Corned Beef

[Nicholas Mosher]

So who likes corned beef and cabbage? Pretty big up my way. Just grabbed a 3lb hunk of corned beef brisket along with some cabbage and roots.

Just curious how you guys cook yours. I was brought up with the "all in a pot with water" method staggering the addition of the vegetables for proper cooking times.

 

[Gretchen]

I soak it first to get some of the salt out. Then just a very gentle simmer and into the oven to keep it gentle. I do it for sandwiches mostly and not the boiled dinner concept.

 

[thumpershere2]

We love corned beef and cabbage and I cook it like you do Nicholas, all in one pot. Beef, cabbage and carrots and then I put it all on one large platter and set on the table.Now I'm really getting hungry

 

[Andy M.]

Nick, I do as you do. Have you ever made your own corned beef?

 

[rickell]

ahhhhh corned beef we love it too, i think cooking it this way is the best
tasting corned beef and cabbage ever. we have a clay cooker (rometofel) (sp). Basically it is a clat pot with a clay lid. you soak the pot in water
for at least 15 mins. dump the water out put the corned beef in fat side up
add potatoes or root vegies on the sides quarter the cabbage and put it on
top of the meat. add just a bit of water maybe 1/4 cup put the lid on
and put in a cold oven set the oven to 375 and once you start to smell
the wonderful aroma begin basting every half hour or so there will be alot of liquid in the pot from the cabbage. normal baking time is about 3-4 hrs.

serve with black pumpernickel bread and butter. for dipping standard
sour cream with horseradish.

left overs great for rubens use the cabbage for the sour kraut yummmy

 

[lyndalou]

I make mine in one pot, also. One addition I make is a sliced navel orange in the pot. Yummy

 

[Gretchen]

I make mine in one pot, also. One addition I make is a sliced navel orange in the pot. Yummy

That sounds like a great idea. Thanks.

 

[cjs]

This turned into my favorite way to cook corned beef when I first tried it!!
Thanks Attie -

I've worked in an Irish place for a while and we developed a pretty tasty and easy method for doing a kick-*** corned beef. Lay your brisket in a deep hotel pan. If the meat is too big, cut it into more managable pieces. Then, discard the seasoning mix, if one's included. Next, throw in a couple chopped onions, a couple handfuls of garlic cloves, some whole peppercorns and a couple bay leaves. Next, in a mixing bowl, mix about half a gallon of dark beer (a good brown or stout works well) with a cup of molasses and half cup brown sugar, and pour over the meat till about 2/3 covered (supplement with water if needed). Cover tightly with foil and throw into a 350-400 degree oven. For 12lb of beef, it could take upwards of 6-7 hours to cook, but start checking after about 4 hours. You want the beef at an internal temperature of 200 degrees. I know that may sound overcooked, but the brisket is full of tough connective tissue that won't break down until it gets to around 200 degrees. At that point, it'll be fork tender. When it's done, remove the meat to a rack of some sort and allow to rest and cool for a little while. The cooking liquid can then be strained, defatted and used to cook the remainder of the boied dinner, thickened as a gravy or sauce, or just used as a jus.

Here are the notes I made after cooking the above -

I cooked mine four hours and it was perfect (mine was ~2 1/2 lbs.)
Amounts I used:
1 onion
3 cloves garlic, smashed up
10-12 black peppercorns
1 Bay leaf
2 bottles (11 oz. each, more than needed, but more beer can't hurt

) Guinness Draught
~ 1/3 c molasses
2 T. brown sugar

Note #1 - I set my Mickey Mouse oven for 375F - so it was in the neighborhood of this, +/-

Note #2 - After four hours, the beef had reached 210F, and was very tender, so I removed from oven then.

Oh my, it tasted as good as it smelled all afternoon. I can hardly wait for the Corned beef and Muenster sandwiches!!
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You can't go wrong with this one!

 

[Robo410]

corned beef or ham n cabbage n roots ... and yes the orange is a great touch! really quite related to the French pot au feu a gentle simmer of meat and vegetables.

I do add more roots than just potatoes and onion ... got carrots parsnips turnips leeks. Makes a fabulous meal, then a stew, then a pie, then soup broth...escarole is a great addition to the pot too.

 

[Constance]

I put my corned beef in the crock-pot with the seasoning packet and a beer. When it's tender, I remove it and add the cabbage, potatoes and carrots. The reason for the separate cooking is that my husband absolutely hates, despises and detests cabbage, but he does enjoy a corned beef sandwich. By cooking it this way, the cabbage doesn't "contaminate" his corned beef.

 

[shpj4]

I can't eat Corned Beef and Cabbage because it doesn't agree with me.

My friends all love it but I have to stay away from it.

 

[Nicholas Mosher]

Oh man, so many ideas to try out here. Some of those sound great! I see a few I want to try for sure.

I also found a couple things I'm curious about.

I found a bunch of "New England" corned beef recipes that are simmered like I normally do, but after they are dressed with a thickened horseradish cream sauce. Has anyone ever heard of this? I'm from New England and I've never heard of it. I might make a quick batch up on the side to try out this weekend. I usually just use a bit of brown mustard as a condiment or a splash of vinegar.

I've also never cooked mine in beef stock - I usually just use water. I picked up 10lbs of bones this morning to make a white beef stock tomorrow. I bet it will infuse the roots with some incredible flavor!

Cooking it in beer like someone mentioned also has my interest. Beer definetly goes with Corned Beef & Cabbage!

Sounds like a lot of you braise it too rather than "boil" it. Man, I've got some corned beef recipes to try now. I'll have to pick up a few more this weekend. The guy at work is going to be in CB&C heaven. He loves Corned Beef and Cabbage. He's Polish, but we always say he's just a confused Irish man...

I'm curious if the recipe posted with sour cream has some similarity with all the tangy horseradish cream sauces I keep seeing. My CIA book even lists a horseradish cream sauce based on a bechamel enriched with cream and spiked with horseradish. I might try making a bechamel/veloute with 50/50 milk/cooking liquid - enrich it with cream - and then add the horseradish.

Too many untested ideas... I'm going into overload here...

 

[Nicholas Mosher]

Oh, I've never made my own Corned Beef either. Care to list your method?

 

[Andy M.]

I used the following ingredients to make the brine for curing the fresh corned beef. You can choose any recipe you like, there are a ton on the internet.

5-6 Lb Beef Brisket
4 Qt Water
2 C Kosher Salt
2 C Brown Sugar
1 Tb Juniper Berries
2 tsp Allspice Berries
2 Bay Leaves
6 Garlic Cloves, peeled


Your butcher can get you a whole fresh brisket. Using a jacarding tool or similar implement, pierce the meat liberally on both sides. put it into an appropriately sized SS, ceramic or glass container.

Prepare the brine by combining all the ingredients and stirring until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Pour over the meat, cover and refrigerate for 10 days. You may want to weigh down the meat if it floats so it is completely submerged.

As this is a very salty mixture, use not materials that are prone to corrosion.

When the 10 days have passed, remove the meat and rinse it well in cold water. Cook as you would any corned beef.

 

[RPCookin]

Here corned beef is generally sold packaged with an herb packet. I just put the beef in the crockpot, sprinkle the herbs over it, and just cover with water. Turn the crockpot on low and go to work. When I get home I pour the stock into a stock pot, add onions, carrots, potatoes and cabbage and cook them in the meat stock on the stove (even on high the crockpot is too slow for this IMO). One of my favorite meals...

 

[Opiñanita]

I LOVE Corned beef. I would eat it all the time if I could. I also put the meat and veggies all in a slow cooker and let it cook. A lot of these recipes look great and maybe I'll give them a try. Corned beef sounds so good, I think I'll make it over the weekend.

 

[Nicholas Mosher]

Andy - Thats definetly something I'll have to try someday. How would you compare "homebuilt" to the commerical products?
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Today I tried two different preparations. I used the "Boil" method I'm used to where you cover the beef with water and simmer for a couple hours, add veggies, and then simmer another hour or so. This time I tried one with water and one with white beef stock.

I thought there was going to be a huge difference, but the corn beef and cabbage do such a good job building a flavor base that the two were only discernible when "A/B'd" right next to one another. There was a difference, but not big enough to justify spending 10hrs to make a pot of good white beef stock...

Plenty of leftovers. Tomorrow I'm going to try making a few of those horseradish cream sauces to try with it.

I also plan to try a couple braising methods this week as well with another hunk o' CB.

 

[Dove]

RPCookin.. that is how i do mine..sometimes in a pressure cooker. Dove

 

[Andy M.]

Andy - Thats definetly something I'll have to try someday. How would you compare "homebuilt" to the commerical products?...

It's a matter of taste. you play with the spice mix to get the taste you want, or give up and stick with the commercial stuff. I gave up.

 

[attie]

Thanks Jean, love Corned beef, corned Mutton, corned Ox tongue, any of those.
"The reason for the separate cooking is that my husband absolutely hates, despises and detests cabbage, but he does enjoy a corned beef sandwich." I don't know, what are you going to do with him. Some men are worse than kids, that's for sure LOL