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Corned Beef

5.0

(8)

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Photo by Scott Suchman

The beef has to be started 17 days before you want to eat it. Once it's cooked, you can store it refrigerated in its cooking liquid for up to 3 days and reheat it by simmering it in water until it's warm all the way through, about 20 minutes.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

Brine

2 quarts water
3/4 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon pink curing salt, such as sel rose or Insta Cure #1*
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons prepared pickling spice
2 quarts ice water
1 (5-pound) beef brisket, with the deckle intact

Rub

3 large fresh bay leaves, torn into small pieces
9 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons yellow mustard seed
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups warm Parsley Sauce
*Available at www.sausagemaker.com

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Brine the meat: In a saucepan over high heat, heat the water, kosher salt, curing salt, brown sugar, and pickling spice, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Add the ice water. Place the beef in a 2-gallon ziptop bag. Place the bag in a stockpot and pour the brine into it, over the meat. Seal the bag, squeezing as much air out of it as possible so the meat remains completely submerged. Refrigerate the beef in the bag for 10 days.

    Step 2

    Rinse the beef: Remove the beef from the brine; discard the brine. Thoroughly rinse the beef under cold running water, removing all of the spices, and blot it dry on paper towels.

    Step 3

    Season the beef with the rub: Combine all of the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Spread the rub over the beef with your hands, covering all surfaces, and place the beef in a 2-gallon zip-top bag; seal the bag, squeezing out as much of the air as possible. Place the bag on a baking dish and refrigerate for a week, turning the bag over once a day. This is known as dry brining—you will notice each day that more liquid leaches from the beef.

    Step 4

    Cook the beef: On the day you wish to serve the beef, place it in a large pot with all of the accumulated juices in the bag. Add water as needed to cover the meat and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium, cover the pot, and let the beef simmer for 3 hours, until fork tender but not falling apart.

    Step 5

    Present the dish: Spoon the warm parsley sauce into a small bowl. Drain the beef and transfer it to a cutting board. Let it rest for 15 minutes and then slice it 1/2 inch thick, cutting lengthwise, against the grain. Arrange the meat on a serving platter or individual plates; serve with the sauce on the side, along with your chosen side dishes.

Reprinted with permission from My Irish Table: Recipes from the Homeland and Restaurant Eve by Cathal Armstrong & David Hagedorn. Copyright © 2014 by Cathal Armstrong and David Hagedorn. Photographs copyright © 2014 by Scott Suchman. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Dublin Born CATHAL ARMSTRONG is an internationally recognized chef with seven restaurants in the Washinton, DC, area. Food & Wine magazine called him "a one-man urban-renewal engine" who kicked off a dining revival in Old Town using French techniques and local produce. Armstrong was a James Beard Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic nominee and was named one of Food & Wine's "10 Best New Chefs 2006"and "50 Hall of Fame Best New Chefs." He won the Best Chef Award from the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, DC, in 2007, and the White House honored him as a "Champion of Change" for his work on ending childhood obesity and his involvement in improving the school lunch system. Cathal has been featured in Oprah, Food & Wine, Southern Living, and Martha Stewart. DAVID HAGEDORN was a chef and restaurateur for 25 years before becoming a food writer, chiefly for the Washington Post. His articles appear in metropolitan dailies throughout the country. He is the author, with Todd and Ellen Gray, of The New Jewish Table and is currently working on other book projects.

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