In researching recipes for this post it became apparent that there are two ways to do this. The recipes that use the pink curing salt cure the beef for seven days up to three weeks. Some recipes do not include the pink salt. Those recipes only cure the beef for about five- ten days and you must be sure to have the beef submerged in the brine in an anaerobic environment to prevent botulism. While botulism is unlikely to make an appearance in any scenario, knowledge is power. Keep those briskets swimming, not floating, in the brine. And if you want to use pink curing salt (insta cure no. 1) to keep the beef from turning grey and preventing that dirty b-word, ask at a butcher or charcuterie shop. If they have some on hand, they'll probably give it to you for free. We are leaving the recipe choice up to the individual. Let us know what you decided to do and what recipe you used.
Alton Brown's post suggests brining the beef in a 2 gallon bag instead of an open container. Sounds like an excellent spill proof solution -as long as you keep that beef submerged.
Here's a list of links on HOW TO plus recipes:
Michael Ruhlman's Corned Beef Brisket with pink curing salt
Bon Appetit's Homemade Irish Corned Beef and Vegetables (pink curing salt optional)
Alton Brown's Corned Beef Recipe without pink curing salt
Rebecca Wood's Homemade Corned Beef without pink curing salt
This is the Melissa Clark Bonus Section:
Baked Stuffed Potatoes with Corned Beef and Dill Butter just sound amazing. Plus, Melissa Clark rarely disappoints. Hello leftovers! And if you're feeling really inspired, go ahead and make her Irish Soda Bread while you still have your apron on.
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| Deb's Pickling Mix |
We're using the Michael Ruhlman recipe but without the pink salt. I couldn't justify spending $10 on an optional ingredient I only needed 4t of (didn't have this in the bulk section, would have had to buy a jar full). Meat has been brining away since Sunday. Checked it last night - it's grey looking but smells good. I got a 5.5 lb beef brisket from the butcher, hind site says I could have survived with a smaller size and price tag, but it will be delicious on Sunday and as leftovers (we're coming for you Melissa Clark!). I did end up having to cut the meat in half creating two briskets in order to have it fit in the containers we had.
ReplyDeleteUpdate from our world - THIS WAS FREAKING DELICIOUS! Since we had cut the original monster brisket in half, we ended up cooking one stove top and one in the slow cooker. We cooked carrots, potatoes and cabbage in the broth after the meat was done cooking. They were so delicious. The cabbage was so spicey - so good though. Served this sliced up with a cold beer and spicey, grainy mustard. Oh yeah! Katelyn ate her corned beef and then climbed on to my lap and started eating mine!!
DeleteI also used the Michael Ruhlman recipe without the pink salt. Because Deb shared her brining spices with me, I thought this recipe was almost as easy as the No Knead Bread recipe. We put it together on the Tuesday we left for Chincoteague and simmered on Sunday morning when we returned. We shared it for lunch with rye bread, coleslaw & Russian dressing. It was so yummy. I loved the aroma it gave off while simmering. This is definitely a St. Patrick's Day tradition for here on out! I did think the hardest part was finding a pot large enough to fit our 5.37 lbs. of brisket. I ended up using my pasta pot without the strainer. And, I highly agree that you should store the meat in the brine if it is not all eaten at once. I noticed how quickly it dried out while slicing it. We are looking forward to eat the rest tonight with boiled potatoes and cabbage. Can't wait. I will be curious to see if anyone used a different cut of meat.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds delicious! We have a small, under the counter fridge without the extra room neded for brining (Anthony moved to this apartment when he was a non-cooking bachelor), so I'll have to sit this month out, but look forward to seeing more photos from everyone!
ReplyDeleteThis corned beef brisket was so simple to make. I really loved making the whole Irish meal from scratch this year, as opposed to buying a corned beef brisket ready to simmer. I am certainly going to make this a tradition. I used Michael Rhulman’s recipe without pink salt. I was foolish enough to taste the brine before using it and almost puked in the sink! We had leftover brisket for quite some time, so I had to find different ways to use the meat. Corned beef and cabbage always makes me think of the many St Patty’s evenings spent at Kelly’s with the whole family. What an experience it was being taken to an Irish bar, on St Patty’s day, as a child, year after year. Green sprite for everyone under 21!
ReplyDeleteI did make both recipes in the Melissa Clark recipes bonus section. This soda bread was a little different than the usual, and I added caraway seeds and raisins which were optional. It is part whole wheat flour and adds yogurt for the moisture. It is completely toddler friendly if you have company in the kitchen. Plus, it only took about ten minutes to get in the oven. The dill baked potatoes were off the charts. Recipe was easy, delicious and creative (in a good way).
Loved this one! Like a few of you, I followed Michael Ruhlman's recipe without the pink salts. I did improvise on the spices according to my pantry, and the flavor was incredible. I certainly did not miss the pink color. Check out my photo. Made the mistake of blindly salting the water I cooked the meat and cabbage and potatoes in, but there must have been plenty of residual salt in the meat already to flavor the cabbage etc, so it was crazy salty. Still really good, though. Definitely a new tradition. For me, it underscores that many of the most delicious, complex-flavored foods we eat are downright simple to make; they just take time for all that complexity to develop and therefore require planning ahead. Personally, I have abandoned fancy cooking in favor of these kinds of traditional, dead simple dishes.
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