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Corned Beef

Source of Recipe

From "See You on Sunday" by Sam Sifton


Recipe Introduction

"Maybe you've made the corned beef they sell in the supermarket—a white plastic bag of industrial-brined point-cut brisket and a bag of spices with which to simmer it into pink submission, alongside wedges of cabbage, peeled potatoes, and carrots. It's not terrible. But it's not fantastic. Home-cured corned beef, on the other hand, *is* fantastic, and more easily made than you might imagine. I learned how to do so from the food writer and raconteur Michael Ruhlman, and have not turned back to the package since. Yes, corned beef requires some planning. But not a terrible amount of work—only time. You can slide wedges of cabbage and lengths of carrot into the burbling liquid as the beef cooks, about thirty minutes before serving."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 cups kosher salt
â—¦ ½ cup sugar
â—¦ 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
â—¦ 5 tablespoons pickling spices
â—¦ 4 teaspoons pink curing salt (sodium nitrite)
â—¦ 1 beef brisket, 4 to 5 pounds
â—¦ Two 12-ounce bottles good beer
â—¦ Two 12-ounce bottles good ginger beer


Recipe

Brine the brisket: In a medium pot set over high heat, combine about 1 gallon water, the salt, sugar, garlic, 3 tablespoons of the pickling spices, and the pink curing salt. Stir the mixture as it heats until the sugar and salt are dissolved, about 1 minute. Transfer the liquid to a container large enough for the brine and the brisket, then refrigerate until the liquid is cool.

Place the brisket in the cooled liquid and weigh the meat down with a plate so it is submerged. Cover the container and place it in the refrigerator for 5 days, or up to 7 days, turning every day or so.

To cook the brisket, remove it from the brine and rinse under cool water. Place in a pot just large enough to hold it and cover it 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 other ginger beer to do so. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons pickling spices. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat to low so the 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 you're ready to eat, up to 3 or 4 days. (It's good for sandwiches, obviously, and tacos too: Combine with a hearty slaw.)