With the approach of St. Paddy's day I got a brisket into the brine Friday, in time to make my wife the corned beef she loves. And I realized I've never blogged about it. Everyone who cooks should corn their own beef. It's easy as brining a chicken. And when you make your own pickling spice (brine photo above, recipe below), you can really pump up the flavor.
Any cut of beef can be "corned" (corn was originally a generic term for grain, deriving from the same root as kernel and grain; corning beef referred to curing beef with grains of salt, McGee, page 477, thanks to Patrick for his corrective comment). But the best cuts are the tougher, less-expensive cuts such as brisket. The only uncommon ingredient is the sodium nitrite, pink salt, available by mail here. If you have any shops that make their own bacon, hams, or smoked sausage, they may have some on hand. This is what accounts for the deep red color of the beef and also gives it its distinctive flavor. I think it's important but it's not necessary from a safety standpoint.
I know this is a little late for your St. Patrick's day, but it's so delicious it's worth making any time of the year.
The following recipe is from Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing.
Home-Cured Corned Beef
1-½ cups kosher salt*
½ cup sugar
4 teaspoons pink salt (sodium nitrite), optional
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons pickling spice
1 5-pound beef brisket
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in two
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped.
In pot large enough to hold brisket, combine 1 gallon of water with kosher salt, sugar, sodium nitrite (if using), garlic and 2 tablespoons pickling spice. Bring to a simmer, stirring until salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.
Place brisket in brine, weighted with a plate to keep it submerged; cover. Refrigerate for 5 days.
Remove brisket from brine and rinse thoroughly. Place in a pot just large enough to hold it. Cover with water and add remaining pickling spice, carrot, onion and celery. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer gently until brisket is fork-tender, about 3 hours, adding water if needed to cover brisket.
Keep warm until ready to serve. Meat can be refrigerated for several days in cooking liquid. Reheat in the liquid or serve chilled. Slice thinly and serve on a sandwich or with additional vegetables simmered until tender in the cooking liquid.
*A note about the salt. Salt level not hugely critical here because it's basically boiled and excess salt moves into cooking liquid. You can weigh out 12 ounces here if you feel better using a scale (approximately a 10% brine). Or you can simply make a 5% brine of however much water you need to cover (6.4 ounces per gallon). When you cook it, season the cooking liquid to the level you want your meat seasoned. Another option is wrapping the brisket in foil and cooking it in a 225 degree oven till tender, but only do this if you've used the 5% brine.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings.
Pickling Spice
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons allspice berries
1 tablespoon ground mace
2 small cinnamon sticks, crushed or broken into pieces
2 to 4 bay leaves, crumbled
2 tablespoons whole cloves
1 tablespoon ground ginger.
Combine peppercorns, mustard seeds and coriander seeds in a small dry pan. Place over medium heat and stir until fragrant, being careful not to burn them; keep lid handy in case seeds pop. Crack peppercorns and seeds in mortar and pestle or with the side of a knife on cutting board.
Combine with other spices, mix. Store in tightly sealed plastic or glass container.
Home-Cured Corned Beef
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups kosher salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 4 tsp pink salt sodium nitrate (optional)
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 4 tbsp pickling spice
- 1 5-pound beef brisket
- 1 carrot peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion peeled and cut in two
- 1 celery stalk roughly chopped
Pickling Spice
- 2 tbsp black peppercorns
- 2 tbsp mustard seeds
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp hot red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp allspice berries
- 1 tbsp ground mace
- 2 small cinnamon sticks crushed or broken into pieces
- 2-4 bay leaves crumbled
- 2 tbsp whole cloves
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
Instructions
- In a pot large enough to hold the brisket, combine 1 gallon of water with the kosher salt, sugar, sodium nitrite (if using), garlic, and 2 tablespoons of the pickling spice. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.
- Place the brisket in the brine, weighted with a plate to keep it submerged; cover. Refrigerate for 5 days.
- Remove the brisket from the brine and rinse thoroughly. Place in a pot just large enough to hold it. Cover with water and add the carrot, onion, celery, and remaining 2 tablespoons pickling spice. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Simmer gently until the brisket is fork-tender, about 3 hours, adding water if needed to cover the brisket.
- Keep warm until ready to serve. The meat can be refrigerated for several days in the cooking liquid. Reheat in the liquid or serve chilled. Slice thinly and serve on a sandwich or with additional vegetables simmered until tender in the cooking liquid.
- *A note about the salt: The salt level is not hugely critical here because it’s basically boiled, and the excess salt moves into cooking liquid. You can weigh out 12 ounces here if you feel better using a scale (approximately a 10% brine). Or you can simply make a 5% brine of however much water you need to cover (6.4 ounces per gallon). When you cook it, season the cooking liquid to the level you want your meat seasoned. Another option is wrapping the brisket in foil and cooking it in a 225°F degree oven till tender, but do this only if you’ve used the 5% brine.
Pickling Spice
- Combine the peppercorns, mustard seeds, and coriander seeds in a small dry pan. Place over medium heat and stir until fragrant, being careful not to burn them; keep the lid handy in case the seeds pop. Crack the peppercorns and seeds in a mortar and pestle or with the side of a knife on a cutting board.
- Combine with other spices and mix well. Store in a tightly sealed container.
Peter
Thank you so much! I eat corned beef sandwiches are year 'round so St. Paddy's Day may come & go.
Elliott Papineau
Just made this with a flat iron steak. Good to use on many types of beef.
LoveFeast Table
Thank you for this recipe! We typically use the pre-packaged pickling spices but I will definitely be pumping it up this year!!
Ray
Can you over or under corn a beef? And, can I keep the beef in the corning solution for a longer time to store It for a later date?
Thanks in advanced.
Ray
Michael Ruhlman
hard to overcook. It could get too salty if in brine too long but if you simmer it, this will leach out the sauce.
Stephanie Manley
I have done this a few times. I have done it without the pink salt, you simply end up with a piece of meat that looks far more normal than the intense red of corned beef. I have purchased the spice spend from penzeys.com to make my corned beef, and it has turned out well. I have also made it from a hand crafted blend too. It depends on what area of the country to live, as to how often corned beef is available. The hardest part for me is finding the container large enough to put it, but I took care of that by going to a restaurant supply place and purchasing one of their storage containers there.
Homemade corned beef is far superior to the commerical kind, the flavors from your own kitchen are more intense, and it is so worth taking the time to do this.
Michael Greenberg
I use the bottom drawer of my fridge...works like a charm, and there's no worry about rips in a ziploc bag or dripping onto other food! I also use it for brining turkeys before Thanksgiving.
Nancy Singleton Hachisu
Well that's a pretty wild idea. I like it. My son has been bugging me to brine my chickens instead of salting them. I always tell him it's a lot more trouble. Maybe not, eh? It's all in the process. Thanks.
Nancy Singleton Hachisu
I guess St. Patrick's Day is coming. Hey, it's tomorrow, here in Japan (better scrounge up something green to wear, lest I be pinched by ???...nobody).
As I read Elise's post, I realized that I had never made (or eaten) Corned Beef, but had been thinking about it as something I should do these last few years. In my mind, I can see Julia Child's recipe, guess I missed the one in Charcuterie. I've got to stop skimming.
Looks like I better clean out my refrigerator drawer to make room for some brining. I even have the pink salt hanging around for when I was ready to make saucisson. Guess, I wasn't ready. Now I just have to figure out what cut brisket is in Japan. Thanks.
Darren
I've made this before and it turns out wonderfully . . . but why stop here? Turn that thing into a pastrami!
Thayer
No kidding--slather it in coriander and peppercorns and throw it on the smoker. The recipe in Charcuterie is amazing.
Patrick
A correction on the etymology of "corned beef"...
The term "corn" was in use in the English language as a synonym for "grain" before anyone had ever seen the indigenous American plant we now call corn. In the same way that we now commonly refer to a "grain of salt," our ancestors thought of a "corn of salt." So "corned beef" really just means "salted beef."
When the English speaking world finally "discovered" maize in the new world, they used the aptly descriptive name "corn" to describe a plant that is structured around so many individual grains. Of course, over time the new-world plant became so ubiquitous that it rendered all other uses of the term pretty much forgotten.
Happy Saint Patrick's!
Patrick O'Leary
thefooddemocracy.blogspot.com
ruhlman
fixed, thanks for the correction!
Ben
We'll be having ours for dinner tonight (corned beef and cabbage); I started the cure on Wednesday. Due to time constraints tonight, I did the braise last night and filled the house with the most wonderful aroma. I reserved a couple pounds of the corned beef for pastrami. Can't wait!
Stephanie M. Clarkson
For those in the greater Boston area, Christina's in Inman square has pink salt, which I have used in corned beef brines before. Om nom.
Cali
Pink salt isn't that hard to find. Any place that carries canning supplies (Mason jars, rings and lids, and etc.) will probably have it. My local Walmart carries it.
David Dombroski
I have never liked measuring by volume when it comes to salt. It differs by brand. What would be the amount of salt, by weight, for the brine?
ruhlman
David, I've added a note about salt, thanks for asking!
David Dadekian
I just did this last week, using a variation on your spices, and cooked the dinner yesterday. Not only is the brine ridiculously easy but so is the cooking. I've never been a big fan of the "boiled" dinner but everything was loaded with flavor. Everyone should do this.
Natalie Sztern
Bless you...with the onset of Passover you have given two incredible recipes to prepare. I must say Corned Beef, yes not smoked meat we montrealers are famed for, is a product I usually buy cryovaced at 1 1/2 times a regular brisket and can usually only find it in a Kosher section of meat or a Kosher butcher..odd it is not a food that French Canadians seem to enjoy...then proceed to boil...not this year...(the heritage of the corned brisket must emanate somewhere out of europe?)
Tony T
I've got two briskets brining, one for corned beef and one for pastrami. I can't wait.
As far as containers for brining, I recently saw that Ziploc now has 2.5 gallon bags. I purchased these bags and find them plenty big enough for a 5 lbs brisket plus brine. Plus, I can fit them easier in my refrigerator.
Mimi
Thank you for sharing this. I was thinking about homemade brisket as I ate a Rueben sandwich and german potato salad in early honor of St. Paddys day on Saturday.
Lucy V
I have been dying for a Rueben. This is the answer. Thanks!
lo
Have always been tempted to try this... and I couldn't tell you what's been stopping me. Would probably opt to skip the nitrates on this one, but I love the proportions you've chosen for your pickling spices!
Susan
I used to be able to buy Saag's Corned Beef Round at Costco (eons ago) but have not seen it anywhere since. It was as tender and flavorful as any other corned beef, and I really liked the larger slices for sandwiches. Do you suppose that I could corn an Eye of Round roast or what would you suggest? Would I have to lengthen the brining time or pierce a thicker meat? Any tips? I've never tried curing meat.
Susan
One more thing..if sodium nitrate is included, would you have to adjust the amount of kosher salt in the brine? Wouldn't the inclusion make it an extremely salty brine?
ruhlman
you use a very small amount of sodium nitrite.
Kelly Thos. Shay
To be even more authentic you should try Irish Spiced Beef - it was the precursor to Corned Beef. It is made from a dry rub on the brisket that cures for 7 days - vs. a brine. It wouldn't be Christmas or St. Paddy's without it!
ladygoat
Really, it's that easy? I guess I know what I'll be doing with the brisket in the freezer that I didn't know what to do with!
Tinky
You are my hero. This year I got a lovely corned beef from a really good butcher, but NEXT YEAR..........
Peter Duray-Bito
Will this work for a London broil? My wife bought a couple on sale a few weeks ago and I wasn't too happy with just grilling it. Tough and chewy. Is this a good solution for the one I still have in my freezer?
ruhlman
sure, give it a whirl. it may be pretty lean so you'll need to compensate for that.
Matt Rissling
Off topic, although the flank may indeed be too lean for this corned beef method, but when preparing flank (london broil) make sure you score each side of the steak before cooking. Score it twice on each side to create a diamond pattern. This helps break up some of the muscle. A marinade of equal parts canola and oyster sauce, lots of fresh garlic and pepper go a long way to making this cut of beef delicious. Cook to a medium and slice thinly across the grain and I think you'll be happier!
Jewel
We, too, got our brisket in the brine on Friday. We have made a version from the Cooks Illustrated people but this will be our first with the recipe from Charcuterie.
We always make our own corned beef and have folks over on St Patrick's day; this year we're having our house/dog sitter over for the run-thru before we go on vacation. He's quite excited to try freshly-made corned beef. Of course we'll also have cabbage, roasted new potatoes and parsnips with parsley-cream sauce. Probably bread pudding for dessert.
Romona
I have several children who love corned beef. I always buy it from COSTCO but have never tried making mine own. I definitely will after this post!
jeff
I have two questions. Will it turn out jucier and more moist if you use the navel cut of a brisket, or will the added fat mess be too much. Also, besides taking a longer time, what would be the difference if you dry cured it (just dusted it with salt in the same ratio as you do with bacon in your book). I know a lot of jewish delis in nyc dry cure their corned beef and pastramis rather than brine it.
Michael Greenberg
I tend to use a whole brisket, fat on. It can be a little much, but you can always trim off the inch-thick parts.
I've never tried dry curing it, but I can say that a few days longer in the brine doesn't adversely affect things.
Elizabeth S
I remember you mentioning that Donna's food photography posts would be moving to their own space, but I've missed the details on where to find them. Is she on hiatus with the posts while she gets the new page organized, or have I already missed a few? Looking forward to reading more of her photo-notes!
vytauras
Michael, first time post....love your blog and books ! in your books or blog you never mentioned about curing salts ...such a Mortons quick cure or sugar cure..I usually use just like I would use salt for panceta , bacon ,pates and corned beef. Do you have any experience with those....?
Any difference in a final product with saltpeter, pink salt..or ready to use curing salts ?? Your opinion ?? Please ? Thanks !
ruhlman
elizabeth, donna's new blog address is http://ruhlmanphotography.wordpress.com/
i'll start to link the photos to that page.
vytauras, as far as i know, the morton's cure is a mixture of sodium nitrite and other stuff, sugar and seasoning. I prefer my own stuff! so should you—better flavor. Saltpeter, potassium nitrate, not used as much anymore here in the US. Better to stick with sodium nitrite and for dry cured sausages sodium nitrate, available as DQ cure salts from butcher-packer.com
vytauras
Thanks, for advise . I will definitely try sodium nitrite with Diamond Crystal kosher salt , which I prefer over Morton's anyway . I can taste bad salt in my food , like ...table salt...and Mortons ' tender Quick cure " does leave some after taste too . I made Pancetta from your book using Mortons quick tender cure, which contains no other seasonings, just salt, 0.5% sodium nitrite and 0.5% sodium nitrate also PropyleneGlycol ...( whatever that is ..) and Mortons Sugar cure also has some dextrose in it ..
Matthew B
Why isn't saltpeter used as much? I've found it at my local pharmacy and used it with good results. Is it a health concern, or does it not yield a consistent product in the way that sodium nitrate might?
Mantonat
For people worried about using sodium nitrite: as long as you aren't eating alot of store-bought cured meats, using sodium nitrite occassionally at home is not going to be a big concern. The studies done have indicated that sodium nitrite forms carcinogenic compounds primarily when the meat is cooked at high temp. Low temperature braising or smoking is probably not a concern. Also, the carcinogens are formed as a result of the oxidation of the sodium nitrite in combination with other chemical reactions caused by digestion. If you are worried, just take some vitamin C or E with your St. Patrick's Day feast. I'm not a scientist, but I play one on the internet.
Peter Duray-Bito
Michael, when you say you'd compensate for the London broil leanness, what do you recommend. Should I add a fat somehow?
ruhlman
it's going to be flavorful but dry if you braise it. serve it with a fatty sauce or something like cabbage sauteed in bacon fat or serve with lots of the braising liquid (if you're braising).
jfwells
Another nice addition to the standard CB&C recipe is to remove the corned beef about a half hour before it is done and pop it in a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes with a bourbon & brown sugar glaze (I suppose Irish Whiskey would work as well). The recipe I have is:
1 c. Brown sugar
1/2 c. bourbon
1/2 c. apple juice
3 Tbs. mustard
Although it is a bit thin. Next time I do it I will drop down the liquid some.
Peter Duray-Bito
How about laying bacon over the top of the London broil and braising (real slow - like 325 dregrees for 3 hours) sitting on a bed of mirepoix, with wine and stock? Do I expose the bacon or have the liquid cover it?
Peter Duray-Bito
Sorry, I guess that's no longer corned beef with the wine and stock. Maybe jfwells' recipe but still keeping the bacon laying over the top. Not Kosher, maybe but damn the torpedoes!
Nancy B
Michael,
If I add more garlic will I get the same fabulous tasting Jewish corned beef they have in Chicago & NY delis? What makes theirs so juicy? It's to die for! All my life (since moving to the West Coast) I've been searching for something like it--- to no avail. My mouth starts watering just thinking about it!
P.S. Your pastrami recipe is wonderful.
Mike
I used a Kobe briskett this year (not much more than a good briskett) it was unbelievable. Also corned an antelope roast this year that was left over from hunting season. It made for good sandwhiches.
Ryan
Methodology note/suggestion to those with space constraints in their refrigerators:
I've been corning my own beef for a couple of years and since I didn't have the top shelf frig space for a pot large enough to hold a brisket for 5 days, I had to come up with an alternative. I use one of those large plastic roasting bags found at the grocery store. I put the brisket in first, then cover with brine, and push out all of the air to make sure the meat is completely submerged before closing with the zip tie. I then place the bag in disposable aluminum half hotel pan to catch the small but inevitable amount of leakage. This cuts down the vertical space requirement to about 4 or 5 inches which allows me to store on one of the lower frig shelves. Funny, I've never used one of those bags to actually roast anything in...
Chad
Any thoughts on how long this will keep in the fridge after coming out of the brine (before cooking)? I brined 8 pounds for a party that was supposed to be last Saturday and got delayed, so I'll be cooking this on Sunday. I took it out of the brine on Monday and am wondering if I need to freeze it.
Bye the way, I cooked up a half pound last night just to make sure it was worthy of serving to my guests, and it's excellent!
pekmez
We used the recipe in Charcuterie to brine a beef tongue and make deli-style sliced tongue, and it was fabulous! I love a good braised fresh brisket so I'm not willing to sacrifice a rare brisket for making corned beef - but I've been getting tongue for under $1 a lb whenever I want it... so into the brine it goes!
joshua
I teach culinary arts at a high school technical level and we brined a whole case of brisket last week. We open a student run cafe between February and April break and I cant begin to tell you the amount of compliments we received from the senior citizens we served. Every customer over 60 that had our corned beef and cabbage said it was great, a couple even said that it was the best they ever had. If I can make a 60 to 70 year old Mainer say that, I really think I did something right.
Wizzythestick
from someone who lives in a part of the world where the only corned beef I see comes in tins. Thank You. I have been meaning to get this book. This just seals the deal:-)
simon
if i don't have pink salt, what kind of salt to replace?? thx
Sofya
I made this from charcuterie! it was great. I just cut the kosher salt by 1/3.
Sofya
Replace with morton tender quick.
Mark Baranowski
Food Safety Training - 10 OFF SALE
David
Thank you!!!!
A few years ago I couldn't find a corning recipe.
I thought that the art had been lost.
Michael Rehm
Ive seen brining times of 5day, 7days, 10 days and 15 days. What is the difference the ratio seems to be the same! Met you Michael Ruhlman with Tony B. back in 2009 on CIA campus . . .
Chef Mike
Mike's Global Grill - Republic of Panama
Michael Ruhlman
need to brine long enough till brine reaches center of meat. I don't think that the brine strength increases speed of penetration but don't know.
Denise
This brine recipe is the BEST on the planet! Thank you 🙂
Happy St. Patrick's Day 2020
Michael Ruhlman
thanks!!!
Paul
How do I scale the pink salt in the brine if I have say a 10lb piece of beef and need more brine to cover it. It’s my understanding the pink salt cannot be simply multiplied like other ingredients. Thanks
Michael Ruhlman
you have to do it by weight (I believe a teaspoon weighs about 5 grams, a tablespoon 1/2 ounce). calculate by multiplying weight of meat and water by .0025 and that's how much pink salt to use.
Richard
How long past the sell-by date can the meat be brined? I understand that corning was historically a way to preserve meat; but is that still what we’re doing? For instance, say the meat is submerged in brine on Day 0. The sell-by date is Day 2. When should it be removed from the brine and cooked?
Thanks!
Michael Ruhlman
I never look at sell by dates unless the meat is seriously marked down, then you know you have to work with it fast. If the meat doesn't smell rank to begin with, it's fine to brine. And the brine with kill the spoilage bacteria.
Domenick Lamanna
I have used this corned beef recipe many times it works out very nicely,, I always use the prague #1 pink salt sodium nitrite
thanks for great information
DomLamanna
Subbu
Just tried this with a flat iron steak, Taste is good. Thank you
Michael Ruhlman
interesting