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Sunday, February 27, 2011

How to Corn Beef

Corned beef = beef brisket + salt + sugar + spices + water + weights + 3 weeks!
It's called "corned" because it was originally made with coarse salt, about the size of a corn kernel.  When I picked up the corned beef spices and brisket, I didn't know it had to cure for three weeks.  Since I'd already invested in the ingredients, and had only to invest a little time...I decided to take a crack at it.  The knives are used to keep the meat  from rising to the top of the brine.  The Joy of Cooking says to turn the meat every 5 days. 

The brine started out clear, but 24 hours later its turning red.  Will have to find out which spice is responsible for that.  I'm not familiar with all the spices in this mix.  Had no idea that corned beef spices include juniper berries.  The spice mix smells fantastic, so I have high hopes for my homemade GF corned beef! 

3 comments:

Barb said...

Really interesting!

Diana LaMarre said...

I love corned beef, although I have never made my own. I will be interested to see how yours turns out!

Anonymous said...

Sauerbraten also is marinated in a mixture that contains juniper berries.