Home-Corned Beef with Vegetables
By Lan LamPublished on January 24, 2016
Yield
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Corned Beef
1 (4 ½- to 5-pound) beef brisket, flat cut¾ cup salt, for brining½ cup packed brown sugar 2 teaspoons pink curing salt #1, for brining6 garlic cloves, peeled6 bay leaves 5 allspice berries 2 tablespoons peppercorns 1 tablespoon coriander seedsVegetables
6 carrots, peeled, halved crosswise, thick ends halved lengthwise1 ½ pounds small red potatoes, unpeeled1 head green cabbage (2 pounds), uncored, cut into 8 wedgesBefore You Begin
Pink curing salt #1, which can be purchased online or in stores specializing in meat curing, is a mixture of table salt and nitrites; it is also called Prague Powder #1, Insta Cure #1, or DQ Curing Salt #1. In addition to the pink salt, we use table salt here. If using Diamond Crystal kosher salt, increase the salt to 1½ cups; if using Morton kosher salt, increase to 1⅛ cups. This recipe requires six days to corn the beef, and you will need cheesecloth. Look for a uniformly thick brisket to ensure that the beef cures evenly. The brisket will look gray after curing but will turn pink once cooked.
Instructions
- Trim fat on surface of 1 flat cut beef brisket to ⅛ inch. Dissolve ¾ cup table salt, ½ cup packed brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons pink curing salt #1 in 4 quarts water in large container. Add brisket, 3 peeled garlic cloves, 4 bay leaves, 5 allspice berries, 1 tablespoon peppercorns, and 1 tablespoon coriander seeds to brine. Weigh brisket down with plate, cover, and refrigerate for 6 days.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Remove brisket from brine, rinse, and pat dry with paper towels. Cut 8-inch square triple thickness of cheesecloth. Place remaining 3 peeled garlic cloves, remaining 2 bay leaves, and remaining 1 tablespoon peppercorns in center of cheesecloth and tie into bundle with kitchen twine. Place brisket, spice bundle, and 2 quarts water in Dutch oven. (Brisket may not lie flat but will shrink slightly as it cooks.)
- Bring to simmer over high heat, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until fork inserted into thickest part of brisket slides in and out with ease, 2½ to 3 hours.
- Remove pot from oven and turn off oven. Transfer brisket to large ovensafe platter, ladle 1 cup of cooking liquid over meat, cover, and return to oven to keep warm.
- Cut 6 peeled carrots in half crosswise and then cut the thick ends in half lengthwise. Add the carrots and 1½ pounds small red potatoes to pot and bring to simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables begin to soften, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Add 1 head green cabbage, cut into 8 wedges, to pot, increase heat to high, and return to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until all vegetables are tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
- While vegetables cook, transfer beef to cutting board and slice ¼ inch thick against grain. Return beef to platter. Using slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to platter with beef. Moisten with additional broth and serve.
for the corned beef
for the vegetables
Yield
Serves 8 to 10Ingredients
Corned Beef
Vegetables
Ingredients
Corned Beef
Vegetables
Ingredients
Corned Beef
Vegetables
Why This Recipe Works
Making corned beef at home is actually quite simple. We soaked a flat-cut brisket for six days in a brine made with both table and pink curing salt and flavored with sugar, whole spices, and garlic. After the soak, the seasoning had penetrated to the core of the meat. To break down the brisket’s abundant collagen, we gently simmered the meat in a low oven, adding carrots, potatoes, and cabbage—classic corned beef accompaniments—to the pot while the meat rested so that they simmered briefly in the seasoned cooking liquid.
Before You Begin
Pink curing salt #1, which can be purchased online or in stores specializing in meat curing, is a mixture of table salt and nitrites; it is also called Prague Powder #1, Insta Cure #1, or DQ Curing Salt #1. In addition to the pink salt, we use table salt here. If using Diamond Crystal kosher salt, increase the salt to 1½ cups; if using Morton kosher salt, increase to 1⅛ cups. This recipe requires six days to corn the beef, and you will need cheesecloth. Look for a uniformly thick brisket to ensure that the beef cures evenly. The brisket will look gray after curing but will turn pink once cooked.
Instructions
- Trim fat on surface of 1 flat cut beef brisket to ⅛ inch. Dissolve ¾ cup table salt, ½ cup packed brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons pink curing salt #1 in 4 quarts water in large container. Add brisket, 3 peeled garlic cloves, 4 bay leaves, 5 allspice berries, 1 tablespoon peppercorns, and 1 tablespoon coriander seeds to brine. Weigh brisket down with plate, cover, and refrigerate for 6 days.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Remove brisket from brine, rinse, and pat dry with paper towels. Cut 8-inch square triple thickness of cheesecloth. Place remaining 3 peeled garlic cloves, remaining 2 bay leaves, and remaining 1 tablespoon peppercorns in center of cheesecloth and tie into bundle with kitchen twine. Place brisket, spice bundle, and 2 quarts water in Dutch oven. (Brisket may not lie flat but will shrink slightly as it cooks.)
- Bring to simmer over high heat, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until fork inserted into thickest part of brisket slides in and out with ease, 2½ to 3 hours.
- Remove pot from oven and turn off oven. Transfer brisket to large ovensafe platter, ladle 1 cup of cooking liquid over meat, cover, and return to oven to keep warm.
- Cut 6 peeled carrots in half crosswise and then cut the thick ends in half lengthwise. Add the carrots and 1½ pounds small red potatoes to pot and bring to simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables begin to soften, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Add 1 head green cabbage, cut into 8 wedges, to pot, increase heat to high, and return to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until all vegetables are tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
- While vegetables cook, transfer beef to cutting board and slice ¼ inch thick against grain. Return beef to platter. Using slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to platter with beef. Moisten with additional broth and serve.
for the corned beef
for the vegetables
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