How to make corned beef?

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Has anyone ever made corned beef? You know, with homegrown beef? I don't have a clue as to where to start. Anyone ever attemped it, and how did it turn out? Thanks, Cathey

-- Cathey (uptain@familyconnect.com), December 22, 2000

Answers

Cathey: This is what "Joy of Cooking" has to say. I have never done it but most of what I have done from this book has been right on.

Rub with salt: a 4 lb. piece of beef: brisket, flank or plate Put it in an enameled pot or stone jar, covered with a supersaturated solution of: 4 quarts hot water in which: 1 1/2 lbs. salt 1/2 lb. sugar-optional have been dissolved. Let it cool. Cover and weight it so that the meat is submerged in the fluid. It will be corned in 48 hours. hope that works for you. .......diane in michigan

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), December 22, 2000.


oops should have read that the 1/2 cup of sugar was optional, someday I will learn how to prof-read before I submit

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), December 22, 2000.

Cathey. There were 2 recipes in CS about a year ago. I lost ALL my back issues :-( in the recent move. Maybe someone can copy them for you. John

-- John in S. IN (jsmengel@hotmail.com), December 22, 2000.

I don't have a recipe handy, but you should beware that there are two types of recipes out there. One is the old-fshioned way of preserving beef, akin to a fully cured ham. The second is just salting the beed enough so that it tastes (kind of) like real corned beef. If you are looking for a way to store beef and use the wrong recipe, it will rot.

==>paul

-- paul (p@ledgewood-consulting.com), December 22, 2000.


I've used the JOY OF COOKING recipe and the results were fine. (This is the edition published in the 1960s, not the current edition.)

Only difficulty I had was getting the salt to completely disolve, it took some determined stirring, but that might have also been due to the hardness of the water.

I used a one gallon glass jar with something or other stuck on top of the beef to keep it submerged.

-- Dennis Virzi (den2007@swbell.net), December 28, 2000.



Depending on brine and juices produced during curing, you may also use a plastic bag instead of a jar or pan. I prefer this (setting it in a small receptacle, in case of leak) because it takes up less room in the refrigerator This works fine for me. In my original recipe, which I've misplaced, I was told to slightly massage and turn the meat daily.

-- love to make my own (zumende@aol.com), December 29, 2000.

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