the iPot for pressure cooking these three veg at the same time is problematic and not very reproducible 

 

either with LP or HP or a certain amount of time before release.   I can tell Ive been lucky so far re Veg.

 

what i did learn today is important to me :

 

if the CB is not perfectly cooked at Round One  ( this brand point cut  , about 1 lb / bag , 143 F  24 - 26 hours )

 

it can be corrected to perfection w a longer than needed re-heating  ( one bag at a time for dinner ) at about 145

 

for 4 hours or so.

 

I have three points to do tomorrow and Ill do them at 145 F  24 - 26 and label them as such.

Edited March 15, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[FeChef]

I think i will try 1 hour soak in cold water before bagging in the SV. I bought two of this brand and plan to slice one for reubens and the other PC to chop and shred into hulushki. You think 24h at 143F was good for thin slicing? I think a few years ago i did some testing and for some reason 16h at 145F was the magic number. I need to start writing this stuff down.