Corned Beef

[SilverSage]

Has anyone ever corned your own beef brisket?

I'd love to try making either corned beef or pastrami, but I'm hesitant without some advice from someone who's done it before.

[lilbopeep]

I love corned beef but have never corned one myself. I saw Frugal Gourmet do it years ago and there is a recipe in one of his books. I think it called for salt peter. I think Qsis has made pastarmi.

Let me know how it turns out because I would be interested in trying it also.

[MexicoKaren]

Me too! I cannot buy corned beef here and would love to have some.

[bigjim]

I corn beef every now and then. It is not that difficult. Basically I use Mortons Tender Quick, canned pickling spices, garlic, brown sugar. There are numerous recipes on the internet.

I generally dry cure, not brine. Rub the meat with the pickling mixture. Use a 2 gallon freezer bag. Store in referigerator, turning every day. I leave a brisket for 6-7 days or more. learned the hard way to double bag the freezer bags.

The result is far better than commercial product, which is pumped with brine.

Pastrami is corned beef that has been smoked.

[bigjim]

Me too! I cannot buy corned beef here and would love to have some.[/quote]
Karen, you ought to make it yourself. If you cannot buy Tender Quick, you can make your own mix. There is no mystery, just coat the meat or place in brine. Any cut can be cured

Here's one recipe. This is about what I do.

http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/143483/dry-curing-corning-beef

[MexicoKaren]

No, I cannot buy Morton Tender Quick, but I can have someone bring me some from the US - I have friends who are coming down the week after Thanksgiving. I can mail order it directly to them (in New Jersey) and they can bring it...the other issue is getting a brisket. I'll have to hone my Spanish to explain to the butcher what I want. Thanks so much, bigjim! I think there is some corned beef in our future.

[bigjim]

Tender Quick should be available in most supermarkets. It will be with the salt. Even my local Food Lion, which is not noted for its variety, carries it. If you have a problem, PM me and I will send you a bag.
Any cut of meat can be cured. Think ham. At the packing house where I worked 50 years ago, one of my jobs was to corn eye of round. Cuts less than 2 inches work best. The larger eyes were pumped.

[loboloco]

No, I cannot buy Morton Tender Quick, but I can have someone bring me some from the US - I have friends who are coming down the week after Thanksgiving. I can mail order it directly to them (in New Jersey) and they can bring it...the other issue is getting a brisket. I'll have to hone my Spanish to explain to the butcher what I want. Thanks so much, bigjim! I think there is some corned beef in our future.
My wife thinks it would translate as lomo. You might want to check with a local butcher though, and have a cut picture in hand when you do.

[MexicoKaren]

"Lomo de cerdo" is pork tenderloin...I'm not sure what "lomo de res (beef)" would be, but I have a good friend who is Irish and speaks fluent Spanish, and we were talking longingly about corned beef the other night, so I'll take him with me to the carniceria. He'll know what to ask for.

Thanks for offering, bigjim - sending it to Mexico may be more trouble than it is worth. I'll have my friends bring it, now that I have a recipe and know what I need. Woo-hoo!

[leolady]

I have a recipe and have been dying to try it. But I really have been so busy lately, I haven't been able to do my regular stuff, much less try a new thing like making corned beef.

[buckytom]

" but I have a good friend who is Irish and speaks fluent Spanish!

that strikes me as funny.

ay de mi, for fooks sake. :mrgreen:

[Leni]

Here is the recipe that I use:

For a 4-6-pound beef brisket or other cut
1/2 cup, kosher (coarse-grain) salt
1 tablespoon, black peppercorns - coarsely cracked
1 tablespoon, brown sugar
3/4 tablespoon, ground allspice
1 tablespoon, dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon, paprika
2 bay leaves - crumbled
3 cloves, garlic - minced
optional (for red color): 1 tablespoon, sodium nitrite* - dissolved
in 1/2 cup, warm water. [*sold in pharmacies or order from butcher shops]

[Vegetables, as desired to serve with corned beef – see last paragraph]
Mix kosher salt with all other seasonings (but not saltpeter) in a small bowl. Pierce the brisket several times on each side with a skewer or heavy fork. (NOTE: this piercing step may be eliminated if meat is cured for 10-14 days, instead of 5-7 days, before rinsing and cooking.)

Rub both sides of meat evenly with salt/spice mixture. Place meat in heavy, 2-gallon size plastic zipper-lock bag, squeezing out as much air as possible before closing bag. [Pour over dissolved saltpeter in water, if using, before sealing bag.] Place bag with meat in a pan large enough to hold it, cover with another pan of similar size, and weight the top pan with two bricks, or with two heavy cans from the pantry.

I do not use the sodium nitrate. A friend uses a tri-tip instead of a briskit but actually just about any cut of beef can be used.

Enjoy!

[QSis]

SS, I've only ever smoked storebought corned beef points to turn them into pastrami.

If I were to make my own, I would use this recipe/technique from a west coast barbecue friend. http://www.randyq.addr.com/recipes/pastrami.htm

Lee