Corned Beef Recipe
Cooking your own corned beef at home is really easy. All you need is a cured corned brisket of beef, a big pot and a few hours.You can buy a prepackaged, uncooked corned beef brisket at the supermarket, though they might be easier to find around St. Patrick's Day. A good butcher will cure a corned beef brisket for you. Or, you can cure your own corned beef.
You'll note that in addition to the meat, I've included a few ingredients like garlic, whole allspice, whole peppercorns and so on. But these aren't strictly necessary. If your brisket has been properly brined, you could simmer it in plain water and it'll turn out great.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours, 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 5-lb cured corned brisket of beef
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp whole peppercorns
- 1 Tbsp whole allspice
- 1 tsp whole cloves
Preparation:
- Remove the brisket from the brine, rinse thoroughly and set the brisket fat-side down (see note below) in a heavy pot or Dutch oven.
- Cover with cold water. Add the remaining ingredients.
- Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and simmer for about 3 hours.
- Cool and slice thinly for sandwiches.
Note: I specify placing the brisket in the pot fat-side-down because I want the meat to be cooked by the hot water, not by the flame underneath the pot — especially at the beginning when the heat is on high. It probably makes no difference either way, but that's just the way I do it.
