Corned Beef At Home: Recipes, Tips, etc.

[ElsieD]

16 minutes ago, chromedome said:

My father's family were fishermen in Newfoundland for generations, and made traditional sated and dried cod. One of my uncles later started selling what he described as "corned" fish...salted for just a few hours, long enough to taste well-seasoned but not to alter the texture of the fillets. He used to sell it from the back of his truck across a route spanning several hours' drive. 

 

He still makes it, though none has made its way to my freezer for the last few years. 

 

I have a vague recollection of seeing something similar in one of Thomas Keller's books and thinking it was much like my uncle's technique, but I no longer recall which of his books that might have been. Bouchon, perhaps. 

 

I'm curious.  Did he use a lot of salt, let it sit for a few (2, 3) hours, then rinse the salt off?  Or was the amount of salt just enough to season the fish and left on?

[chromedome]

Option 1. Lots of salt, then a rinse. 

[Tri2Cook]

Brisket's not going to be an option this time and there's a sale going on at the local store with top sirloin and top round at the same price and bottom round $1/lb cheaper. Somebody give me a firm shove towards a choice so I'll stop second-guessing it.

[gfweb]

I'd say top sirloin if done SV

[Tri2Cook]

1 hour ago, gfweb said:

I'd say top sirloin if done SV

SV is the plan, so top sirloin it shall be. Thanks!

[HungryChris]

I would choose whatever cut you could get with a decent marble. My experience with top round tells me that it is usually too lean for this.

HC

 

[Martin Fisher]

11 minutes ago, HungryChris said:

 

I would choose whatever cut you could get with a decent marble.

 

 

Yeah!

I'm thinking I'll just grab a small well marbled chuck-eye roast.

It's relatively inexpensive and I'm the only one who'll be eating it...SO is effing ridiculously finicky.

[Tri2Cook]

7 hours ago, HungryChris said:

I would choose whatever cut you could get with a decent marble. My experience with top round tells me that it is usually too lean for this.

HC

 

I'm not going to start rethinking it yet again but in the interest of knowledge and for future reference, can it be too lean if you're going to cook it sous vide? The reason I'm asking is, I'm not a fatty meat person. I'm one of those finicky pains in the arse that will waste some of the meat to avoid a hunk of fat. Even high quality, nicely seasoned and cooked fat. When I buy deli pastrami or corned beef or even just roast beef at the grocery store, I've been known to trim out some of the slices before making a sandwich if I consider it too fatty. Yes, I am that bad. So is there a downside to a really lean cut for this purpose if it's going to be cooked in a manner that eliminates the risk of overcooking and drying it out?

[HungryChris]

22 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:

I'm not going to start rethinking it yet again but in the interest of knowledge and for future reference, can it be too lean if you're going to cook it sous vide? The reason I'm asking is, I'm not a fatty meat person. I'm one of those finicky pains in the arse that will waste some of the meat to avoid a hunk of fat. Even high quality, nicely seasoned and cooked fat. When I buy deli pastrami or corned beef or even just roast beef at the grocery store, I've been known to trim out some of the slices before making a sandwich if I consider it too fatty. Yes, I am that bad. So is there a downside to a really lean cut for this purpose if it's going to be cooked in a manner that eliminates the risk of overcooking and drying it out?

I too, trim excess fat off of corned beef and avoid the point cut because I think it is just too fatty. I tried to corn an eye round one time and it was a complete failure and I think it was because it was just too lean. It fell apart instead of slicing. I did not SV it, and your results may be fine. I'll be interested to read about the outcome.

HC

Edited February 25, 2017 by HungryChris (log)

[rotuts]

I dint think lean / fat is a criteria for SV, initially

 

think of SV  as done-ness   ( rare , med , well ) as the temp setting

 

and tenderness  as the time in the bath.

 

if something fell apart after cooking SV   both time and temp relate themselves to the result.  but not in a conventional cooking manner

 

the round fell apart because the connective tissue had turned to gelatin  .     this happens faster at a higher temp , but will happen at a lower temp but take

 

longer.

 

consider a SV for slicing purposes 140 - 145.      in the mid 150's you start to get  ' braise ' effects where the fibers contract and  you get a lot of jus in the bag

 

that you might have wended to keep in the meat        165 - ++  very similar to an oven braise       180   braise for sure.

[ElsieD]

4 hours ago, Tri2Cook said:

I'm not going to start rethinking it yet again but in the interest of knowledge and for future reference, can it be too lean if you're going to cook it sous vide? The reason I'm asking is, I'm not a fatty meat person. I'm one of those finicky pains in the arse that will waste some of the meat to avoid a hunk of fat. Even high quality, nicely seasoned and cooked fat. When I buy deli pastrami or corned beef or even just roast beef at the grocery store, I've been known to trim out some of the slices before making a sandwich if I consider it too fatty. Yes, I am that bad. So is there a downside to a really lean cut for this purpose if it's going to be cooked in a manner that eliminates the risk of overcooking and drying it out?

 

I have done eye of round sous vide and thought it was great.  The temperature would have been about 134F.  It did not fall apart and sliced very well.  It made great sandwiches.

[HungryChris]

@rotuts, Did you notice the $1.67 pp point cut corned beef in the most recent Stop&Shop flyer? I might get a few to use for smoking pastrami, but the real question in my mind is how much are the flat cuts? 

HC

 

ETA I just noticed the $1.97 pp flat cuts up above the points.

Edited March 3, 2017 by HungryChris (log)

[rotuts]

@HungryChris 

 

not in my area yet   in the past the S&S on sale CB had the papain in it.   id decrease the cooking times because of that , but not on sale in my area yet

 

MarketBasket has two brands , they do not have their own brand , for $ 1.69 point , $ 2.99 flat  :  " Old Neighborhood "  and " freirich flavor " starting Sunday

 

these rio not have papain as Ive looked into that.    I think Ill do a trial of the point in my traditional times and temps   its  $ 1.30 cheaper.   

 

wonder how much fat Ill trim off ?

 

in the past the best Ive ever made    140 - 145   I then smokes on the weber at 130 weber temp w wood chips  for 1 - 2 hours then rebated and froze

 

best summertime sandwiches ever.

 

 

 

 

 

[HungryChris]

The local Aldi also has these bottom round roasts on sale for $2.99 pp for your corning pleasure.

HC

[rotuts]

oooops   S%S  does have it on sale this week.   Ill stop by and compare the points.  if it has papain  and the MarketBasket does not at the same price

 

Ill go with MB as I have experience w CB w/o papain.   I also don't know what temp papain is denatured , which would be important to know if that

 

was my only option.

[kayb]

1 hour ago, HungryChris said:

The local Aldi also has these bottom round roasts on sale for $2.99 pp for your corning pleasure.

HC

Picked one up last week. It'll go in the brine tomorrow.

[lindag]

Had lunch today with a friend who is a very accomplishes home cook.

she mentioned going to Costco for her corned beef because it's always better quality than that found in grocery stores.

it's on my list now!

[ElsieD]

If anyone in Canada finds corned beef at their Costco, please post here.  I was there today and carefully perused the meat counter and didn't see any.  Having missed the short ribs when they carried them, I'm not going there anymore without at least a cursory look at the meat offerings, whether I need any or not.

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, lindag said:

Had lunch today with a friend who is a very accomplishes home cook.

she mentioned going to Costco for her corned beef because it's always better quality than that found in grocery stores.

it's on my list now!

True in general for Costco beef.

[rotuts]

Ive started my CB studies early , as yest. MarketBasket had it CB already on sale. they have tow brands , but its the same meat packing unit

 

w just a different pic. on the plastic.  no papain.

 

I turned over many Points , my preferred cut in the past , as the 24 h / 140 turns that connective tissue into tastily gelatin.

 

one note on low end  i.e. On Sale Points :  you have to spend some time flipping the packs over as some have an outstanding amount of Fat !

 

I pick one up and brought it home for study :

 

 

 

out of the bag :

 

 

trimmed of excess fat.  Im not a beef fat sort of person :

 

 

note the Clouds have parted , and the Sun is shining on my work.

 

what to do now ?   

 

at this price I thought Id try iP'd  CB.   I of course know that SV treats this cut well and give you an optimum result :

 

tender , juicy , very little loss of flavor and moisture into the ' simmering pot '

 

so I iP'd what you see above , w water to cover , for 1 hour  LP.   " Hip " says HP.  I know that at these temps :

 

110 - 112 C 230 F @ LP   and 240 - 245 F at HP  you are going to get significant contraction of the muscle groups

 

resulting in lost of flavor and moisture of the meat.  Way Back When when the iPot was new 

 

@Anna N  did some babyBack ribs in the iPot , I tried it and was very surprised at the result

 

again , I did LP iPot 60 min  with a 10 minute release.   

 

Science Waits for KnowOne , and Marches on at its Own Pace    Id did not wait for natural Release.

 

the meat was tender  ( no pics , sorry )  very contracted , and there was a fairly unpleasant odor from the pot and the water

 

( I covered the meat w cold water ) was fairly insipid.  a surprise to me.   nothing wrong w these meat out of the bag.

 

my only take on this is iP'd corned fat is pretty awful  .

 

however , in an hour you got tender meat , perhaps for a Sandwich , etc ?   much faster than 24 H.

 

father down I have a pic of the breakdown of this cut and the S&S  Flat I then went to get.

 

having a Bee in my bonnet , i went to S&S and got a piece of Flat  for look into the papain issue :

 

 

 

 

 

 

here is this cut , sliced in 1/2 in the iP :

 

 

I started at 30 min LP to see if the papain affected the cooking time.  tested after 30  etc

 

it needed the same 60 min at LP for a tender CB.   same shrinkage  and same off aroma from the pot and unfortunate flavor to the liquid.

 

I any one tries  CB @ iPot   Id like to hear if they had this off result.  nothing wrong w the meat pre IP.

 

so my take :  you can get a tender CB in the iPot , but you are gaining time , and not getting the optimal CB

 

that comes w SV.

 

so this AM  I went back to S&S and got another Flat , and am now doing a SV at 140 F

 

one thing about SV :  12 hours is a significant milestone in SV  :  less than 24 H  your can start it in the AM and be finished in the late PM

 

> 24 hours :  you can think about starting it in the late PM , and have the next day , if you are around , to study the optimal time.

 

I chose this AM , as , well , I wanted to move along.  the nicest CB in the BOS area  ( S&S has the beSt deals ) disappears early.

 

this AM they only had one Flat in the case  but had plenty in the back.   the flat is almost identical to the previous one pic's

 

w papain.  I cut into 4 chunks after the same trim and its in the Anova SV bath now.

 

Ill pull one out at 6 h and see how its doing , re bag and put it back

 

at 12 hours  ( 9:30 PM )  Ill decided what to do then

 

of note re papain :

 

papain activity vs temperature curve

 

and

 

http://lollystarz.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html

 

for us :

 

 

meat heats up slower in the SV bath than in the iP.  after the papain'd meat reaches 60 C  , there is no more activity

 

the question for me re SV 140 F / 24 H CB   how much ' tenderness ' did I get for that first hour or two ?  after that

 

it doesn't matter anymore , but seems to effect the total cook time.

 

Ill let you know how this works out after Im done with the SV papain exp.

 

analysis of the point and flat above :

 

 

 of note , trimmed Flat is cheaper that Point, by a lot at the prices available to me.

 

if you have an EagleEye for numbers , you will note that the Flat , w 15 % loss , should have costed more , trimmed.

 

the meat seems to have been under weighted dans le Plastique Pack 

 

more later

 

CB , SV is the optimum way to cook CB, but you have to have a rig , time etc.

 

well worth it in my book

 

now for some Icy Cold Green Beer while I watch the Anova do its stuff !

 

 

[kayb]

I looked at corned beef at Kroger, just out of curiosity (as I plan to corn that bottom round I bought at Aldi the other day). $5.99 a pound! I didn't even look to see whether it was flat or point; just wheeled on by.

 

[rotuts]

@kayb  

 

the stuff Ive recently bought , except for StP's day 

 

goes for $ 6.49 an lbs.  and that's not an inflated price

 

what I purchased for $ 5.40 , any other time of the year would have been $ 17.78

 

that's why I wait and do what i can for sandwiches through out the summer at the sale price.

 

no sales your area ?   corning your own makes a great deal of sense  

[Tri2Cook]

The local store brought in corned beef this year, saw it this morning while getting the shopping done. They only brought in points and I think they may have already been pretty well picked through because the few that were there were mostly hunks of fat with a little meat holding it together. I know the point isn't lean by any means but these were a bit over the top and pricey too. So I'll stick with the plan to make my own. The top sirloin roast I bought, once untied, gave me a lean hunk with a little marbling that's somewhat similar in appearance to rotuts post-trimming flat he posted above and a thinner portion with the fat cap, which I didn't remove. Not sure if I will before brining or not. Right now they're both sealed and in the freezer until next weekend and I'm considering going back for another. I don't do it often, might as well do a bunch while I'm at it and have plenty for sandwiches.

[rotuts]

 I grew up in the BayArea

 

and St.P's day Id never hear of

 

we dd have CB w the veg's trimming as my parents were from the East

 

having worked for a lot of time in BOS

 

its different here :

 

today its 11 F in the morning  and now a balmy 22 F

 

St.P's day is not until March 17th

 

DownTown here  there was green beer, lots o vomiting , and maybe a Parade

 

its colder here than in N'Oleans

 

same sort of thing

 

Id guess

Edited March 4, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[HungryChris]

I got 2 flats at S&S today, biggest and leanest ones I could find. They are in the freezer and will soon be joined by several of their mates. 

HC