Recipe: Corned Beef

Recipe: Corned Beef

Time: 30 minutes for preparing brine, 5 days for curing brisket, 3 hours for cooking

1 5 lbs beef brisket
2 cups kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
5 tsp sodium nitrite, optional
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbs pickling spice
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in two
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped.

1. In pot large enough to hold brisket, combine 1 gallon of water with kosher salt, sugar, sodium nitrite (if using), garlic and 2 Tbs 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.

2. Place brisket in brine, weighted with a plate to keep it submerged; cover. Refrigerate for 5 days.

3. 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.

4. 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.

Yields: 8 to 10 servings.

Note: Sodium nitrite is sold under various names. It is available from the Butcher & Packer Supply Company (butcher-packer. com) as DQ Curing Salt.