Corning of The Beef - Part 1

Look at those good dogs sitting so nice.  Hmmm. . . Wonder what has their attention?  It seems as though Zayda and Jaz are getting some special treats.  Way to go Hubster! 

What is it, though?  Looks a bit like some beef-trimmings, you say?  You are absolutely correct!  Bet you're wondering what we've been cooking now, right?  Well. . . glad you asked!

Around St. Patrick's Day, a friend of mine sent out a recipe for Traditional Corned Beef.   I, in turn, showed it to Hubster, because, well, we like to try different things and we already enjoyed the corned beef you find in the grocery store.  Heck!  If a grocery store can do it AND then why can't we?  Of course he said:  "Let's do this!"

One might think this is a tedious process that requires lots of spice measuring and a watchful eye.  One might also think this 'corning' wouldn't take much more than a few hours.  Well, One would be wrong on both accounts.  It is not a laborsome process and it takes a little longer than a few hours. 

My friend and the recipe both come from our favorite spice supplier, The Spice House.  Of course, the Corned Beef Spice blend also came from there. 

So check it out -

Corned Beef - Part 1

Brining the Beef:

5-8 pound beef brisket

3-5 tablespoons corned beef spice
3-5 cups kosher salt







Trim beef of excessive fat then rinse.

Place brisket in container large enough for brine solution to completely cover meat.  Include space for a plate to weight the meat down, if necessary, to ensure good coverage.  Cover the brisket completely with water.

Remove the beef and set aside. 

Add enough kosher salt to the water in the container to float a raw egg.

Rub spices into the the brisket

and place in brine. . .

using plates to weigh the meat down into the solution, if necessary.

Cover and refrigerate for 7-10 days.

TA-DA!  Well. . . not quite yet.  But I am excited at the eating our very own corned beef.  BTW, we had opted to cut our brisket in half and are planning on making traditional corned beef and cabbage with one half (Part 2 to the Corning of the Beef Blog Series) and smoking the other half for sandwiches (totally Hubster's idea - which will be Part 3). 

BTW, we are not attempting to represent the original recipe as our own.  It's not.  We thought it would be fun to add pictures to bring the brining process to life and perhaps inspire you to try it too. 

Yup. This is going to be some tasty fun and you'll see it all right here!




Have a Briney kind of day ~

Robin Z