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How to Make Your Own Corned Beef




Source of Recipe


Niman Ranch


List of Ingredients




Ingredients for Rub
1 Niman Ranch brisket or beef tongue

¾ cup coarse, non-iodized salt, such as Kosher salt
1-1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon allspice berries, cracked
4 to 5 sprigs fresh thyme
½ teaspoon ground sage
½ teaspoon paprika
4 to 5 bay leaves, broken into pieces
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 small rutabaga, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

Ingredients for Cooking
1 carrot
3 celery stalks
1 small onion
2 sprigs fresh parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, flattened with the side of a knife



Recipe



Traditionally, the corning process was done in a large stone crock. A convenience that Nathaniel Hawthorne didn't have, you can assist the process along by using a freezer zip-lock bag.

Mix all the ingredients except the meat together in a bowl. Rub the meat on all sides with the salt rub mixture. Put the meat into a zip-lock bag. If you are corning more than one piece of meat, put each piece in its own bag. Add the remaining salt mixture. Remove as much air as possible before zipping the bag shut.

Put the bag into a stone crock or a large bowl, place a plate on top of the bag, and place 10 pounds of weight on top of the plate. For weights, you can use canned items like juice or tomatoes, or a 10-pound barbell. Refrigerate.

Within a few hours, juice should be running from the meat. Massage the meat in the bag to get the mixture into all the nooks and crannies of the cut of meat. Replace the weights and return to the refrigerator. Repeat this process daily.

If the bag should break, simply transfer the meat to a new bag with all the juice that has been extracted. Add about an eighth to a quarter of a cup of additional salt in the bag when you transfer it.

Proceed with this curing for two to three weeks.

When the meat is finished curing, soak it in cold water for about 24 hours. Change the water several times before cooking to remove excess salt. The longer the meat is cured, the more soaking it will require.

The meat will not be the pink you expect to see in a corned beef because this recipe does not include nitrites or saltpeter as a curing agent. If you follow the above steps, keeping the meat salted and refrigerated during the curing process, it will be fine.

Put the soaked meat in a pot and cover with water. Add the carrot, onion, celery, parsley, thyme, bay leaves and garlic. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Skim off any foam that rises to the top. Partially cover and simmer until the meat can be pierced easily with a fork. This will take 2 to 3-1/2 hours, depending on the size of the piece of meat.

If you are planning to serve cold, let the meat cool in the cooking liquid.

For the tongue, when the meat is cool, remove the rough skin. It should come off relatively easily if you do this while the piece is slightly warm. Discard the skin.

The meat can be served hot or cold. If serving cold in sandwiches, it should be thinly sliced.