Corned Beef Pickling Spice Recipes

AWESOME CORNED BEEF RECIPE

Steps:

• Prep. Find a proper non-reactive container large enough to handle 1 gallon of brine and the meat as described in our article Science Of Curing Meats Safely. Clean it as described.
• Mix the cure ingredients and the distilled water. Stir until they dissolve.
• Trim. If the meat you buy has two layers of meat separated by a layer of fat, you have both flat and point muscles. Separate them and remove the fat. Also remove as much fat as possible from the exterior unless you plan to use some of it for pastrami. In that case, leave a 1/8″ layer on one side. Because corned beef is cooked in simmering water, the fat just gets gummy and unappetizing. But if you plan to make pastrami from it, you will be smoking the meat and in that case the fat gets succulent and lubricates the sandwich. I like to buy a full packer brisket and separate the point from the flat, and cut the flat in half. That gives me 3 manageable hunks of 2 to 4 pounds each. If you leave the point attached to the flat beneath, it will be very thick and take longer to cure, and there's an ugly hunk of fat between them.
• Cure. Add the meat to the curing solution. If you have more than one slab do not let them lie on top of each other. If you do, they will act like one thick slab and curing will take much longer. The meat might float, so put a plastic bowl filled with brine on top of the meat until it submerges. The meat will drink up brine so make sure there is enough to cover it by at least 1″ or else you'll find the meat high and dry after a few days. Refrigerate. Let it swim for as long as the calculator tells you. Move the meat every day or so just to stir up the cure. The liquid will get cloudy from juices that come out of the meat, but it should never smell bad. When you are done, the exterior of the meat will be pale tan or gray and if you cut into it, it should not look too different than normal raw meat, just a little pinker.

HOMEMADE CORNED BEEF

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, combine water, kosher salt, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons pickling spices, pink curing salt and garlic. Bring to a simmer, stirring until salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled., Place 1 large oven roasting bag inside another. Place brisket inside inner bag; pour in cooled brine. Seal bags, pressing out as much air as possible; turn to coat meat. Refrigerate 10 days, turning occasionally to keep meat coated. Remove brisket from brine; rinse thoroughly. Place in a Dutch oven with water to cover. Add carrots, onions, celery and remaining pickling spices. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, adding water if necessary to keep brisket covered, until meat is tender, about 3 hours., Serve warm or cool. Slice brisket thinly and serve in a sandwich or with additional vegetables simmered until tender in cooking liquid. , To make ahead: Refrigerate meat in cooking liquid for several days; reheat in liquid.

HOME CURED CORNED BEEF

Steps:

• Make curing brine: Add about 3 Tbsp of the spice mix (reserve the rest for cooking the corned beef after it has cured), plus the half stick of cinnamon, to a gallon of water in a large pot, along with the Kosher salt, pink salt (if using), and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate until well chilled.

CORNED BEEF PICKLING SPICE

Steps:

• 1. Crush the peppercorns, mustard, and coriander seeds.
• 2. Chef's Tip: My favorite way to crush spices, is to put them on my cutting board, and grind them using the bottom of a heavy pot or pan.
• 3. Place the ground seeds into a pan, and heat over medium heat until fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• 4. Chef's Note: Be careful not to let them burn.
• 5. Allow them to cool.
• 6. Add all the other spices, and then place in a sealed container, until ready to use.
• 7. Store in a cool dry environment.
• 8. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

PICKLING CORNED BEEF

Steps:

• Place brisket in large pot, add brown sugar, pickling spices, salt, saltpeter, bay leaves and water.
• Bring to boil 5 minutes.
• Let stand overnight to cool.
• Place in 5 gallon crock with cooled mixture. Add sliced garlic; liquid enough to cover meat. Put a board and stone on top beef.
• Keep submerged.
• Place cheesecloth across top of crock.
• Tie down.
• Put lid on.
• Leave enough space between lid and cloth for air.
• At end of 12 days place meat in cold water for 1 hour.
• Remove meat. Wipe well.

HOMEMADE CORNED BEEF BRINE

Steps:

• To save time you can use store-bought pickling spices or you can make your own based on the ingredients above.
• Add the allspice berries, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, red pepper flakes, red and black peppercorns, cloves, and cardamom pods to a small frying pan over medium-low heat and toast until fragrant. This will take a minute or two, stir and keep an eye on the spices as they can easily burn.
• Remove from heat and place in a small bowl. Use a mortar and pestle to crush them. Add the crushed bay leaves and ground ginger and stir to combine.
• Add a gallon of water to a large pot and add 4 tablespoons of the pickling spices (saving the remaining ones for later), add the cinnamon stick, Kosher salt, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate until well chilled.
• Once chilled, place the beef brisket in a large, flat container or pan, and cover with the brine. Make sure the brine covers the meat. If the meat floats, weigh it down with a plate.
• Refrigerate for 5-7 days and every day flip the brisket over so that all sides get brined equally.
• Remove the brisket from the brine and rinse it with cold water.
• Place the brisket in a large pot and cover with at least one inch of water.
• Add the remaining pickling spices and bring to a boil, reduce to a very low simmer, and cook for 3-4 hours, until the corned beef is fork-tender.
• Once done, place the meat on a cutting board. Cut across the grain to serve.
• Add some veggies into the spiced cooking liquid, like cabbage and carrots, and cook them to serve with the corned beef.

HOW TO MAKE CORNED FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Take 2 litres of the water and in a pan combine it with the salt, prague powder #1, sugar, pickling spice, bay leaves and garlic. Heat and stir to dissolve the salt and bring to a simmer. Once all the salt and sugar has dissolved remove from the heat and add 1 litres of cool water to bring the temperature down. Let the brine cool and put in the fridge to chill, I usually leave it, covered, in the fridge overnight.
• Trim the brisket or whatever cut of beef you have chosen. Remove most of the fat from the outside and any sinew. Place the beef in a non- reactive container such as plastic or glass that will hold the meat as well as all 3 litres of brine. Cover the beef with the cold brine and make sure it is fully submerged. Cover and place in the fridge.
• Leave the beef in the fridge for 7 days. Make sure the meat is submerged and give the brine a stir once a day to ensure the brine has an even concentration of both salt and flavourings. During these 7 days the salt will slowly work it way to the center of the meat.
• After 7 days remove the corned beef from the refrigerator and give it a rinse under cool running water, discard the brine. Place in a pot and submerge in water, bring to the boil and simmer. You may wish to add a few vegetables and herbs to flavour the cooking stock such as carrots, celery and onions. Boil for around 3 hours until the meat is nice and tender.