Corned Beef At Home: Recipes, Tips, etc.

[Carrot Top]

I think the 'boiling in water' part is for the purpose of extracting the large amounts of salt that originally were used in 'corning' the beef.

No reason why the change from stove-top to oven could not be done as long as the close-to-simmering point was kept during cooking...then finished up by draining and glazing. At the very least, it is a way to obtain more burners if you need them for cooking.

I have a recipe for home-made corned beef if anyone has an urge to do that, by the way. Kinda fun.

[bloviatrix]

CT -- you've given me an idea. I'm going to soak the corned beef in cold water for a couple of hours to pull out some of the salt. I've done this with skirt steak (kosher skirt steak is extremely salty!!) and it works.

[Smoky "T"]

I don't think your suppose to boil corn beef, maybe that's why it's tough.

Here my recipie if you'd like to try it. I get raves for my corn beef, even my best friend who loaths it loves mine. I always make a bigger one so I can share some with her and her husband.

Smoky "T"s Corn Beef with Potatoes

3 lbs Corned Beef Brisket

Light Chicken Stock (or enough water to just cover the brisket with Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base added, about 2-3 Tbs.

The spice packet that comes with brisket

1 Tb. german viniger, or cider

10 pepper corns

1/2 teasp. celery salt

1 Tb. Bavarian Spice Mix (penzy's)

1 Tb. onion Flakes

1 Bay leaf

1 Apple, peeled, cored, chopped

Potatoes, your choice, cubed or left whole if small

Put all except potatoes in Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and Simmer, covered, on stove top or place in 300 degree oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Add potatos. When you add potatoes depends on how big they are, you don't want to overcook them

Simmer another hour. Let rest about 10 or 15 minutes.

At this point I remove the potatos and apples from the broth and place them in a metal bowl with butter, salt and pepper. Set them in a low oven to keep warm.

Remove top layer of fat from brisket, slice and serve with the potatoes, spooning some of the broth over everything. Don't forget the spicy mustard for dipping!

A great wine we like with this is a Spanish Marques de Caceres.

[fifi]

I have a braising method that does "melt in your mouth". Since RecipeGullet is temporarily off-line, I will introduce you to Crab Boil Corned Beef. You take a corned beef, I usually get a small flat for this, 3 pounds or so, and soak it in changes of cold water for a couple of hours. Then I mix a bag of whole crab boil spices (Zatarains if you can get it) with some added whole cloves and allspice and a 1/4 cup or so of brown sugar. Put that in a plastic bag with the beef and pound it into the surface. Into a Le Creuset with the lid on at 250 to 275 for about 3 or 4 hours. Knock off most of the seeds and stuff and slice.

[NulloModo]

Hmmm, I always do corned been in the crock pot for at least five or more hours, and it is always super tender melt in your mouth delicious. I suppose this is similar to braising, although if you have a crock pot you may want to try.

I usually toss it in with several chopped onions, some bay leaves, a touch of cayenne, and some vinegar.

[col klink]

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

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Brisket is a tough and chewy cut if not treated properly. In good hands brisket is in one of my top three cuts. To get there, you need to cook it slowly and at a low temperature. If I'm not smoking my corned beef brisket (*bliss*), I roast it under the same conditions sans smoke.

~225F for 6 or 7 hours for a up to a 5 lb brisket. Notice I don't add water -- I roast it dry which gives a nice crust, especially around the fatty exterior bits.

Roasting or braising at a higher temp will render the fat but 2 or 3 hours just isn't enough time to break down the collagen between the muscle fibers.

Often times I'll just throw a corned point brisket in the oven over night and then I have fantastic lunch meat in the morning.

If I'm not picking up a whole brisket I prefer point cut to flat cut because it has more fat and the last thing I do is trim any excess. Don't worry, you'll loose half the weight of your brisket after a long slow cooking like this. If there's too much Godly fat after cooking, that's the time to trim it. Otherwise you're putting your brisket at a higher risk of being dry.

Rinsing corned beef briskets in water to draw out excess salt is a very good idea since most commercial cbb's end up far too salty otherwise.

[Toliver]

Hmmm, I always do corned been in the crock pot for at least five or more hours, and it is always super tender melt in your mouth delicious.  I suppose this is similar to braising, although if you have a crock pot you may want to try.

I usually toss it in with several chopped onions, some bay leaves, a touch of cayenne, and some vinegar.

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Ditto on the crockpot. I use pickling spices in the water. I come home from work to fork-tender corned beef and sometimes will remove the corned beef and then use the water to boil some potatoes and carrots (I have a West Bend Slow Cooker that sits on a base and the metal pot can be taken off the base and be put directly on the stove). Delicious.

edited to add link

Edited October 6, 2004 by Toliver (log)

[bloviatrix]

~225F for 6 or 7 hours for a up to a 5 lb brisket. Notice I don't add water -- I roast it dry which gives a nice crust, especially around the fatty exterior bits......

If I'm not picking up a whole brisket I prefer point cut to flat cut because it has more fat and the last thing I do is trim any excess. Don't worry, you'll loose half the weight of your brisket after a long slow cooking like this. If there's too much Godly fat after cooking, that's the time to trim it. Otherwise you're putting your brisket at a higher risk of being dry.

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The corned beef that I'm using is about 4 pounds and is a point cut. With a standard point, I braise it at about 275 for 5 hours. I've got to see if my oven can hold 225F. If so, I might put it in overnight and see what happens.

Worse thing that happens is that I only serve my guests the chicken.

Edited October 6, 2004 by bloviatrix (log)

[bloviatrix]

Hmmmm, it didn't work quite as well as I expected. The good thing is there was less shrinkage than usual. But, my guinea pig, aka Blovie, tells me the finished product is tougher than usual.

I put the corned beef into a 225F oven -- uncovered, and on a rack -- for 6 hours. Let cool and sliced. After I brushed with the glaze, I covered and put back in the oven for 30 minutes at 300F.

[NancyH]

I think that extra bit of heat - to 325F - is what makes it simmer sufficiently to make the meat melt in your mouth without boiling it to toughness or letting it remain undercooked. But I could be wrong.

How was the flavor? How did the texture of the glaze work out? I've always wanted to make my own corned beef!

[Toliver]

Hmmmm, it didn't work quite as well as I expected.  The good thing is there was less shrinkage than usual.  But, my guinea pig, aka Blovie, tells me the finished product is tougher than usual.

I put the corned beef into a 225F oven -- uncovered, and on a rack -- for 6 hours.  Let cool and sliced.  After I brushed with the glaze, I covered and put back in the oven for 30 minutes at 300F.

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What if you cooked it covered or in a foil bag for most of the time (with some sort of liquid) and then uncovered it, glazed it and cooked it on a rack for the last hour? I'm thinking that might provide you with the best of both cooking methods.

[NancyH]

Sorry - I didn't realize you said you cooked it uncovered! It definitely has to be covered during the "low and slow" part of cooking to stay moist and tender.

[bloviatrix]

How was the flavor? How did the texture of the glaze work out?  I've always wanted to make my own corned beef!

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I use a glaze the was originally meant for ham. It's a 2:1 ratio of brown sugar to pineapple juice with 1 inch worth of grated ginger. This is brought to a boil and reduced to a simmer for about 5 to 7minutes and then brushed all over the sliced meat. Depending on whom I'm serving the corned beef I might add a pinch of cayenne for a hint of heat.

[bloviatrix]

Obviously, coming up with a better technique is going to require cooking more corned beefs. Only problem is that each corned beef costs about $12/lb (kosher meat is expensive).

[col klink]

Ahh, I didn't realize your briskets were Kosher. Did they trim all of the fat off the top?

I can roast my briskets uncovered because I rarely trim the fat off -- the fat keeps the brisket moist. Was there any visible fat on your brisket?

Obviously, coming up with a better technique is going to require cooking more corned beefs.  Only problem is that each corned beef costs about $12/lb (kosher meat is expensive).

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Oy! And I thought $6/lb was high!

[bloviatrix]

Ahh, I didn't realize your briskets were Kosher. Did they trim all of the fat off the top?

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Actually, there was quite a bit of fat on it. There was a "nice" accumulation of fat at the bottom of the roasting pan this morning.

[col klink]

And it still came out dry?

Do you happen to have a convection oven?

[bloviatrix]

Nope. The oven is plain old gas.

[fifi]

Most of the time, all we can get is the smaller flats. They range from about 3 to 4 pounds. I have never tried to do those in the oven uncovered. For the low slow method, I use a covered Le Creuset with no added liquid. Like buttah!!!

[markk]

I've always thought that the corned beef that's served in traditional Jewish delis is completely different in taste and texture from the corned beef that's sold in cryovac in the supermarkets (especially around St. Patrick's Day) which you either steam or roast yourself. If indeed they are different, can anybody explain the differences? Thanks.

[budrichard]

Corned refers to the curing process using salt and generally a little salt peter for preservation and color retention. The rest is based on the quality of the brisket, spices used and the method. So 'corned' does not imply a uniform method from producers. The stuff you see cryovaced is an industrial product using tenderized brisket and infusion of spices and preserving agents.

To reproduce 'Deli' style, you can do the process yourself.

Obatin the higest quality brisket you can get. Purchase some salt peter. Prepare lots of raw garlic with coriander seeds, black pepper corns, ceylon cinnamin sticks, star anise, cardamon, feneugreek, mustard seed and whatever else suits your taste buds. Put it all with a salt water mixture into a 2 gal freezer bag with a 1/4 teaspoon salt peter. Refrigerate and wait 3 weeks turning daily. -Dick

[jhlurie]

I know that when I've bought those supermarket ones, I've never been satisfied with the spicing. At the very least, if you have to use those, don't be satisfied with whatever spicing they are including by default. The Nathan's brand adds a little spice packet along with the meat, but I found even that to not be enough.

I'm actually very tempted to try budrichard's suggestion. Perhaps someone with more time on their hands, a good digital camera, and a bit more patience will do so and document it here for us.

P.S. - I'm moving this to "Cooking". It seems like a pretty straight-up "how to" question.

[markk]

I know that when I've bought those supermarket ones, I've never been satisfied with the spicing.  At the very least, if you have to use those, don't be satisfied with whatever spicing they are including by default.  The Nathan's brand adds a little spice packet along with the meat, but I found even that to not be enough.

I'm actually very tempted to try budrichard's suggestion.  Perhaps someone with more time on their hands, a good digital camera, and a bit more patience  will do so and document it here for us.

P.S. - I'm moving this to "Cooking".  It seems like a pretty straight-up "how to" question.

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It's not that the spicing is "not enough" or anything like that, really. It's that the whole texture of the thing, and the overall flavor as well, just seem totally different to me. Maybe primarily the texture even, because if anything, I might have described the deli corned beef as much milder, and more delicate... but I can't put my fingers on it.

Also, I wasn't actually asking how to make a corned beef to taste like the ones at the Jewish deli, I was looking for a description of the differences, because I was trying to explain it to a friend who only knows the cryovac one you buy at St. Patrick's Day but has never had the kind you get at the deli. And that's when I realized that I can't put my fingers on it.

[alacarte]

this may be a dumb question, but what's in saltpeter? I'm guessing it's not just salt.

[Toliver]

You could start with the infamous "The Great Pastrami/Smoked Meat Experiment, Getting to the bottom of things" posted by Chef Fowkes. Pastrami is corned beef afterall, just taken a step further.

There are also links in the first post that may help answer some questions.