Making your own corned beef sounds hard, especially when it is so easy to just buy it at the store or deli. But not only is it more expensive that way, you also end up buying unwanted preservatives and chemicals. Making homemade corned beef is so easy, relatively inexpensive and the texture and flavor is superior to anything you might find in a store. The reason that homemade corned beef is "relatively" inexpensive is that you can get by with an inexpensive, less tender & mediocre flavored beef roast -- like a brisket or bottom round rump roast or a chuck roast. Get one that is boneless. The corning process ("corn" -- coming from the English word for grains, including salt grains) takes care of the flavor, tenderness and juiciness of the meat. I found 2 ways to "corn" the beef. One was a liquid method or very similar to brining and the other was a dry salted method. Many, many years ago, when I first made my own corned beef I used a liquid method. I don't remember what type of roast I used or even what was all in the recipe, but I remember not being overly impressed with it and the process. I had the meat soaking in a roaster pan for at least a week and was bothered by the space the roaster took in my refrigerator, so I turned off the heat in our apartment (in the winter time in Michigan) and left the roaster sitting on my counter-top. That may have been the thing that might have turned me off right off the bat. I also suspect that I did not cook the roast long enough, because I don't recall thinking the meat was tender, flavorful & juicy.
So, this time, after researching it for a bit, I decided to use the recipe that was in "The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook", my new cookbook bible. I used the dry method and after 2 weeks, cooked the meat in my slow cooker. This was not only easy, but produced rave results and I am ready to do it again. Salt is definitely part of this process and you may want to read up on the properties of using salt to preserve and prepare meat. I also own Harold McGee's revised & updated version of "On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen" It is not an inexpensive book, but it really delves into the scientific properties of food -- like "why do eggs solidify when they are cooked?" and helps a foodie like me understand why certain ingredients act like they do. Most of these are things that anybody who does a fair amount of cooking learns through trial & error, but not the "why" behind it. It helps me when I want to modify a recipe and takes a bit of the hit-&-miss out of it. Anyway, back to corned beef -- here is the recipe that I used, with my notes on my observations or the ways I might have deviated.
CORNING YOUR OWN BEEF
1/2 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, cracked (I used coarsely ground pepper - cracking peppercorns is not all that easy!)
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons allspice (I used whole allspice, not ground)
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1 (3 1/2- 4 1/2- pound) beef brisket, trimmed. I couldn't find beef brisket, so I used some kind of a round (either eye or bottom rump) roast. Mine was also more like almost 3 pounds, too.
Wash the meat off with clear water and pat dry. Mix the salt & spices together in a small bowl. Spear the brisket about 30 times per side with a meat fork or metal skewer. Rub each side evenly with the salt mixture. Place the brisket in a
large zipper-lock bag (I used a brining bag that I bought last fall for just this type of thing), forcing out as much air as possible. Place on a rimmed baking sheet or pan with sides, cover with a similar sized pan and weight with 2 bricks or larger cans. I used a small aluminum baking pan and weighted down with a 5# bag of flour. Refrigerate for 5-7 days, turning once a day. I did it for almost 2 weeks. Rinse thoroughly and pat the meat dry before using.
I then followed a recipe for making Corned Beef & Cabbage:
1 (3- to 4-pound) corned beef, trimmed
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns (I did use whole ones this time)
1 tablespoon whole mustard seeds
Water
1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes (about 9), scrubbed - and I used larger ones, so I either cut in half or quarters
1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
1 head green cabbage (about 2 pounds), cut into 8 wedges - when cutting the cabbage, make sure to leave the core intact or the wedges will fall apart while cooking.
1. Add the corned beef, bay leaves, peppercorns, and mustard seeds to a large Dutch oven and cover by 1/2 inch of water. Bring to a simmer and cook, skimming off any impurities that rise to the surface, until a fork slides easily in & out of the center of the meat, 2-3 hours. I put everything into a large 4-6 quart slow cooker (crock-pot). I boiled the water in large teapot and poured the hot water over the roast until it was well covered. I cooked it for about 6 hours on high. I did not notice any impurities or anything to skim off the top, so I didn't skim anything. This was a somewhat lean piece of meat, so the water did not even turn very greasy. Also, DO NOT ADD ANY SALT! Even though the water may taste bland initially, there is plenty of salt in the meat that will be released into the water.
2. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Transfer the meat to a large baking dish (I just used the removable crock, which is oven-safe. I took out the meat & poured the cooking liquid into a large stock pot and then I placed the meat back into the crock) and ladle 1-2 cups of the cooking liquid over the top of the meat. Cover with foil and keep warm in the oven.
3. Add the potatoes and carrots to the remaining cooking liquid and simmer until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the cabbage and simmer until all of the vegetables are tender, about another 10-15 minutes.
4. When ready to serve, remove the meat from the oven, slice it across the grain into 1/4 inch slices, and arrange on a platter. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the platter and moisten with additional cooking liquid as needed before serving. Then eat and try not to slurp too loudly!
I have just purchased 2 (about 5 pounds each) boneless chuck roasts -- it was a buy one, get one free deal, that I plan to start the corning process late next week for about 2 weeks. This time, I want to have some left-overs and to try making some corned-beef hash with the left-overs. I'll let you know how that goes!
