Contents
- Why Our Testers Loved This
- What You’ll Need to Make This
- How to Make Corned Beef
- Common Questions
- Video: How to Make Corned Beef
- Helpful Tips
- Storage & Reheating
- How to Serve Corned Beef
- More Great Homemade Cured Meat Recipes
- Write a Review
- Corned Beef Cure + Cook Kit
- Homemade Corned Beef Recipe
- Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Homemade corned beef brisket sort of defines Saint Patrick’s Day. And if you’ve heard of it but not experienced it, or maybe downed a few sandwiches of it but still aren’t exactly sure what corned beef is, it’s essentially brisket that’s lingered in a brine solution of corned beef seasonings for a few days. It’s similar to your favorite pastrami recipe but has a unique flavor and texture. It becomes a little salty and redolent of spices and, as it turns out, may be good for you.
See, its brine solution is essentially a pickling liquid. And you’ve certainly heard the buzz in recent years about how healthful pickled things are, yes? Ergo, the only logical thing to do is pickle and consume copious quantities of corned beef. Right?! Or if you don’t buy that, consider that we’re all Irish once a year. Kindly note that you’ll need to start the corned beef five days before you intend to sit down at the table. #worthit
Why Our Testers Loved This
The testers were “astonished” at how easy it was to make this corned beef recipe. Julie Dreyfoos described it as the “best corned beef she had ever experienced,” while Larry Noak proclaimed that he’ll “never buy corned beef again.” Yes, it’s that good.
What You’ll Need to Make This
- Kosher salt–This makes up the foundation of your brine, allowing the meat to retain moisture and become tender, ensuring perfect corned beef. To avoid making a brine that’s too salty, you must weigh your salt. Crystal sizes can vary from brand to brand, significantly changing the salt level in the brine when measured by volume.
- Sugar–Using sugar in the brine helps to tenderize the meat and add flavor.
- Pink curing salt–This gives the meat its pinkish hue, but its purpose isn’t merely cosmetic. This salt, which contains sodium nitrite, stops bacterial growth during the lengthy curing process and helps to preserve the meat’s flavor and texture. Don’t even think about omitting it.
- Beef brisket–For best results, make your corned beef with first-cut or “flat-cut” brisket. It is leaner than point-cut brisket. If you do make it with point-cut, be sure to trim away any excess fat.
How to Make Corned Beef
- Toast the peppercorns, mustard seeds, and coriander seeds in a skillet, then use the flat side of a large knife to smash them. Mix them with the remaining spice blend ingredients. Combine 1/2 gallon of water, kosher salt, sugar, pink salt, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of pickling spice in a large pot.
- Bring the brine to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar.
- Combine the brine with 1/2 gallon of ice and water in a container large enough to hold the brisket.
- Add the brisket to the cold brine.
- Submerge the brisket in the brine.
- Cover and chill for 5 days, flipping the brisket occasionally.
- Drain and rinse the brisket. Place the brisket in a pot large enough to hold the meat and add enough water to cover it.
- Add 2 tablespoons of pickling spice, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook until fork tender, replenishing the water, if needed.
Common Questions
First-cut brisket, sometimes called the “flat cut,” is the leaner, flatter portion of a whole beef brisket. It boasts a relatively even thickness, making it ideal for slicing against the grain after cooking. The “second cut,” aka the “point cut,” contains more fat, or deckle, and sits on top.
Pink salt is a curing salt containing nitrite. It preserves corned beef’s color, flavor, and freshness and, most important, prevents harmful bacteria growth. Look for it under names like Tinted Cure Mix, Prague Powder #1, or Curing Salt #1. Don’t confuse it with Himalayan pink salt, which is a regular salt.
☞ And don’t confuse this pink salt with Himalayan pink salt, which is entirely different.
To make corned beef with cabbage and potatoes, render the fat from some bacon that you’ve cut into matchstick-size strips in a pot over medium heat. Toss in some large wedges of green cabbage and cook, turning as needed, until the edges are lightly browned. This will impart a little extra flavor oomph to the cabbage.
Add some of the reserved cooking liquid from the corned beef to the pot. Then toss some chunked potatoes and the sliced corned beef in with the cabbage, cover, and cook until the cabbage is tender. (If you prefer the potatoes not pick up any cabbage flavor or color, boil them separately in salted water.)
That steaming liquid transforms into a lovely sauce. If you like, stir in a tablespoon of Dijon mustard for a touch of richness.
Nestle your brined brisket into the slow cooker and add enough water to cover it (if it’s too big, simply cut off a smaller portion!). Toss in 2 tablespoons of your corned beef seasoning mix and cook on low until fork-tender, about 7 hours. Reserve that flavorful cooking liquid for serving if you like.
Slice the corned beef and enjoy warm, or cool, wrap, and refrigerate for up to a week.
Want more slow-cooker tips? Check out Jackie G.’s comment below – she turned her leftover brisket into homemade pastrami!
Video: How to Make Corned Beef
Helpful Tips
- If you find it difficult to keep the brisket submerged in the brine, place something heavy (a plate of a few canned goods are great for this!) in a sealed plastic bag and set it on top of the brisket to weigh it down.
- If your brisket is too big to fit into the brining container in one piece, cut it in half.
- This homemade corned beef recipe is suitable for gluten-free and dairy-free diets.
Storage & Reheating
Corned beef can be stored, tightly wrapped in plastic or aluminum foil in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. For longer storage, freeze individual portions tightly wrapped in plastic or sealed bags for up to 6 months.
How to Serve Corned Beef
There are many ways to enjoy homemade corned beef. For a traditional meal, serve it sliced with cabbage and potatoes, or enjoy it in a reuben sandwich, made with rye bread, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing.
It’s also terrific with potatoes in corned beef hash, or added to twice-baked potatoes.
More Great Homemade Cured Meat Recipes
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
I make corned beef for my husband. I personally do not care for it. This recipe has totally changed my mind!
The meat was so tender and so flavorful. I will never make corned beef a different way. Looks like we will have a new tradition in our family!
Alison M
My newest Spice Kit
Corned Beef Cure + Cook Kit
If you can boil water, you can make homemade corned beef. Crafted with a pre-measured amount of salt, sugar, and spices, my kit ensures you’ll create the perfect St. Patrick’s Day meal at home. Bold and spice-forward, each ingredient infuses your brisket with irresistible flavor.
Homemade Corned Beef
Equipment
- Slow cooker (if following the slow cooker method)
Ingredients
For the pickling spice
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
- 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 2 tablespoons crushed 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
For the brine solution
- 1 gallon water
- 2 cups Morton kosher salt, (or 3 1/3 cups/450 g Diamond Crystal kosher salt)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pink salt, (see FAQs)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons pickling spice (above), (see above recipe or use store-bought)
- One (5-pound) well-marbled (first-cut) beef brisket
Instructions
Make the pickling spice
- In a small, dry skillet over medium heat, toast the peppercorns, mustard seeds, and coriander seeds until the spices are lightly toasted. Carefully turn them onto a cutting board and carefully smash them using the flat side of a chef's knife to crack them, being careful to not let the seeds roll all over your counter and onto your floor.
- Scrape the cracked spices into a large plastic container or glass jar or other nonreactive container and add the remaining ingredients. Stir until completely combined. Cover tightly.
Make the brine solution
- In a pot that's just large enough to hold the brisket, combine the water, salt, sugar, pink salt, garlic, and 2 tablespoons pickling spice.
- Bring to a simmer, stirring until the salt and sugar dissolve.
- Remove the pot from the heat, let the brine cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate until the brine is completely chilled. For a quick chill: Bring 1/2 gallon of water to a simmer, add the brine ingredients, and stir until dissolved. Slide the pot off the heat and add 1/2 gallon of ice and water. Make sure the water is cool before adding the brisket.
- Place the brisket in the chilled brine and weight it with a plate to keep it submerged. Refrigerate for 5 days, flipping the brisket once or twice.
- Remove the brisket from the brine solution, discarding the brine. Rinse the brisket thoroughly under cool running water. (Don't worry, you're just rinsing the brine solution from the surface of the brisket. The brine will continue to permeate the beef and work its considerable magic.)
Cook the corned beef
- To make the corned beef in your slow cooker, see the Slow Cooker Variation in the FAQs above.To make the corned beef on the stovetop, reach once again for a pot just large enough to hold the brisket. Place the brined brisket inside and add enough water to cover the meat. Add 2 tablespoons of pickling spice and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and gently simmer for about 3 hours, or until the brisket is fork-tender. You want to make certain that there’s always enough water to cover the brisket. You may need to occasionally replenish the water if it gets too low.
- When the corned beef is done, remove it from the cooking liquid, which can be reserved, and place it on a cutting board. Slice the corned beef and serve it warm, with cabbage and potatoes if desired (see the Variation in the FAQs) or cool it, wrap it, and refrigerate it for up to a week to use in this Reuben sandwich. It's also not too shabby in corned beef hash. You can dribble the cooking liquid over the cabbage and vegetables or cover and refrigerate the liquid and rewarm it along with your leftover corned beef.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I decided to make the “real thing” for St. Patty’s Day this year and brined a 6-pound, well-marbled, first-cut beef brisket.
After its bath in the corned beef seasoning brine for 5 days, I decided to cook the brisket in our slow cooker instead of on top of the stove. I couldn’t fit the entire brisket in my 5 1/2-quart slow cooker, so a 3-pound chunk went into the slow cooker and the rest went back into the fridge.
At first, the brisket was submerged under the water. When I checked to see how it was doing after 1 1/2 hours, the meat had curled up and was sticking out of the water. I pushed it down, but wasn’t terribly concerned because brisket tends to shrink quite a bit. Sure enough, after 30 more minutes, the brisket was, indeed, covered with liquid.
The brisket cooked for a total of 7 hours on low. I suggest you check to see how the meat is doing along the way, even though some folks warn that you should never lift the lid of a slow cooker. I find that it does not add much cooking time at all. For me, and this particular piece of meat, at that 7 hour mark, the corned beef was tender.
Alongside the brisket I served a casserole of chopped potatoes, cabbage, and onion, which I’d sautéed in bacon fat and then finished in the oven with some Comté cheese on top. As much as we enjoyed the brisket on the first night with the casserole, we enjoyed the leftovers even more. I made this wonderful corned beef hash twice and served it with poached eggs.
So, what to do with the other remaining brisket that didn’t fit in the slow cooker? There was no question. When life gives you brined brisket, make pastrami.
I will never buy corned beef again after making this recipe. Turns out, pickling even substandard brisket with this astounding potpourri of aromatic spices will change your life forever!
I was very concerned that my brisket was going to be not good enough because when I got it home, I realized that it was graded select. I made the recipe anyways but put a layer of plastic wrap on top of the brine and brisket and then added the plate to hold it all together. I was surprised at the ease with which this came together and truly astonished at the final result.
I found the simplest way to acquire the pink salt was on Amazon. For around $10, you’ll secure enough for many, many pounds of homemade bacon and corned beef.
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!
Mic drop. Boom.
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!
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.
Have you tried freezing the beef after it has been brined? Would like to brine several at a time and always have corned beef available for my frequent Reuben Sandwich attacks! Thanks
Hi, Patti. No I’ve never frozen corned beef. But from my research, I see you can freeze it after it’s been brined and cooked. I’d suggest making sure the surface is completely dry before wrapping in plastic wrap and then foil. (If you have a vacuum sealer machine, that would work, too.) Freeze it for no more than 2 months.
I have just tried this recipe and it turned out nicely. The brisket I used wasn’t that fatty or well marbled. I also used two 2-pound pieces, but cooked them for the 3 hours. I wonder if I would have used a more well marbled brisket if it would have turned out more tender? Also would cooking it for a longer period make it tougher or softer? It was tender. I just think it could have been slightly more so.
Jakki, so glad you liked the recipe. Two smaller pieces won’t need to cook as long as a larger piece of meat and it could have made it a bit tougher. But the biggest contributor to tenderness is the marbling. Definitely try to special order 5 pounds of first-cut brisket with plenty of marbling. I think you will find a huge difference.
I would think freezing after brining but before cooking would be okay because the freezing point of highly salted water is much lower than your freezer would be capable of and assuming the brine has reached the innermost regions of the brisket, it probably won’t freeze per se but stay preserved in the brine at a low temperature. I would try it just to see!
Hi, Marshall. Freezing brined by uncooked brisket would change the texture of the meat–making it slightly spongy. (Cook’s Illustrated did an experiment of freezing brined meats.) Patti, if you don’t think you’d mind that slightly different texture, go for it!
i freeze brined chix all the time with no truly noticeable difference. don’t see why brisket would be much different.