School's Out For Summer
Jun. 29th, 2009 09:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerBut not blown to pieces. In a couple months I go back for the last half.
In the meantime, here's not-yet-caught-up-so-we'll-call-it-last-week's Resolution Recipe: House-Cured Corned Beef, courtesy of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
ken_albala.
"Start with a nice fatty brisket. This was a little one weighing only 2.25 lbs. Make a cure with a quart of water, 8.5 Tb salt, 6 Tb sugar, .5 Tb instacure #1 and add spices you like. I used pepper, coriander, cloves and juniper. Dump everything into a sturdy ziplock bag and toss in the fridge for a week, turning it over every now and then.
To cook, put in a big pot of water. I threw away the cure, but it wasn't quite salty enough for me, so either throw in the curing mix or add a few tablespoons salt to the water. Add chopped onions, garlic, celery and carrots, bay leaves, thyme, and more spices. Simmer very gently for about 3 hours. Don't let it come to a full boil!
About half the price of supermarket bought corned beef, which has all sorts of other junk added to it. If you don't mind a brownish color rather than deep lustrous red, you can leave out the nitrates entirely. But I think it does give you proper corned beef." (the original)
What worked: This was incredibly good. It tasted like corned beef (but better).
What didn't: I didn't have time to overhaul the beef in its plastic bag very thoroughly during the week. This meant that the center 1/4" of the thickest part was gray where the cure didn't penetrate. Not unsafe, just esthetically displeasing.
Will I make it again? Certainly.
In the meantime, here's not-yet-caught-up-so-we'll-call-it-last-week's Resolution Recipe: House-Cured Corned Beef, courtesy of
ken_albala."Start with a nice fatty brisket. This was a little one weighing only 2.25 lbs. Make a cure with a quart of water, 8.5 Tb salt, 6 Tb sugar, .5 Tb instacure #1 and add spices you like. I used pepper, coriander, cloves and juniper. Dump everything into a sturdy ziplock bag and toss in the fridge for a week, turning it over every now and then.
To cook, put in a big pot of water. I threw away the cure, but it wasn't quite salty enough for me, so either throw in the curing mix or add a few tablespoons salt to the water. Add chopped onions, garlic, celery and carrots, bay leaves, thyme, and more spices. Simmer very gently for about 3 hours. Don't let it come to a full boil!
About half the price of supermarket bought corned beef, which has all sorts of other junk added to it. If you don't mind a brownish color rather than deep lustrous red, you can leave out the nitrates entirely. But I think it does give you proper corned beef." (the original)
What worked: This was incredibly good. It tasted like corned beef (but better).
What didn't: I didn't have time to overhaul the beef in its plastic bag very thoroughly during the week. This meant that the center 1/4" of the thickest part was gray where the cure didn't penetrate. Not unsafe, just esthetically displeasing.
Will I make it again? Certainly.
| Corned Beef. It's what's for dinner. |
 |
