| Brian Polcyn | Charcuterie | W.W. Norton, 2005 | Makes 4 1/2 pounds, 8 to 10 servings
Making your own corned beef is especially satisfying because it’s so easy—and so inexpensive compared to commercial corned beef. It’s also a pleasure to have a hand in what is an extraordinary transformation of a cheap cut of meat. We love simple braised brisket, like the Belgian stew carbonnade, cooked slowly in beer and onions, but to cause the metamorphosis from brisket to delicious corned beef is a different pleasure altogether. Corned beef becomes firmer. It takes on the delicious cured flavor. And, while it’s excellent for sandwiches, it can make an elegant main course for a full meal, served with, say, sauteed blanched cabbage or Brussels sprouts with a mustard vinaigrette and boiled potatoes.
Then there’s corned beef and cabbage, which is one my favorite preparations because it takes what ought to be a kind of one-pot stew collection of cheap ingredients—cured brisket, cabbage, and potatoes—and with just a little bit of effort turns them into a beautiful, distinctive meal.
Cabbage and bacon are a great combo, so I love to render some lardons (batons of cured pork belly or bacon) and sear the cabbage in bacon fat. (Is there a better phrase in the kitchen than “sear in bacon fat”? I can’t think of one.) This flavors the cabbage and gives the edges of the leaves a cool crinkled design of brown and bright green. I then add some of the poaching liquid from the corned beef (step 6) to the pot and cover it so that the cabbage steams and becomes tender. (Sometimes I even slow roast the corned beef ahead of time, wrapping the corned beef in foil with a little water and cook it at 250°F till it’s tender.) I like to cook the potatoes separately because they look better and brighter, but if you want to cut down on pots you could add sliced potatoes to the cabbage. For a quick meal, you can add the already cooked corn beef with potatoes to the cabbage, cover the pot, and steam it all together. The liquid that steams the cabbage then becomes a delicious sauce when you stir in a tablespoon of Dijon mustard.
There’s no single best way to cook these common foods. For me the fun is in taking ingredients we thing of as pedestrian and making them great.—Michael Ruhlman
Active time: 30 minutes | Total time: 5 days, 3 hours.
Homemade Corned Beef Recipe
Ingredients
- 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
- 1 gallon water
- 2 cups Morton’s kosher salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 ounce (5 teaspoons) pink salt (see Note)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 tablespoons pickling spice (above or store-bought)
- One 5-pound well-marbled (first-cut) beef brisket
Directions
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1. Lightly toast the peppercorns, mustard seeds, and coriander seeds in a small dry skillet, then smash them with the side of a knife just to crack them.
2. Combine the cracked spices with the remaining ingredients, mixing well. Store in a tightly sealed plastic container or glass jar.
3. Combine the water, salt, sugar, pink salt, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of the pickling spices in a pot large enough to hold the brisket comfortably. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate the brine until it’s completely chilled.
4. Place the brisket in the brine and weight it down with a plate to keep it submerged. Refrigerate for 5 days.
5. Remove the brisket from the brine and rinse it thoroughly under cool running water. (Resting is not required here because the distribution of the brine will continue in the long, slow cooking process.)
6. Place the brisket in a pot just large enough to hold it and add enough water to cover the meat. Add the remaining pickling spice and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer gently for about 3 hours, or until the brisket is fork-tender. There should always be enough water to cover the brisket; replenish the water if it gets too low.
7. Remove the corned beef from the cooking liquid, which can be used to moisten the meat and vegetables, if that is what you’re serving (see headnote). Slice the corned beef and serve warm, or cool, then wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve, or for up to a week.
Note: Pink salt, a curing salt with nitrite, is called by different names and sold under various brand names, such as tinted cure mix or T.C.M., DQ Curing Salt, and Insta Cure #1. The nitrite in curing salts does a few special things to meat: It changes the flavor, preserves the corned beef’s red color, prevents fats from developing rancid flavors, and prevents many bacteria from growing.
- Homemade Short Rib Pastrami from Michael Ruhlman
- Guiness Corned Beef with Cabbage from Steamy Kitchen
- Homeade Pancetta from Leite’s Culinaria
- Brisket from Leite’s Culinaria
Corned beef recipe © 2005 by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. Photo © 2010 Ruhlman.com. All rights reserved.
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I read the book and was so anxious to try the corned beef that I went to the store and bought some Morton Tender Quick instead. I wanted to brine the brisket like the book, said but I couldn’t wait to buy on line “pink salt,” and the grocery store didn’t have it. The problem is the Morton people have you dry rub the salt mixture and stick the brisket in the fridge. We’ll see how it turns out.
I’m ready to get a sausage grinder and stuffer next, because I really want to make my own sausage. I am so glad this book came out because I don’t know anyone who is remotely interested or who knows anything about this subject.
Mary, how did it turn out? I’m curious.
I am glad you posted this. I have made my own corned beef before, many years ago, but have been searching for a recipe to do in the present, since I have lost the older one, which I think was either a Gourmet, or Bon Appetit recipe. This is the only one that adds the red pepper flakes, I have found. I do not recall using the pink salt, as I couldn’t find it.
I am wondering how the above recipe turns out using the Morton Tender Quick, and thinking I will look for it rather then wait for the pink salt…
Janie, glad you found the recipe, too! I’m going to have Michael Ruhlman weigh in on the salt issue.
I’ve never worked with tender quick. it’s got less sodium nitrite in it so I’m curious how it will work. Good luck. Also, I reduce the salt concentration by 50%.
I’ll bet the tender quick has a brine ratio for using it–follow that, with the above pickling spice.
Oh no. I cured my meat with 2 cups of tender quick salt. Hopefully it wont be dried out and gross..
Let’s see. Report back!
This can also be done with beef short ribs. Coat your cured meat in black pepper and coriander and smoke it if you want to turn it into pastrami!
Booyah!
I’m excited to try this as a St. Patrick’s Day project. A couple questions, in the paragraphs above the recipe it says, “I slow roast the corned beef ahead of time, wrapping the corned beef in foil with a little water and slow roast it at 250°F till it’s tender.” Would that be in instead of boiling as instructed in the recipe body? Also, would it work well to cook the beef the day before and then reheat for serving?
I would simmer it (as in step 6) since the brine is so strong. If you want to reduce the brine’s strength to five percent salt concentration, then you can do the oven steam/roast method.
where can get curing salt in CANADA, Hamilton Ontario
Sue, I’m sure in your area, but two places that may have it are stuffers.com in BC or the Sausage Maker in Buffalo, NY.
I live right around the corner, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Sue. My local butcher carries that kind of stuff. Alternatively, see if there’s a few places that offer sausage making supplies near you.
Thank you for your help. I will try my butcher.
Sue, Michael Ruhlman sent this, which came from a reader of his. She lives in Canada:
“I got it from Bill Leathem at the Stuffers Supply Company online store in Canada…but you have to email them for the small quantity as it is not listed on their website. The link is not handy.”
Hope this helps.
I found Himalayan Pink Mountain Salt today. What are your thoughts?
Sue, Himalayan Pink Mountain Salt isn’t a curing salt, despite having the word pink in the title.
David, thank you it’s a good thing i didn’t buy it. very expensive salt.
Sure, sure thing. Did you try the recommendations above?
David, not yet, I will be going to my butcher on Thursday as I want to make beef jerky this weekend will ask him then. Two more question, could I use coarse salt instead of kosher, also can I substitute artifical sugar for the real sugar.
I talk to my butcher today. He has it, yes.
Glad to hear it, Sue.
Meat is in the fridge.
Sue, tell us how it turns out.
I looked at my meat today, looks anemic, I will cook it tomorrow.
The anemic meat is in the pot.
Sue, you’re scaring me….
David, no need to be scared, you’re not eating it, I am…Beef looked really anemic, something I would never buy at the store. Threw it in the pot, with the thought what take out will be tonights dinner. Well lo and behold, it turned a beautiful red and tasted just like corned beef. This will be a regular dinner at my house, no longer just a treat. Oh by the way, David you are invited for dinner, if you dare. Turning the broth into soup now. Rubin sandwiches and soup for lunch, see you at noon. Thank you for sharing this recipe
You got it, Sue. When should I come over?
Today is the fifth day! I couldnt find pink salt near me so I substituted the salt for morton’s tender quick and omitted the pink salt. Hopefully it comes out good! I have no motivation at work today. I just want to go home and simmer my corned beef.
Quick question: for the cabbage/corned beef/potato, Did you boil the potato whole then slice? or sliced then boil?
Si, the potatoes should be boiled whole, cooled slightly, then sliced. I always lightly grease my knife with olive oil when cutting potatoes. Helps the slices not stick.
Please let us know how it turned out for you.
The corned beef recipe in Charcuterie was the one of first ones I tried when I purchased the book a few years ago. I’ve since repeated the process many times, occasionally with a few tweaks of my own, but nothing major. I’ve corned the beef to cook and serve on it’s own, or as a step en route to pastrami. The results have been nothing less than excellent.
That said, I do have one issue with the recipe – The amount of pink salt called for. I buy most of my curing supplies from http://www.butcher-packer.com which, if I recall correctly, is recommended as a source in the book. Their web site and the packaging clearly state that 4 ounces of the pink salt will cure 100 pounds of meat. The recipe calls for 1 ounce (5 teaspoons), or enough to cure 25 pounds of meat. My adjustment for a 5 pound brisket is to use 1 teaspoon, and have never had a problem with the finished product.
If Michael is still following this, I would be interested in his comments on this matter.
Thanks, David. I’ll ping Michael and try to get him back here.
We’re reevaluating pink salt levels for the new book so can’t answer specifically. that’s brian’s recipe. the govt recommended level of nitrite in a product is 200 parts per million, so if you’re good at math, figure out 200 ppm for the weight of the brine and meat combined. don’t forget also that it’s simmered, which leaches out salt. also, nitrite converts to nitrous oxide so I’m not sure how much nitrite you’re getting in final product. trying to research this now!
Thanks for the response, Michael. I checked a number of sources of information regarding the use of pink salt – commercial and governmental. Most recommend 4 ounces per 100 lbs of meat. A couple recommended no more than 5 ounces. I’ll be interested in seeing the outcome of your research. In the meantime, I’ll stick with my ratio.