**Unveiling the Delights of Corned Beef: A Culinary Journey Through History and Flavor**
Corned beef, a culinary gem with a rich history, is a traditional dish that has delighted palates for centuries. Originating in Ireland, this dish is a testament to the country's culinary heritage and is often associated with the iconic St. Patrick's Day celebration. The process of corning beef involves curing the meat in a mixture of salt, spices, and preservatives, resulting in a tender and flavorful cut that can be enjoyed in various ways. This article presents a comprehensive guide to corning beef, offering two distinct recipes that cater to different preferences and cooking methods.
1. **Traditional Corned Beef**: This classic recipe takes you on an authentic journey into the heart of Irish culinary tradition. It involves a careful selection of brisket, a flavorful cut of beef, which is then immersed in a fragrant brine made with salt, sugar, spices, and aromatic herbs. The brisket is left to cure for a period of time, allowing the brine to penetrate the meat and infuse it with a symphony of flavors.
2. **Crock-Pot Corned Beef**: For those seeking convenience without compromising on taste, this recipe offers a hassle-free approach to corned beef perfection. Using a slow cooker, the brisket is gently braised in a flavorful liquid consisting of beef broth, spices, and vegetables. This method results in a fall-apart tender brisket that melts in your mouth, making it an ideal dish for special occasions or casual weeknight dinners.
Both recipes provide detailed instructions, ensuring that even novice cooks can achieve corned beef mastery. From selecting the right cut of meat to preparing the brine or cooking liquid, each step is explained with clarity and precision. Additionally, the recipes offer suggestions for serving the corned beef, whether it's paired with traditional sides like cabbage, carrots, and potatoes, or incorporated into innovative dishes that showcase its versatility.
CORNED BEEF
For flavorful, tender meat, make Alton Brown's Corned Beef recipe from Good Eats on Food Network by beginning the salt-curing process 10 days ahead of cooking.
Provided by Alton Brown
Categories main-dish
Time P10DT3h20m
Yield 6 to 8 servings
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Place the water into a large 6 to 8 quart stockpot along with salt, sugar, saltpeter, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, bay leaves and ginger. Cook over high heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the ice. Stir until the ice has melted. If necessary, place the brine into the refrigerator until it reaches a temperature of 45 degrees F. Once it has cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon zip top bag and add the brine. Seal and lay flat inside a container, cover and place in the refrigerator for 10 days. Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged and stir the brine.
- After 10 days, remove from the brine and rinse well under cool water. Place the brisket into a pot just large enough to hold the meat, add the onion, carrot and celery and cover with water by 1-inch. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Remove from the pot and thinly slice across the grain.
HOMEMADE CORNED BEEF
Here's a recipe you've gotta plan for, but you don't need to do much work to get this deli-quality corned beef. -Nick Iverson, Denver, Colorado
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 3h30m
Yield 12 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- In a large stockpot, combine water, kosher salt, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons pickling spices, pink curing salt and garlic. Bring to a simmer, stirring until salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled., Place 1 large oven roasting bag inside another. Place brisket inside inner bag; pour in cooled brine. Seal bags, pressing out as much air as possible; turn to coat meat. Refrigerate 10 days, turning occasionally to keep meat coated. Remove brisket from brine; rinse thoroughly. Place in a Dutch oven with water to cover. Add carrots, onions, celery and remaining pickling spices. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, adding water if necessary to keep brisket covered, until meat is tender, about 3 hours., Serve warm or cool. Slice brisket thinly and serve in a sandwich or with additional vegetables simmered until tender in cooking liquid. , To make ahead: Refrigerate meat in cooking liquid for several days; reheat in liquid.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 277 calories, Fat 21g fat (7g saturated fat), Cholesterol 108mg cholesterol, Sodium 1252mg sodium, Carbohydrate 1g carbohydrate (0 sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 20g protein.
CORNED BEEF (CORN YOUR OWN)
The traditional Irish dish - just in time for St. Paddy's Day! This requires 48-60 hours curing time in your fridge, but you get great-tasting corned beef in the end.
Provided by evelynathens
Categories Meat
Time 4h10m
Yield 12-16 sandwich servings, 8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Trim all but ¼ inch of fat from meat.
- Wash and pat dry.
- Rub with ¼ cup salt.
- In large saucepan, heat water, salt and sugar and stir to dissolve.
- Place beef in large glass bowl and pour salted water over.
- Add 2 bay leaves, 8 peppercorns, 2 tsps pickling spice and 2 garlic cloves.
- Place weighted plate over so meat is completely immersed.
- Refrigerate 48-60 hours.
- Remove meat and rinse thoroughly.
- Place in large saucepan and cover with boiling water.
- Add remaining bay leaves, peppercorns, pickling spice and garlic.
- Cover and simmer for 4 hours, or until meat is tender.
- Serve hot with boiled potatoes and cabbage or cool the brisket and slice thinly to serve with rye bread and mustard.
HOME CURED CORNED BEEF
Here's how to easily cure your own corned beef for St. Patrick's Day! It's made with beef brisket, pickling spices, and salt, and needs to cure for 5 days. The result is a corned beef that's more flavorful and unique than you can buy in the store.
Provided by Elise Bauer
Categories How To Beef Corned Beef
Time 3h
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- Make curing brine: Add about 3 Tbsp of the spice mix (reserve the rest for cooking the corned beef after it has cured), plus the half stick of cinnamon, to a gallon of water in a large pot, along with the Kosher salt, pink salt (if using), and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate until well chilled.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 531 kcal, Carbohydrate 9 g, Cholesterol 180 mg, Fiber 3 g, Protein 50 g, SaturatedFat 13 g, Sodium 2530 mg, Sugar 4 g, Fat 32 g, UnsaturatedFat 0 g
HOMEMADE CORNED BEEF
"The reason to corn your own beef is flavor," said Michael Ruhlman, a chef and passionate advocate of the process. He wrote about it with Brian Polcyn in their book, "Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing." "You can achieve tastes that aren't available in the mass produced versions," he said. Feel free to experiment with the "pickling spices" called for below - you can customize them, if you like, from a base of coriander seeds, black peppercorns and garlic - but please do not omit the curing salt, which gives the meat immense flavor in addition to a reddish hue. (It's perfectly safe, Mr. Ruhlman exhorts: "It's not a chemical additive. Most of the nitrates we eat come in vegetables!") Finally, if you want a traditional boiled dinner, slide quartered cabbage and some peeled carrots into the braise for the final hour or so of cooking. Or use the meat for Irish tacos.
Provided by Sam Sifton
Categories project, main course
Time P5DT3h
Yield 8 to 12 servings
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Brine the brisket: In a medium pot set over high heat, combine about a gallon of water, the salt, the sugar, the garlic, 3 tablespoons pickling spices and the pink curing salt. Stir mixture as it heats until sugar and salt are dissolved, about 1 minute. Transfer liquid to a container large enough for the brine and the brisket, then refrigerate until liquid is cool.
- Place brisket in the cooled liquid and weigh the meat down with a plate so it is submerged. Cover container and place in the refrigerator for 5 days, or up to 7 days, turning every day or so.
- To cook brisket, remove it from the brine and rinse under cool water. Place in a pot just large enough to hold it and cover with one of the beers and one of the ginger beers. If you need more liquid to cover the meat, add enough of the other beer, and the other ginger beer, to do so. Add remaining 2 tablespoons pickling spices. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat to low so liquid is barely simmering. Cover and let cook until you can easily insert a fork into the meat, about 3 hours, adding water along the way if needed to cover the brisket.
- Keep warm until serving, or let cool in the liquid and reheat when ready to eat, up to three or four days. Slice thinly and serve on sandwiches, in Irish tacos (see recipe) or with carrots and cabbage simmered until tender in the cooking liquid.
Tips:
- Choose a brisket that is 3 to 4 pounds in size, and trim off any excess fat.
- Use a large container that is big enough to hold the brisket and the brine.
- Make sure the brisket is completely submerged in the brine.
- Store the brisket in the brine in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days, turning it every day.
- When you are ready to cook the brisket, rinse it off and pat it dry.
- Cook the brisket in a slow cooker or in a Dutch oven on the stovetop.
- Serve the brisket with your favorite sides, such as mashed potatoes, cabbage, and carrots.
Conclusion:
Corned beef is a delicious and versatile dish that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is a great way to use up leftover brisket, and it is also a popular choice for holiday meals. If you have never tried corned beef before, I encourage you to give it a try. You will not be disappointed!
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