This recipe produces a nicely flavored corned beef and starts with a beef brisket. I started using this recipe because the already prepared corned beef that I was buying had way too much fat. With this recipe, you can trim off the fat and have a nice lean piece of beef brisket to start the corning process. This recipe is based on Alton Brown’s Corned Beef Recipe.
Tools Needed
Large soup pot or boiler -6 to 8 quart
Meat mallot
Wooden spoon
insta-read thermometer
2-gallon zip top bag
Large cutting board
Chef’s knife
List of Ingredients to Purchase
Grocery store items (by location where I find them)
Meat department
4 to 5 pound beef brisket
Produce Department
1 small onion
1 large carrot
1 stalk celery
Spice / sugar / flour section
1 cup kosher salt
½ cup brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 easpoon black peppercorns
8 whole cloves
8 whole allspice berries
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Other aisles
2 pounds of
ice if you do not have ice at home
Speciality food store items
( international market, Whole Foods, …)
12 whole juniper berries
2 tablespoons saltpeter, also known as potassium nitrate (can be special ordered from a pharmacy)
Recipe steps:
Make brine for corning the beef.
Ingredients needed
2 quarts water
1 cup kosher salt
½ cup brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
8 whole cloves
8 whole allspice berries
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Large soup pot or boiler -6 to 8 quart
Meat mallot
Wooden spoon
insta-read thermometer
2-gallon zip top bag
Break the 1 cinnamon stick into several pieces by placing it into a sandwich bag, leave the bag open slightly and hit the cinnamon stick with a meat mallot. Place 2 quarts water, 1 cup kosher salt, ½ cup brown sugar, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, 8 whole cloves, 8 whole allspice berries, 2 bay leaves, and ½ teaspoon ground ginger into the large soup pot or boiler. Cook over high heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Stir with a wooden spoon frequently. You will be able to feel when the salt and sugar have dissolved. At first you will feel the grittiness of the salt and sugar as you stir with a spoon. As the salt and sugar dissolve, it will feel less and less gritty until it is barely gritty at all, then it is done. Remove the pot from the heat and add the 2 pounds of ice and stir with the wooden spoon to mix in the ice and cool down the pot. Use a Thermapen insta-read thermometer to tell when the liquid reaches 45 degrees or below. Once the liquid cools to 45 degrees or below, place the brisket into a 2-gallon zip top bag and carefully add the brine. Make sure that you are holding the bag well and that the zip top bag is inside a pan in case the liquid spills. Seal the bag and lay flat inside a container, Place in the refrigerator for 8 to 10 days.
Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged and stir the brine.
After 8 to 10 days, remove the brisket from the brine and rinse well under cool water.
Chop the vegetables into small pieces.
Ingredients.
1 small onion
1 large carrot
1 stalk celery
Chef’s knife
Cutting board
If you place the onion into the refrigerator and get it cold, it will burn your eyes less when you chop it. Chop the 1 small onion, 1 large carrot, and 1 stalk celery into small pieces using a cutting board and a chef’s knife. Peel the outermost layer off of the onion. The outermost layer will be hard and somewhat brittle. The lower layers are more moist and are not brittle. Place the onion onto the cutting board. Cut off the bottom of the onion. The bottom may have a few roots. Slice the onion into several slices. Slice the carrot. Use the Chef’s knife to chop the carrot into small pieces. Slice the celery into small pieces. Use the chef’s knife to chop the celery into small pieces.
Cook the brisket.
Ingredients.
1 small onion
1 large carrot
1 stalk celery
Large soup pot or boiler -6 to 8 quart
Chef’s knife
Cutting board
Place the brisket into a pot and add the sliced 1 small onion, and the chopped 1 large carrot, and 1 stalk celery and cover with 1 inch of water. Place on high heat and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until the meat feels tender when a fork is stuck in it.
Take the meat out and set it onto a cutting board. Let it sit there for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, slice the corned beef across the grain of the meat so that it will not be stringy.
Place the slices onto a plate.
