I am smoking a brisket tonight and plan on using the flat to make Corned Beef. Last one I did was pretty bland.
In my eye, there is cured beef and corned beef. Corned beef has a lot of aromatics. Here is the recipe I use:
Because I like Pop's Brine so well I designed my corning brine around his curing brine. The salt and sugar amounts have been adjusted to compensate for the aromatics and spices. Here is how I do it...
For use on Brisket, Round Roast, Chuck Roast, Pork Butt in order to make Corned Beef, Corned Pork, Pastrami and Porkstrami.
112 ounces of water
16 ounces of beer
80g canning salt (Kosher is okay too)
30g white sugar
3 tablespoons pickling spice
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
6 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Old Bay
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon crushed ginger
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cloves
22g Cure #1 (note: this is added after the brine has cooled back down) (note 2: the amount of Cure #1 is 22 grams due to the large amount of aromatics used)
Step 1 - Combine all ingredients EXCEPT Cure #1 into a stock pot. Slowly bring up to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. Do not let this mixture come to a boil. Allow to cool on the stovetop, then refrigerate overnight.
Step 2 – On day 2, add the Cure #1 to the chilled brine and mix very well. Measure an amount of brine equal to 10% of the meat weight (for example: 2000g of meat needs 200g of brine for injecting). Inject the brine into the meat. Then add the meat into the chilled covering brine, and cure for 13 to 15 days, agitating the liquid daily. I prefer using a 2.5 gallon zipper bag, in a plastic bucket. Using the bucket handle, I spin the bucket 90° for about 30 seconds to agitate the liquid.
Step 3 - Remove meat from brine.... rinse well and soak about an hour or so in cold water. Pat the meat dry. Use your preferred cooking method and recipe for corned beef.
