Corned Beef Brisket - Corning the Beef

I really like corned beef.  Like good corned beef.   Not the stuff out of a can that my parents eat. I have never been able to understand the concept of canned meat to be honest.  And I like Montréal Smoked Meat even more, but that is another post and nothing I would ever attempt.  I will only say that the ONLY Montréal Smoked Meat you should EVER eat when you are visiting the city is that made and served at Schwartzs Deli on St. Laurent north of Sherbrook.  It is the best by far and there is nothing better than buying some rye bread, a few pounds of smoked meat (and some yellow mustard) to eat in the car on your way home to Toronto.  If you go to Schwartz's know that people line up early...in the rain...in the snow....it doesn't matter. And it is worth it.

But this is about corned beef, not smoked meat.  Once again, I digress....

When we were on the cruise they served a corned beef hash that became the central focus of Justin's breakfast every morning.  And it was good.  Very simple....corned beef, onion, potato and a few spices, fried up and browned.  So I decided I would try to replicate that for him as a treat, but I knew I had to try to make the corned beef myself to make it even more special.

I've never made corned beef before.  Usually we'll buy a brisket already brined (in Montréal if we can) and then cook it in the oven, but this time I decided to start at ground zero.

The first thing to know is corning the beef takes time.  10 days to 3 weeks depending on the recipe you read.  So this isn't something you can decide to make for dinner one night on a whim, but the best things in life are worth waiting for.   For my first foray into corned beef I turned to Alton Brown at FoodNetwork for his recipe which apparently is now legendary.  Picked up a 4 lb. brisket at Costco and started, so here we go!

Corning the Beef - Alton Brown

(10 DAYS PREPRATION TIME)

2 quarts water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons saltpeter
1 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
8 whole cloves
8 whole allspice berries
12 whole juniper berries
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 pounds ice
1 (4 to 5 pound) beef brisket, trimmed
1 small onion, quartered
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped

Place the water ino a large 6 to 8 quart stockpot along with salt, sugar, saltpeter, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, bay leaves and ginger. Cook over high heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the ice. Stir until the ice has melted. If necessary, place the brine into the refrigerator until it reaches a temperature of 45 degrees F. Once it has cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon zip top bag and add the brine. Seal and lay flat inside a container, cover and place in the refrigerator for 10 days. Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged and stir the brine.

After 10 days, remove from the brine and rinse well under cool water. Place the brisket into a pot just large enough to hold the meat, add the onion, carrot and celery and cover with water by 1-inch. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Remove from the pot and thinly slice across the grain.