Home made Corned Beef
Discussion
Thought I'd try my hand at some homemade corned beef and it was a triumph. Here's what I did if anyone else wants a go - I would recommend it as it didn't take very much effort at all to look after and tastes quite special.
I took a brisket of Beef and split it in half (the other half is destined for Pastrami but I haven't finished that one yet.
Left it to soak in a home made brine concoction for about 3 weeks. Added Salt Petre to keep it pink which I bought from someone on Amazon. I added a whole load of other thinks into the curing liquor but can't quite remember what now. It was a mix of several recipes off the internet combined with whatever we had in the spice cupboard.
Left at the bottom of the fridge and turned a few times (4 or 5) over the 3 week period being careful not to contaminate the brine whilst doing so.
After 3 weeks, the beef came out and to be honest looked a little unappetising. A quick wash down and it looked a bit better. Boiled for 3 hours with the obligatory onion and then wrapped in tin foil and a tea towel and left overnight on the side to cool down.
Sliced and sandwiched in a homemade bun for lunch today........ can't quite describe the taste. it is nicely pink thanks to the salt petre (hope the photos do it justice) and is nice and flaky with a spicy taste. Just needs some proper pickles to set it off.
Now to smoke the other half for Pastrami.....
Bob
I took a brisket of Beef and split it in half (the other half is destined for Pastrami but I haven't finished that one yet.
Left it to soak in a home made brine concoction for about 3 weeks. Added Salt Petre to keep it pink which I bought from someone on Amazon. I added a whole load of other thinks into the curing liquor but can't quite remember what now. It was a mix of several recipes off the internet combined with whatever we had in the spice cupboard.
Left at the bottom of the fridge and turned a few times (4 or 5) over the 3 week period being careful not to contaminate the brine whilst doing so.
After 3 weeks, the beef came out and to be honest looked a little unappetising. A quick wash down and it looked a bit better. Boiled for 3 hours with the obligatory onion and then wrapped in tin foil and a tea towel and left overnight on the side to cool down.
Sliced and sandwiched in a homemade bun for lunch today........ can't quite describe the taste. it is nicely pink thanks to the salt petre (hope the photos do it justice) and is nice and flaky with a spicy taste. Just needs some proper pickles to set it off.
Now to smoke the other half for Pastrami.....
Bob
Looks good 
If you make it again, I'd suggest a slightly different cooking method:
Cook it in a slow cooker for 8 hours on 'low' with a carrot, a celery stick and a small onion studded with four cloves. The temperature needs to be so low that the cooking water barely trembles.
Leave the meat to cool in the cooking liquid and wedge it into a bowl with a bit of the cooled liquid surrounding. Top with a plate and a heavy weight / some cans on top. Refrigerate overnight, then carve slices as you need to.
The resulting meat should have all connective tissue dissolved into a savoury unctuousness, and be nicely marbled through with gelatine.
If you make it again, I'd suggest a slightly different cooking method:
Cook it in a slow cooker for 8 hours on 'low' with a carrot, a celery stick and a small onion studded with four cloves. The temperature needs to be so low that the cooking water barely trembles.
Leave the meat to cool in the cooking liquid and wedge it into a bowl with a bit of the cooled liquid surrounding. Top with a plate and a heavy weight / some cans on top. Refrigerate overnight, then carve slices as you need to.
The resulting meat should have all connective tissue dissolved into a savoury unctuousness, and be nicely marbled through with gelatine.
Mobile Chicane said:
Looks good
If you make it again, I'd suggest a slightly different cooking method:
Cheers - that is an excellent idea, nowhere on the Internet suggested the slow cooker, but it makes perfect sense, If you make it again, I'd suggest a slightly different cooking method:
The other half of the brisket is currently resting waiting to become pastrami but I am tempted to get another batch on the go this weekend.
Cheers
bob
Squiggs said:
I'd always imagined corned beef had two main ingredients - one being beef the other being corn.
What do I know!
So did I until I watched an episode of Rick Stein, from memory the name corned beef came about due to the grain size of the salt used, being the size of a corn kernel. What do I know!
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