St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef
Corned Beef is surprisingly easy – pair it with Irish Soda Bread, whole grain mustard, and a pint of Irish stout for a complete St. Patrick’s Day meal.
Prep Time: 4-5 days
Total Cook Time: 4 hours
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
- 1 gallon water
- 1 1/2 cups kosher salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 4 teaspoons pink salt (sodium nitrite)*
- 8-10 garlic cloves, smashed
- 4 tablespoons pickling spice
- 5 lbs beef brisket
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped into 4-6 pieces
- 1 head cabbage, quartered
- 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped into 4-6 pieces
Directions
- In pot large enough to hold brisket, combine 1 gallon of water with salt, sugar, sodium nitrite, garlic and pickling spice. Bring to a simmer, and stir until all sugar and salt is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
- Place brisket in brine. Weigh down with a plate to ensure that all parts are submerged. Refrigerate in brine for 4-5 days.
- Remove brisket from brine and rinse thoroughly.
- Place in a pot just large enough to hold it. Cover with water and bring to a boil, then simmer until brisket is tender (about 3 hours).
- Remove brisket from pot and add carrots, cabbage and celery. Simmer gently until vegetables are tender, then add brisket back in. Bring to heat. Keep warm until ready to serve.
- Meat can be refrigerated for several days in cooking liquid. Reheat in the liquid or serve chilled. Slice thinly and serve on a sandwich or with additional vegetables simmered until tender in the cooking liquid.
* Sodium nitrite, or curing salt, is available at specialty shops. It’s what gives the corned beef its “corned” flavor, as well as the pink color. Omit if not readily available.