I started making corned beef years ago when I was a sous chef at Sixth Engine. I honestly should have started way before that, as the only difficulty with it, is that it takes at least 3 weeks in a brine, refrigerated. Outside of the needed space, you just create a basic corned beef brine. The base recipe that we used was the one from Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn's "Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, & Curing". I highly recommend this book across the board. It has amazingly easy recipes to create beautiful end products.
For the one that we made at Sixth Engine we adjusted the spices a bit, and when I make it now, I lean into my Avenue Spice for flavoring as well. This corned beef turns out amazing. You do have to be a little cautious on the brine, as the pink curing salt adds a significant amount of sodium to the brine, but when prepared correctly the final product is great. The texture is firm, but the meat melts in your mouth. I've used this for full on corned beef dinners, sliders, sandwiches, and now soup.
Because this recipe takes a long time, I normally make more than I need. It's great to have on hand for corned beef hash, pick up sandwiches, quick snacks as well. As I said before, the only downside is the space it takes in the refrigerator. The way I look at is, is since your making it, make as much as you can with the space available, and freeze anything you aren't planning on using.
Enjoy.
Ingredients
Brisket 5 lbs
Water 1/2 gal
Ice 1/2 gal
Kosher Salt 450 g
Sugar 100 g
Pink Salt* 25 g
Smashed Garlic 2 bulbs
Pickling Spice 25 g
Avenue Spice 25 g
*Also known as curing salt. It's best to use this, but you can swap it to celery extract (you need to look up what ratio) if you want something more natural. Both have nitrates which serve to inhibit the growth of bacteria, celery extract is just a more natural form.
Method of Procedure
Mix all ingredients except brisket and ice into a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
Trim and portion your brisket to the size of your brining container. I prefer to use wider containers, but you can go deeper with smaller portions.
Pour your mixture into your brining container and add your ice. Stir until partially dissolved.
Add your brisket and cover with plastic wrap, then weigh down to keep the meat under the surface of the brine.
Label and date, then place into your refrigerator for at least 3 weeks.
Remove and let dry on a rack.
Braise in an appropriate container until internal temperature reaches 165 and the meat is cooked through.
Remove and rest. Slice when cooled and reheat as needed for your application.
Comments