Corned Beef At Home: Recipes, Tips, etc.

[budrichard]

First you need to obtain a choice grade brisket in the cryovac pack. If not in the cryovac, the fat will be cut off. Second get two gallon freezer zip lock bags, kosher salt, saltpeter(drugstore), fresh garlic, lots and your spices. Mix salt in your water until an egg floats or you can't dissolve anymore. Put lots of chopped garlic and spices in bag, a 1/4 tea spoon pf salt peter along with brisket and into a larger solid container to contain any leakage. Leave in fridge for 4 weeks or more turning daily. Remove, cook slowly in Guinness. Serve hot or cold.

For our last brisket we used a Wagyu cut from Lobel's because they had a two for one sale. I never had better corned beef. The other brisket will be BBQ'd this June.

Spices are coriander, cardamom, mustard seed, ceylon cinnamin, star anise, fenugreek, bay, and whatever else I like at the time.-Dick

[kitchenetc]

This is an excellent recipe and takes a week or less:

* Exported from MasterCook *

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Recipe By :Cook's March 1997

Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :4:00

Categories : Beef

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

5 pounds beef brisket, point half -- trimmed

1/2 cup kosher salt

1 tablespoon black peppercorns -- cracked

1 tablespoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1/2 tablespoon paprika

2 bay leaves -- crumbled

7 pounds assorted vegetables

Mix salt and seasonings in small bowl. Spear brisket about 30 times per side with meat fork. Rub each side evenly with salt mixture; place in 2 gallon Ziploc, forcing out air. Place in flat pan, cover with another flat pan and weight with bricks or heavy cans. Refrigerate 5-7 days, turning once a day.

Bring brisket to a boil with water to cover by an inch in a large kettle, skimming foam. Cover and simmer til tender, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Heat oven to 200. Transfer meat to large platter, ladling about 1 cup liquid over to keep moist. Cover with foil and set in oven. Add assorted vegetables (carrots, rutabagas, turnips, new potatoes, boiling onions) to kettle and bring to boil; cover and simmer about 10 minutes. Then add assorted vegetables (green cabbage, parsnips, Brussels sprouts) and cover and simmer about another 10 minutes. Slice up meat and serve together..

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[bloviatrix]

I'm making a corned beef for lunch tomorrow. As I pulled it out of the packaging from the butcher I noticed that it was in a vacuum packed bag so I decided to try something new (for me) and cook it sous vide.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Anything you want to warn me about?

I'm not going to kill my parents, will I?

[Adam Balic]

Does your butcher de-salt there corn beef for sale? Could be a wee salty if not.

[Suzanne F]

And can the plastic withstand 212 degrees without melting, or higher if you will be roasting it?

[bloviatrix]

And can the plastic withstand 212 degrees without melting, or higher if you will be roasting it?

The water is being kept at a simmer. A quick check with the thermometer reveals it's less than 212 degrees.

As for the salt content, hmmm, I'm using a kosher brisket which means it was salted and soaked before the corning. I guess we're just going to have see how it tastes when it's done.

This was a cheap piece of meat (for kosher) - $28 for 3.5 pounds. So, if it sucks, I won't have a problem tossing.

[Adam Balic]

What is the difference between "salting" and "corning"? Just curious about the process and how it may be done differently from non-kosher (orginally the 'corn' in corning refered to the size of the salt lumps used, so corning would be salting).

[bloviatrix]

What is the difference between "salting" and "corning"? Just curious about the process and how it may be done differently from non-kosher (orginally the 'corn' in corning refered to the size of the salt lumps used, so corning would be salting).

For meat to be kosher, the cow must be slaughtered in a specific way and then the meat needs to be preparedas follows.

Once that's done you can begin to corn it.

[Adam Balic]

OK that is the Koshering process, but I am still unclear what you mean by corning? Are you saying that there is another salting (corning?) step on top of the salting to remove blood step?

[bloviatrix]

Corning is a just another term for pickling or brining. Basically, you soak the meat in saline solution with spices.

This might help: Corned Beef vs. Pastrami

[Adam Balic]

OK, is clearer now. Have made non-Kosher Anglo-Irish type Corned beef, this is basically packing the beef in salt, as the salt liquifies you turn the meat in the brine solution, over a number of days. So a little different in process.

[chefdg]

I worked for a Chef once who cooked almost everything sous vide. You can cook the brisket medium yet tender this way, keep the water at about 130 degrees. It will take about 7 hours but is a glimpse into the sous vide world.

[mark922]

I apologize for my ignorance, but what exactly is sous vide?

[bloviatrix]

I apologize for my ignorance, but what exactly is sous vide?

It's placing the food in a vacuum sealed package and placing the package in simmering water for a lengthy period of time.

Bruce Cole has great piece on it over at Saute Wednesday.

[winesonoma]

How did it turn out? Pics?

[bloviatrix]

The bag I was cooking it in burst open. So, it ended up being cooked the usual way -- which is simmering it in water for about 3 hours.

I glazed it with a pineapple-ginger glaze and served it cool. This means the meat wasn't particularly soft. But, it tasted good nonetheless. And, I actually had less shrinkage than usual.

[Suzanne F]

Do you think you'll try it again?

[bloviatrix]

Do you think you'll try it again?

Sans doute.

I even have another a corned beef biding its time in my freezer. Hopefully this one won't explode on me.

Edited June 21, 2004 by bloviatrix (log)

[mark922]

I apologize for my ignorance, but what exactly is sous vide?

It's placing the food in a vacuum sealed package and placing the package in simmering water for a lengthy period of time.

Bruce Cole has great piece on it over at Saute Wednesday.

Thanks for the explanation.

[Fat Guy]

There's a whole set of techniques that falls under the sous vide heading. Restaurants that cook this way have largely moved away from water and are using steam ovens, which are much more precise. And there are all sorts of questions of what you seal into the plastic with the main ingredient in order to flavor it.

I'll be interested to hear the results of the corned beef experiment, but chances are a corned beef brisket that has been seasoned with a lengthy braise in mind is not a great candidate for cooking in a sealed environment. The vacuum pouch tends to amplify flavors, and sometimes there can be too much of a good thing. Also, some of the greatest benefits from sous vide cooking come when you cook at the desired final temperature of the product for many, may hours, rather than doing what is essentially boil-in-bag cooking.

[bloviatrix]

Also, some of the greatest benefits from sous vide cooking come when you cook at the desired final temperature of the product for many, may hours, rather than doing what is essentially boil-in-bag cooking.

Before my bag burst, I had the water at about 150. My plan was to keep the meat in for about 6 hours.

Which leads to another question -- how does one determine the length of time you cook the meat? It's not as if you can stick a meat thermometer into it to determine the internal temp.

[bloviatrix]

I'm hosting a lunch for 8 on Thursday (the jewish holidays are slowly drawing to a close) and one of my main courses will be a corned beef. Normally, I throw it into a pot with boiling water for about 3 hours, remove and cool, then slice, paint with glaze and bake for about 30 mintues. It's always good, but I would like the meat to be a little more tender.

So, I was thinking.....corned beef is brisket that's been corned. So, why can't I treat it like a brisket. Does anyone have any experience braising a brisket? I was thinking of putting in a large dutch oven with a bit of liquid and placing it in a 300 oven for 3.5 hours -- painting it with the glaze after 3 hours. Will this work? Will it be too salty?

Why do you boil a corned beef anyway?

[NancyH]

I always braise my brisket at about 325 degrees for as long as it takes to get tender. I braise in a tomato-based sauce, I suppose you could use the same liquid you would have boiled it in - it will boil in the oven. I have never tried to "glaze" a brisket, I just cook it until it is falling apart (which may be too much for corned beef).

Let us know how it works for you!

[bloviatrix]

You know how really good brisket melts in your mouth and is really soft? That's the texture I want for the corned beef.

[reesek]

braising...great idea, and i'm sure it would work brilliantly. i think you'll want at the very least to well wash the corning spices off (assuming you're buying it the way my mom did - in a bag with pickling/corning seasonings applied) and possibly blanch it to get some more of the salt out...my mom made ribs the same way she made corned beef (boiled then baked) - they were always tougher than slow braised or long roasted. would you roast/bake it at the end, to get the slightly crisp bits on the edge and top?