Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Best Corned Beef Recipe Ever. Really.


First matter of business is the above picture. It's from www.irishviews.com. I used it last year with this corned beef recipe and neglected to give due credit. I was a new blogger and feel deep, deep shame over this. So, now that that wrong has been righted, on to the best corned beef recipe ever.

You still have time. Well, you still have time if you follow me and get this post today and run out to the store and buy your beef and get cracking on this right away. It's worth it. I just whipped up twenty pounds of this corned beef for our St. Patrick's Day party last night and it was well, well received.

So, without further ado.

Helen's Corned Beef Recipe (I say Helen's because it was in my mother-in-law's recipe box. My apologies to any friends or family that may have provided this recipe to her decades ago.)

Helen's Corned Beef Recipe:

4 lb. brisket, flank or plate

Brine:
4 qts. hot water
1 1/2 lbs. salt (3C.)
1/2 lb. sugar (1C.)

Rub meat with salt. Put meat in enameled pot, stone jar or tupperware. Add Brine. Cool. Weight meat so it is submerged in liquid and cover. Meat corned in 48 hours. Wash under running water. Boil about 3 1/2 hours.


***The salt you rub into the meat is in addition to the three cups of salt you put into the brine. This is clearly not a good choice for someone adhering to a low sodium diet. ***

***The recipe says boil 3 1/2 hours, but I go with a steady simmer. A steady low simmer.***

Now run out to the store to get yourself a brisket and some salt. And Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mmmmmmmm! Don't forget the brown sugar/oven for the last 15-20 minutes! lol. Seriously, it's a nice crispy sweet glaze! Happy St.Patrick's Day To Ya!

Monique said...

Thanks for the recipe, but, this year, we're doing it the easy way, buying the corn beef "brined."

Happy St. Patrick's Day and bon appetit!

Phill said...

Happy St. Pat's to the G'Family! Recipe looks wonderful (and frankly, I had always wondered how you make that.) Barry and "the old timers at the MLI" said to say hi!

Oh, yeah. And Twitter said it was nice to meet you and hopes to see you soon. ;)

New Mom said...

I may be wrong but I believe those are not beef cows in your picture -- I believe it's a Jersey (or a Jersey Holstein cross) and a Holstein...which would make them dairy cows and not beef cows. And dairy cows are not usually bred for their beef...just thought you ought to know :)

Brigitte said...

Having partaken of Irish culinary delights at John and Monique's house, I will try my hand at Helen's/Susan's recipe this year. I strongly believe in left-overs, knowing that anything with cabbage often gets better with age, and this recipe promises those.
Thanks, Susan, and Happy St. Pat's!