Home Brined Corned Beef

Home Brined Corned Beef (recipe from Savory Spice Shop)

Photo credit: Savory Spice Shop

• 2 quarts water

• 1 cup Kosher Salt

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 tsp. Curing Salt *

• 2 Tbsp. Coriander Seeds

• 3 Tbs. Pickling Spice **

• 2 lbs. ice

• 1 (5 lb.) beef brisket, trimmed

• 1 small onion, quartered

• 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped

• 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped

Find a large air tight covered container in which you can lie the beef flat. Weigh the lid down with cans or a bag of rice to keep the meat submerged. Place in the fridge for 10 days. Check on it every day to make sure it is still submerged and fully covered. Stir the brine during these checks as well. After 10 days, remove brisket from brine and rinse well under cool water. Cook meat with onion, carrot and celery in either the slow cooker (6-10 hours) or on the stove for 2-3 hours on a low simmer. Here is a tried a true recipe from America's Test Kitchen for the slow cooker corned beef and cabbage meal.

* Curing Salt

** Pickling Spice Recipe:

      •    6 whole cloves

      •    2 cinnamon sticks broken in half

      •    2 bay leaves crushed

      •    1 tsp ground ginger

      •    1 tsp red pepper flakes

      •.   2 tsp whole coriander seeds

      •.   1 tbs whole allspice berries

      •.   2 tbs whole mustard seeds

Place mustard seeds, allspice berries, whole coriander seeds, and red pepper flakes into a small glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake to combine. Add ground ginger to seeds and shake again. Sprinkle crumbled bay leaves over spice mixture and place cinnamon stick halves into the jar. Seal and shake to combine. Mixture can be stored in the tightly sealed jar for up to 1 month without loss of flavor.