# Corned Beef from Brisket



## Kellog (Mar 3, 2012)

*Home - Corned Beef Brisket*

•	Prep Time: 7 days
•	Total Time: 7 days
•	Servings: 6-8

Ingredients 
o	1 (8 -10 lb) beef brisket 
o	4 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in thirds

The Brine
o	2 quarts water 
o	3/4 cup kosher salt 
o	1/2 cup white vinegar 
o	4 tablespoons sugar 
o	3 bay leaves 
o	1 teaspoon peppercorns 
o	1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds 
o	1 pinch ground cloves

The Simmering Liquid
o	water, to come up 3/4 to side of brisket 
o	1 teaspoon peppercorns 
o	1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds 
o	1/2 teaspoon whole allspice 
o	1/4 teaspoon whole cloves 
o	4 garlic cloves, sliced

Directions
1.	Combine all of the brine ingredients and bring to a boil, then cool.
2.	In a huge plastic roasting bag - I use one of those giant zip-loc food bags- do NOT use a garbage bag-, place the beef brisket, the cooled brine, and the 4 garlic cloves. 
3.	Make sure that all of the meat is covered by the brine (cutting the brisket in pieces if you need to), squeeze out as much air as you can and seal tightly, place in a pan or plastic tub large enough to hold it all, position the meat so it's covered with brine and refrigerate for 6 to 7 days, turning occasionally (once a day is good)
4.	After the 6 to 7 days, remove brisket from the brine and discard the brine.
5.	Rinse the meat thoroughly, then place in a Dutch oven or other large pot and add enough water to come up 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up the side of the meat. (If you don't like your meat so salty, you can soak the brisket in plain water for about 30 minutes before cooking to remove some of the salt, discard the soaking water, add fresh water and cook as directed.)
6.	Add the rest of the Simmering Liquid ingredients (peppercorns, mustard seeds, allspice, cloves and garlic), bring to a boil and skim off any foam.
7.	Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook, covered, for at least 3 hours, but 4 hours doesn't hurt anything. Meat will be SO tender and delicious!

Source: © 2011 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved. http://www.food.com/115220


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Kellog said:


> *Home - Corned Beef Brisket*
> 
> •	Prep Time: 7 days
> •	Total Time: 7 days
> ...


Hey Kellog, I like your recipe, I love corned beef and will put this beside my recipe.

The question I have, for you, or anyone else that may care to answer is can the Corned Beef be smoked(then it becomes pastrami) and preserved for long term(or semi long term) storage like the country hams that once hung in kitchens all over the civilized world?

I have not yet gotten around to building a smoke house so I am kinda clueless on these types of things yet.


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## Kellog (Mar 3, 2012)

Hey Davarm....Dang, I thought I replied yesterday, but looks like the internet ate my post. Good question about smoking corned beef to make pastrami...and I don't have a clue. Kellog Jr. had the smoker and he's moved too far away, so I can't try it. 
But I will say this, I showed you my corned beef recipe...will you show me yours?


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Kellog said:


> Hey Davarm....Dang, I thought I replied yesterday, but looks like the internet ate my post. Good question about smoking corned beef to make pastrami...and I don't have a clue. Kellog Jr. had the smoker and he's moved too far away, so I can't try it.
> But I will say this, I showed you my corned beef recipe...will you show me yours?


I'll have to find it, it was written down by my grandmother on the back of an old envelope and I havent a clue where I put it after she died. I will tell you though, it uses saltpeter(real old set of instructions).

I used to get the saltpeter at drug store at a local grocery store but they stopped carrying it so I am going to have to start ordering it online, that will put me on another list! I should order about 50 pounds of it and see how it takes to get a visit..

Will post when I find it, sorry for the delay.


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

Davarm said:


> I'll have to find it, it was written down by my grandmother on the back of an old envelope and I havent a clue where I put it after she died. I will tell you though, it uses saltpeter(real old set of instructions).
> 
> I used to get the saltpeter at drug store at a local grocery store but they stopped carrying it so I am going to have to start ordering it online, that will put me on another list! I should order about 50 pounds of it and see how it takes to get a visit..
> 
> Will post when I find it, sorry for the delay.


Good luck finding the recipe if your gran is anything like my great gran was. We found checks, cash, bills, recipes, just about anything she considered important shoved into books. Some stuff was wedged in so far, it was stuck to the binding glue. About the only things not in her books was great grandpa and her trophy rifles from her sharpshooter days.


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## Kellog (Mar 3, 2012)

Davarm said:


> Will post when I find it, sorry for the delay.


No problem, Davarm...appreciate ya checkin'. If it uses saltpeter I may pass have to anyway.  I'll see what I can find out about pastrami. That sounded good.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Kellog said:


> No problem, Davarm...appreciate ya checkin'. If it uses saltpeter I may pass have to anyway.  I'll see what I can find out about pastrami. That sounded good.


You can leave out the saltpeter, all it was for was to give the brisket the tell-tale red color. If I remember right there is more than enough salt to do the job without it.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I looked up a recipe that was similar to my grandmothers recipe. It is from the Orange Judd Cook Book 1914 edition. It is meant to be a method of preservation and not a make and cook recipe. It does call for saltpeter but by looking at the directions, you can leave it out without much trouble.


Corned Beef

Use only the poorer parts for corning, such as brisket,
flanks, cross ribs, and plate, and cu into pieces 6 inches square.
Fifty lbs meat will require 50 lbs salt. Sprinkle a layer of 
salt in the keg or barrel, put in a layer of meat, packing very
closely, then a layer of salt, then more meat and salt, until
all is used, leaving just enough salt for a good layer over the
top. Let stand over night, then dissolve 1 oz baking soda,
2 lbs sugar, 2 ozs saltpeter in 2 gals tepid water, and after
it is cold pour it over the meat. Two gallons should cover
the 50 lbs meat, if packed right. If not, use the same pro-
portions in making more. Weight with a board and stone,
and let stand from 30 to 40 days before using. If kept over 
in hot weather, watch the brine, and if it gets "ropy", pour
it off wash the meat, and cover with a new brine.

The Orange Judd Cook Book 1914 edition


Bon Apatite!


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## Kellog (Mar 3, 2012)

Thanks Davarm! 
Hmmm...."ropy" brine. That's an interesting description, isn't it? I've seen that term in other preservation recipes and hope to never actually see it in person.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Well Kellog, unless you are going to make 50 pounds of corned beef and store it in a barrel, you shouldn't have that problem.

Am still going to find GM's recipe. She broke her neck falling in her garden when she was 85 and she knew that her time nearing an end so she started passing on the things that would likely be discarded. She lived 5 years longer so she had plenty of time to get them passed on.



Kellog said:


> Thanks Davarm!
> Hmmm...."ropy" brine. That's an interesting description, isn't it? I've seen that term in other preservation recipes and hope to never actually see it in person.


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